The Los Angeles Dodgers got a three-run homer from Freddie Freeman and a combined four-hit shutout from Yoshinobu Yamamoto and four relievers to hand the Atlanta Braves a potentially costly 9-0 loss on Monday.
Making his second start following a near three-month absence caused by a strained shoulder, Yamamoto scattered four hits and two walks in four innings. The Braves didn't record a hit against Evan Phillips (4-1), Blake Treinen, Daniel Hudson and Brent Honeywell the rest of the way to fall one game back of the New York Mets for the National League's final wild card.
The Mets came through with a 2-1 win over the Washington Nationals on Starling Marte's run-scoring single in the 10th inning.
Shohei Ohtani knocked in two runs to help Los Angeles split this four-game series and move within a game of the Philadelphia Phillies for the NL's best record. The superstar slugger finished 0 for 4, however, and remained at 47 home runs and 48 stolen bases as he attempts to become MLB's first 50-50 player in a season.
The Dodgers didn't get a hit off Atlanta's Max Fried until the fifth inning but still managed to manufacture a run following a lead-off walk to Miguel Rojas in the third. Rojas advanced to second on a groundout, stole third and scored when Fried uncorked a wild pitch.
Tommy Edman collected Los Angeles' initial hit with a ground-rule double to begin the fifth and scored on Rojas' single. After a hit batter and a fly ball advanced Rojas to third, he came home on Ohtani's fielder's choice grounder for a 3-0 advantage.
Fried (9-10) yielded just two hits and struck out seven in six innings despite being touched for three runs.
The Dodgers put the game away with a six-run seventh inning capped by the ex-Brave fan favourite Freeman's opposite-field homer.
After three walks by Atlanta reliever Daysbel Hernandez loaded the bases, Ohtani reached on a fielder's choice that plated Rojas for a 4-0 cushion. Mookie Betts brought in another run with a sacrifice fly and Teoscar Hernandez delivered an RBI single in front of Freeman's blast.
Brewers trim magic number to two with win over Phillies
William Contreras and Joey Ortiz each drove in two runs to back a solid start from Aaron Civale as the Milwaukee Brewers moved closer to capturing the NL Central with a 6-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Brewers' fourth victory in five games reduced their magic number to two to claim their third division title in four years. Milwaukee also closed within three games of the NL-leading Phillies in the standings.
Civale (5-2) scattered seven hits and struck out six while limiting Philadelphia to one run in five-plus innings. Colin Rea closed out the win with 2 2/3 scoreless innings to notch his first career MLB save.
Contreras gave Milwaukee a 2-0 lead with a third-inning double off Ranger Suarez that brought in Jackson Chourio and Blake Perkins, who reached via a walk and single, respectively.
The Brewers extended the margin in the fourth when ex-Phil Rhys Hoskins walked, advanced to third on Sal Frelick's double and scored on a sacrifice fly from Ortiz.
Suarez (12-7) lasted five innings and allowed three runs despite giving up just four hits and fanning five.
Brandon Marsh homered in the fifth for the Phillies' lone run off Civale, but Milwaukee scored twice in the sixth to increase their lead further.
Ortiz knocked in Frelick with a triple to put the Brewers up 4-1 before crossing the plate on Brice Turang's single.
Philadelphia got a run back in the top of the seventh when Bryson Stott singled and later scored on Kyle Schwarber's two-out single. The Brewers countered in their half of the inning, however, when Perkins singled and stole two bases before coming home on Gary Sanchez's sac fly.
Manzardo's homer lifts Guardians over Twins
Kyle Manzardo's go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning rallied the Cleveland Guardians to a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Twins in the opener of a key four-game series between American League Central contenders.
Cleveland overcame an early 3-0 deficit to earn its MLB-leading 40th comeback victory of the season, which increased the Guardians' lead atop the AL Central to five games over Kansas City.
The Royals were handed a 7-6 loss by the charging Detroit Tigers, who closed within 1 1/2 games of struggling Minnesota for the AL's final wild card. The Twins have lost seven of 10 and are 9-18 since Aug. 18.
Minnesota was clinging to a 3-2 lead when Josh Naylor led off the bottom of the eighth with a double off Twins reliever Griffin Jax. Two batters later, Manzardo clubbed the first pitch he saw from Jax into the right field seats to put the Guardians ahead.
Emmanuel Clase then retired the side in order in the ninth to record his 46th save, tying a Cleveland franchise season record.
The Twins got all of their runs in the third inning after loading the bases with one out on a Carlos Correa double and two walks issued by Cleveland starter Matthew Boyd. Correa scored the game's first run on a passed ball by Guardians' catcher Bo Naylor, and Byron Buxton knocked in two more with a single for a 3-0 advantage.
Minnesota's Pablo Lopez held Cleveland scoreless until the fifth, when he hit Brayan Rocchio with a pitch and allowed a double to Angel Martinez. Andres Gimenez followed with a single to drive in the Guardians' first run.
Lopez issued two walks around a Will Brennan single to allow Cleveland to inch closer in the seventh on Martinez's bases-loaded single which brought in Manzardo.
Martinez finished 3 for 4, while Brennan and Jose Ramirez each had two hits for the Guardians.
Lopez pitched 6 1/3 innings and permitted two runs on eight hits.
Dodgers, left-hander Snell agree to 5-year, $182 million contract
In the latest installment of the rich get richer, the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers and left-hander Blake Snell are in agreement on a five-year, $182 million contract, pending a physical, according to a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations.
Snell, who turns 32 next month, is a two-time Cy Young Award winner who spent last season with the San Francisco Giants, going 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 20 starts.
He had a 6.31 ERA at the All-Star break after a limited spring training, but over his final 12 games, he posted a 1.45 ERA with 103 strikeouts in 68 1/3 innings, including a no-hitter at Cincinnati on Aug. 2.
Snell won the 2023 Cy Young while pitching for the San Diego Padres and entered free agency. He didn’t have a team by spring training, so he landed with the Giants on a two-year, $62 million contract with an opt-out after the first year, which he exercised.
Durability is a concern with Snell, who has thrown more than 129 1/3 innings just twice in nine major league seasons. He also has a lifetime 4.1 walks per nine innings average and rarely pitches deep into games with only one career complete game.
He becomes the latest addition to the star-studded Dodgers, who gave out the first mega deal of this offseason following Shohei Ohtani's $700 million, 10-year contract last winter.
Snell joins a rotation that already features Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Ohtani.
Ohtani, Judge both unanimous picks for MVP awards
Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani were both unanimously selected to win Most Valuable Player Awards in their respective leagues on Thursday.
Judge collected all 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. garnered all 30 second-place votes.
Yankees outfielder Juan Soto finished third with 21 third-place votes.
Ohtani was an unanimous MVP for the third time, receiving all 30 first-place votes and 420 points in voting by the BWAA. New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor was second with 263 points and Arizona second baseman Ketel Marte third with 229.
It is the second AL MVP award of Judge's career after he also won the award in 2022.
Judge led the major leagues with 58 homers, 144 RBIs and 133 walks while hitting .322. He also drew a league-high 133 walks and posted a spectacular 1.159 OPS.
Witt topped the big leagues with a .332 average, hitting 32 homers with 109 RBIs.
With two MVP Awards to his name, Judge is the seventh player in Yankees history to win multiple MVPs. He joins Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and Alex Rodriguez.
There was an extended stretch over the summer where Judge was on a pace to reach and possibly break his own single-season home run record (62 in 2022). The same goes for a bid at a Triple Crown.
The stretch that truly defined his season began on April 27. Judge entered play on that day in Milwaukee with a .178 batting average and .674 OPS on the season. He had only four home runs with 35 strikeouts across 27 games.
Over his next 100 games, through August 23, Judge hit .378 with 45 home runs. It was the first time in MLB history a player batted higher than .375 with 45-plus homers in a stretch of 100 games within a single season.
Ohtani was unanimously voted AL MVP in 2021 and 2023 as a two-way star for the Los Angeles Angels and finished second to Judge in 2022 voting. He didn’t pitch in 2024 following elbow surgery and signed a record $700 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers last December.
Ohtani hit .310, stole 59 bases and led the NL with 54 homers and 130 RBIs exclusively as a designated hitter, becoming the first player with 50 or more homers and 50 or more stolen bases in a season. He helped the Dodgers to the World Series title, playing the final three games with a torn labrum in his left shoulder.
Ohtani is the first primary DH to win an MVP. He joins Frank Robinson for Cincinnati in 1961 and Baltimore in 1966 as the only players to win the MVP award in both leagues.
The Japanese sensation is the 12th player with three or more MVPs, joining Barry Bonds (seven) and Jimmie Foxx, Joe DiMaggio, Stan Musial, Roy Campanella, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Mike Schmidt, Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols and Mike Trout (three each).
Sale, Skubal win MLB's Cy Young Awards
Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal and Atlanta Braves lefty Chris Sale were each named the winner of their respective league’s Cy Young Award on Wednesday.
The announcement was hardly a surprise after each ace won their league's pitching triple crown during the 2024 regular season.
This is the first Cy Young for both pitchers.
Skubal, who turned 28 on Wednesday, enjoyed a break-out year in his fourth full MLB season, and was a unanimous winner, receiving all 30 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The Kansas City Royals' Seth Lugo finished second and Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Emmanuel Clase finished third in the balloting, which was completed before the play-offs.
Sale received 26 of 30 first-place votes, while Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler finished second, ahead of Pittsburgh Pirates righty Paul Skenes, who was selected as the National League Rookie of the Year on Monday.
The 35-year-old Sale has come close to winning the award before, finishing as runner-up to Cleveland's Corey Kluber in 2017, with five other top-five finishes in voting since his first full season in the majors in 2011.
Since the inception of the Cy Young Award in 1956, there have been 16 pitchers to win his league's pitching crown. And now, every one of them has also won that year's Cy Young.
Skubal and Sale each won an MLB-best 18 games, while Skubal led all pitchers with 228 strikeouts – three more than Sale. Sale's ERA of 2.38 was just a tick better than Skubal's 2.39.
Both were dominant down the stretch in leading their teams to the play-offs, with Sale permitting two earned runs or fewer in each of his final 18 regular-season starts, though he was unable to pitch in the season final or the Braves' NL Wild-Card series loss to the San Diego Padres because of a back injury.
Skubal posted a 1.94 ERA in his final nine outings, and then threw 13 shutout innings in his first two play-off starts in helping the Tigers surprisingly reach the American League Division Series. He ended up going 1-1 with a 2.37 ERA in three post-season starts.
Skubal became the fifth Tiger to win the Cy Young trophy – and first since Max Scherzer in 2017 – and Sale is the fifth Brave to earn the award – and first since Hall of Famer Tom Glavine in 1998.
Despite several close calls in Cy Young voting for Sale, he has dealt with injuries for the past five seasons, and was limited to a total of 151 innings over the past three years for the Boston Red Sox.
In his first season with the Braves, however, he threw 177 2/3 innings and was awarded the NL Comeback Player of the Year Award last Thursday.
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