The Philadelphia Phillies are through to their first World Series since 2009 after defeating the San Diego Padres 4-3 in Game 5 of the NLCS on Sunday, securing a 4-1 series victory.
Playing in front of a raucous Philadelphia crowd, the Phillies jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third inning courtesy of a two-run home run from Rhys Hoskins.
Other than that home run, it was a good outing for Padres pitcher Yu Darvish, who did not allow another run through his six innings to give his side the chance to fight their way back into the contest.
Having struggled in the postseason, Juan Soto drilled a solo homer in the fourth inning, and the Padres tied things up with Josh Bell's RBI double in the seventh frame.
Later in the seventh, it was San Diego taking the lead after a wild pitch allowed Jose Azocar to scamper home from third base, but there would be another twist in the tail-end of this one.
After J.T. Realmuto led off the eighth inning with a single, up stepped two-time MVP Bryce Harper as the next batter, and he connected on what ended up being a game-winning home run to left-field. In doing so, Harper became the first player to ever hit a home run in three series-clinching games in the same postseason.
Ranger Suarez came in and collected the save, getting the final two outs from just two pitches to send the Phillies to the World Series with a chance to win their third championship in their 139-year history. They last won the World Series in 2008, before losing to the Yankees in the 2009 edition.
Philadelphia will face the winner of the ALCS between the Houston Astros and the New York Yankees, with the Astros having a chance to sweep it 4-0 later on Sunday night.
Duran's grand slam carries the Red Sox to victory, Kelenic homers again for the Mariners
Boston Red Sox center-fielder Jarren Duran continued his terrific start to the season in Tuesday's 8-6 road win against the Baltimore Orioles.
Duran, 26, collected three hits from his four at-bats, highlighted by a 409-foot grand slam to center-field in the third inning to bust the game wide open.
Through nine games and 31 at-bats this season, Duran is slashing sizzling figures of .387/.417/.645, and he is not the only Red Sox hitter with a hot bat.
AL Rookie of the Year hopeful Masataka Yoshida finished two-for-four with a walk, marking his fourth multi-hit game in a row. After a cold start to his debut season in the majors, the 29-year-old is 12-for-24 in his past six outings.
The Orioles tried to mount a late comeback as Cedric Mullins hit a ninth-inning grand slam, making it the first time in MLB history that the center-fielder on each team finished with a grand slam.
With the win, the Red Sox improved their record to above .500 at 13-12, while the Orioles are still in a strong position at 15-8 in the ultra-competitive AL East.
Kelenic does it again
Seattle Mariners outfielder Jarred Kelenic hit a home run for the third game in a row to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 on the road.
Kelenic had his eye in, hitting a double in the second inning, a solo home run in the fifth, and a single in the ninth, with his only out in the contest coming on a hard-hit line out to left-field.
He was the only Mariners player with more than one hit, although Teoscar Hernandez's two-run home run ended up being the difference.
Berrios and Jansen take down the White Sox
The Toronto Blue Jays battery of Jose Berrios and Danny Jansen combined to dominate the Chicago White Sox in a 7-0 shutout.
Berrios pitched seven scoreless innings in 103 pitches, allowing four hits and one walk to go with nine strikeouts, and as well as calling a great game behind the plate, Jansen punished the White Sox with his bat.
Jansen went three-for-four at the plate including two home runs, driving in four of his team's runs, while team-mate George Springer also collected three hits.
Arozarena stars as Rays reach home-run record, Tatis homers for first time since return
Randy Arozarena was the hero as the Tampa Bay Rays set a major league record for scoring homers in each of their first 21 games in a 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox on Saturday.
Arozarena brought up the milestone with a two-run blast over left-center field in the first inning, before hitting a walkoff RBI single in the 10th.
The Rays, who started the season with 13 straight wins, improved their record to 18-3, marking the best start by any side in the majors since the New York Yankees in 2003.
Tampa Bay also broke the Seattle Mariners' 2019 record of homering in 20 straight games to start that season.
The game was in the balance after homers from Eloy Jimenez and Yasmani Grandal for the White Sox, before Arozarena singled to left for Diaz to score at the bottom of the fifth.
Gavin Sheets squared the game up with a homer to right field at the top of the eighth, before Arozarena settled the game.
Jimmy Lambert intentionally walked Wander Franco with two out and a runner on second, before Arozarena's first-pitch single to right field, driving in Vidal Brujan. Arozarena finished with four RBIs.
Shane McClanahan sent down 10 strikeouts across six innings, while White Sox starter Dylan Cease had five K's.
Garcia crushed three HRs in Rangers rout
Adolis Garcia blasted three home runs and eight RBIs in five innings as the Texas Rangers smoked the Oakland Athletics 18-3.
Garcia blasted a two-run 432-foot homer at the bottom of the first, repeating the dose in the third inning with a 419-foot bomb over center.
The Rangers outfielder made it 13-2 at the bottom of the fifth with 401-feet blast, before a two-run double in the seventh capped a remarkable showing, taking his season tally to seven homers and 28 RBIs.
Garcia went five-for-four, becoming the third player since 1901 with at least 16 total bases, three homers, eight RBIs and five runs in a single game.
Tatis homers for first time since 2021
Fernando Tatis Jr blasted his first home run since returning from an 80-game drug suspension as the San Diego Padres won 5-3 over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Tatis, in his third game back since the suspension elapsed, crushed a 374-foot homer over left field for his first blast since 2021. The Padres outfielder led the majors for homers in 2021, with 42.
Right-hander Joe Musgrove earned his first win of the season, following a toe injury sustained in the weight room during spring training, striking out six, giving up three runs on seven hits.
Returning Tatis 'just happy to play' after serving drug ban
Fernando Tatis Jr. was grateful to be on the field as helped the San Diego Padres to victory in his first game back after being banned for a drugs violation.
Tatis was hit with an 80-game suspension in August 2022 after testing positive for Clostebol, a performance-enhancing substance.
The star shortstop claimed he had taken a medicine containing Clostebol to treat ringworm, subsequently apologising for letting his team-mates down with the positive test.
Having undergone surgery on a wrist injury earlier in the year, Tatis sat out the entirety of the 2022 MLB season, which saw the Padres beaten by the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series.
Tatis went 0-for-5 when making his first MLB appearance since October 2021 against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday, though he did make a highlight-reel catch as the Padres clinched a 7-5 win.
Speaking after his return, Tatis said: "It felt amazing, just to be back out there with my boys in the jungle. [I'm] just happy. Happy to get that 'W' and just to be back out there.
"Being away for a period of time – it gave me time to realise how really blessed I am to be able to play this game at the level that I play it.
"All the kids that are watching, the vibes they give me, that love they give me, it just feeds me every single time.
"There were more Padres fans here than Arizona fans. It's amazing how they show up. They were loud. I felt like we were at home."
Tatis received a predictably mixed reception when entering the batter's box for the first time, and he expects more of the same at opposing ballparks, given the nature of his ban.
"That's going to come," Tatis said. "Everybody has freedom of expression in this country, and there's nothing I can do about it. I'm just going to keep playing this game and enjoy every part of it."
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