In a battle between two of the best teams and best pitchers in the majors, Nestor Cortes' New York Yankees prevailed 4-3 at home against Shane McClanahan's Tampa Bay Rays.
McClanahan is the current favourite to win the AL Cy Young Award while Cortes is close behind, and they both put on spectacular performances in Wednesday's top fixture.
It was a rocky start for McClanahan, who was punished in the very first inning by American League MVP favourite Aaron Judge, connecting on his league-leading 25th home run of the season to make it 1-0. Nobody else has hit more than 18 home runs.
That was the only earned run McClanahan would give up, although a fielding error in the fifth inning and an intentional walk set up a three-run Kyle Higashioka blast to give the Yankees a 4-0 lead.
McClanahan finished with seven strikeouts in six complete innings, allowing three hits and two walks.
Cortes held the Rays scoreless through five innings, eventually getting pulled in the sixth after the visitors finally got their first run on the board via a Manuel Margot RBI double.
Choi Ji-man's RBI base hit in the eighth inning cut the margin to 4-2, and Rene Pinto followed suit as the very next batter to make it 4-3. Clay Holmes was able to hold his nerve in the ninth frame to secure the save and the win for the Yankees.
After their performances, McClanahan (1.84 ERA) and Cortes (1.94 ERA) are two of only seven starting pitchers this season to allow fewer than two runs per nine innings.
The win moves the Yankees' league-leading record to 46-16 – six games clear of the New York Mets in second (41-23).
Astros' immaculate showing
The Houston Astros pitched two immaculate innings in their 9-2 road win against the Texas Rangers to retain the fourth-best record in the majors at 39-24.
After the Astros piled on six runs in the opening frame, including two-run doubles from both Yordan Alvarez and Martin Maldonado, Houston starter Luis Garcia took control.
In the second inning, Garcia struck out all three batters, throwing just nine pitches, with all being strikes, for a rare immaculate inning.
Incredibly, the feat was repeated in the seventh frame by Astros reliever Phil Maton, who also collected his three strikeouts in nine pitches. It is the first time in MLB history that a team has thrown two immaculate innings in the same game.
Phillies win in last-gasp walk-off
Philadelphia Phillies catcher Garrett Stubbs was the hero in his side's 3-1 home victory against the Miami Marlins.
Kyle Gibson was terrific on the mound for the Phillies, giving up one run from seven hits and no walks, pitching eight full innings and striking out six – but his team trailed 1-0 going into the ninth frame.
After a lead-off strikeout, Alec Bohm singled, and J.T. Realmuto walked, but another strikeout meant Stubbs was the last chance to make something happen – and he duly responded.
From the fifth pitch of his at-bat, with two strikes, Stubbs connected on a hanging slider and sent it over the fence for a game-winning three-run homer. It is the Phillies' 11th win from their past 13 games.
MLB: Acuna hits two home runs, closes in on 40-60 season as Braves snap skid
Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a pair of home runs to reach 39 and stole his 67th base as the Atlanta Braves ended a four-game losing streak with a 9-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday.
Acuna is one home run shy of becoming the first player with 40 homers and 60 steals in a season, much less 40 home runs and 70 stolen bases.
The Braves' superstar is batting .386 with 11 home runs, 26 RBIs, 23 runs and eight steals in his last 20 games.
Acuna’s first home run was his seventh leadoff blast this season and 33rd of his career. Of his 205 hits this season, 51 have come in the first inning.
His performance overshadowed Spencer Strider’s major league-leading 18th win.
The right-hander allowed three runs and four hits over seven innings with 11 strikeouts to raise his MLB-best total to 270.
Marcell Ozuna drove in three runs with three hits, including a two-run double in the fifth, as Atlanta avoided its first five-game skid since September 2017.
Bryce Harper hit a three-run home run for the Phillies, who hold the top wild-card spot in the NL.
Padres lose combined no-hitter in 9th, walk-off Rockies
Blake Snell threw seven no-hit innings, and the San Diego Padres lost a combined no-hitter in the 9th before Xander Bogaerts hit a walk-off two-run homer in a 2-0 win over the Colorado Rockies.
Snell struck out 10 with four walks over the first seven innings and threw 104 pitches but was replaced by Robert Suarez, who worked a perfect eighth.
Closer Josh Hader gave up a leadoff single to Brendan Rodgers in the ninth before getting three outs.
Bogaerts homered off Tyler Kinley with two outs in the ninth to give San Diego its season-high sixth straight win.
Hays hits 2 homers as Orioles defeat Astros
Austin Hays went deep twice and Ryan O’Hearn added a two-run shot to lift the Baltimore Orioles to their fourth straight win, 9-5 over the slumping Houston Astros.
Hays hit a three-run shot off starter Hunter Brown in the third inning to snap a 2-2 tie and put Baltimore ahead for good.
O’Hearn’s two-run homer in the first opened the scoring and rookie Heston Kjerstad connected for his second career home run in the seventh, one batter after Hays’ second of the game gave the Orioles an 8-5 lead.
Baltimore maintained a 2 ½-game lead over Tampa in the race for the AL East title, while Houston’s lead in the West was trimmed to one-half game over Texas and Seattle.
MLB: Cardinals' Wainwright earns 200th win
Adam Wainwright recorded his 200th career victory with seven brilliant innings as the St. Louis Cardinals edged the National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers, 1-0, on a historic Monday night at Busch Stadium.
Wainwright, pitching in his 18th and final season in a Cardinals' uniform, yielded just four hits and two walks to become the 38th pitcher in NL history to reach the milestone.
The 42-year-old had gone 0-10 over an 11-start stretch before picking up an elusive career win No. 199 last week, when he allowed two runs over five innings to beat the Baltimore Orioles.
Willson Contreras accounted for the game's lone run with a solo homer in the fourth off Freddy Peralta, who permitted just four hits and struck out six over six innings in a hard-luck loss.
The loss kept Milwaukee's magic number to win the NL Central at seven. The Brewers hold a six-game lead on the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds atop the division.
Orioles rally past Astros in clash of division leaders
Cedric Mullins hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning that lifted the Baltimore Orioles to an 8-7 win over the Houston Astros in Monday's opener of a three-game series between American League division leaders.
Astros closer Ryan Pressly entered in the ninth to protect a 7-5 lead and gave up consecutive one-out singles to Ryan O'Hearn and Austin Hays before Mullins launched a 2-1 pitch into the right-field seats to send Baltimore in front.
Cionel Perez and Yennier Cano kept Houston scoreless in the bottom of the ninth to extend the Orioles' lead over second-place Tampa Bay to 2 1/2 games in the AL East.
Houston, which is now lost five of seven, maintained a 1 1/2-game edge on Texas and Seattle for first place in the AL West. The Rangers were handed a 4-2 loss by the Boston Red Sox on Monday, while the Mariners posted a 5-0 win over the Oakland Athletics to tie Texas for the AL's third and final wild card berth.
O'Hearn's hit in the ninth capped a 5-for-5 night in which he drove in two runs. Mullins added an RBI double in the seventh that tied the game at 5-5, while Gunnar Henderson finished 3 for 5 with three runs scored and Adley Rutschman knocked in a pair of runs.
Houston had taken a 6-5 lead on Jose Abreu's solo homer in the seventh, and Martin Maldonado had a solo shot in the eighth to increase the margin.
Reds top Twins, move into tie for NL's final wild card
There's also now a tie for the NL's final wild card spot after Cincinnati rookie Connor Phillips pitched the Reds to an important 7-3 victory over the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins.
Phillips collected his first major league win by holding Minnesota to two runs and three hits while striking out seven in seven innings. The 22-year-old's performance helped the Reds move into a tie with the Chicago Cubs for the NL's third wild card berth, a half-game in front of Miami after the Marlins were dealt a 2-1 loss by the New York Mets.
Will Benson homered and drove in three runs to aid Phillips, while Joey Votto had two hits and two RBIs and Spencer Steer finished 3 for 4 with an RBI single.
Both Minnesota runs off Phillips came via solo homers, one from Royce Lewis in the fourth inning and the other from Alex Kirilloff in the seventh.
Twins starter Joe Ryan took the loss after surrendering four runs in five innings.
MLB: Orioles, Rays clinch playoff spots
The Baltimore Orioles pushed home a run in the 11th inning to earn a 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday and split a crucial September four-game series, though both American League East contenders secured playoff spots prior to the outcome.
A 9-2 loss by the Texas Rangers to the Cleveland Guardians earlier in the day clinched postseason berths for both Tampa Bay and Baltimore, which maintained the two-game advantage it held on the Rays for first place in the division entering the series.
The Orioles, who tied for the major league lead with 110 losses just two years ago, are in the playoffs for the first time since 2016. The Rays will be making their fifth straight appearance.
Tampa Bay was one out away from creating a virtual tie in the AL East, but Austin Hays singled off Rays closer Pete Fairbanks with the Orioles down 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth and Adam Frazier followed with an RBI double to force extra innings.
After both teams scored once in the 10th, Baltimore's DL Hall kept the Rays scoreless in the top of the 11th and Cedric Mullins drove in Adley Rutschman with the deciding run with a sacrifice fly in the Orioles' half of the frame.
Tampa Bay took a 3-1 lead in the top of the eighth on back-to-back solo homers from Tristan Gray and Christian Bethancourt, but Rutschman homered off Fairbanks in the bottom of the inning to cut the Orioles' deficit to one. Baltimore's All-Star catcher finished the day 3 for 5 with two RBIs.
Gray's homer was the first of his major league career, while Brandon Lowe also had a solo shot for the Rays.
Chisholm hits another slam as Marlins finish sweep of Braves
Jazz Chisholm hit a grand slam for a second consecutive game, one of four Miami homers as the Marlins cruised to a 16-2 rout of the Atlanta Braves to complete a three-game sweep of the current National League leaders.
Jake Burger added a three-run homer and Jorge Soler and Nick Fortes also went deep in the surging Marlins' 12th win in 17 games. That hot stretch has moved Miami into a tie with the slumping Chicago Cubs for the NL's final wild card spot.
Miami's 17-hit outburst was more than enough support for starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo, who struck out eight over six scoreless innings while yielding just four hits and two walks.
After connecting for his second career grand slam in the Marlins' 11-5 win on Saturday, Chisholm repeated the feat with a drive off Atlanta starter Charlie Morton in the third inning that staked Miami to a 5-0 lead. The center fielder is the first player in franchise history with a grand slam in back-to-back games.
Fortes finished with a career-high four hits and four runs scored, while Luis Arraez went 3 for 5 with two RBIs for the Marlins.
Marcell Ozuna had two hits, including his 35th home run of the season, for Atlanta. Morton was tagged for six runs and walked five in 4 2/3 innings.
Diamondbacks leapfrog Cubs in NL wild card race after completing sweep
The Arizona Diamondbacks have now moved ahead of the sputtering Chicago Cubs in the NL wild card standings after completing a sweep of a three-game series between the teams with Sunday's 6-2 victory.
Arizona struck for three first-inning runs against Cubs rookie Jordan Wicks, while four relievers combined for 5 2/3 scoreless innings to help the Diamondbacks move a half-game ahead of Chicago and Miami for the NL's second of three wild-card spots.
Ketel Marte tacked on a two-run homer in the sixth inning for Arizona and finished 2 for 4 with two runs scored.
Luis Frias was credited with the win after throwing 1 2/3 scoreless innings after taking over for Diamondbacks starter Ryne Nelson, who allowed two runs in 3 1/3 innings.
Wicks struck out five in 4 1/3 innings but issued four walks while permitting Arizona's three early runs.
Ian Happ went 3 for 4 with a run scored for Chicago, which has now lost five straight and eight of 10. That stretch includes losing three of four meetings to the Diamondbacks at Wrigley Field earlier this month.
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