The New York Mets produced a remarkable ninth-inning comeback to stun the Philadelphia Phillies 8-7.
It was all Philadelphia early in front of their home fans, piling on four runs in the first inning, with Bryce Harper's RBI double to deep left-field the highlight.
Nick Castellanos also batted in one of the four early runs, and then added another in the second inning to make it 5-0 through two innings in a rough start for Mets pitcher Taijuan Walker.
Walker's work came to an end at the end of the fourth inning after Harper and Castellanos both hit solo home runs, with Harper's 427-foot shot the biggest hit of the game, opening up a 7-0 lead.
Starling Marte finally got the Mets on the scoreboard with a solo home run in the sixth inning, but that would be all Phillies ace Aaron Nola would give up, pitching seven full innings for one earned run from three hits and one walk, striking out seven.
Leading 7-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning, ESPN gave the Phillies a win probability of 99.9 per cent – but the ninth inning would be one to remember for Mets fans.
Marte led off the inning with an infield single, with Francisco Lindor driving him home with a two-run homer for two of the eight Mets hits in the final frame.
Pete Alonso doubled as the next man to the plate, and after an out, Jeff McNeil singled to put runners on first and third.
Mark Canha's infield single brought Alonso home, but a strikeout for the next batter still left the Mets trailing 7-4 with two outs.
J.D. Davis kept the game alive with a clutch double, bringing one more run home to leave runners on second and third, needing a base hit from Brandon Nimmo to tie the game.
Nimmo delivered, bringing home the two runners to tie the game at 7-7.
Not done there, Marte came back to the plate and collected his second hit of the inning, with his long double hitting the wall on the full to bring Nimmo home from first base and take the 8-7 lead, before the next batter grounded out.
Mets closer Edwin Diaz made no mistakes, retiring the last three batters in order for an unlikely victory.
Ohtani gives MVP performance
Shohei Ohtani showed why he could be in line to go back-to-back as the American League MVP, as he dominated the Boston Red Sox to give the Los Angeles Angels a 8-0 win.
Ohtani pitched seven shutout innings for the Halos in his pitching debut at Fenway Park, striking out 11 while only allowing six hits and no walks over 99 pitches.
He also went two-for-four with the bat, driving in a run with a base hit in the eighth inning.
Astros walk-off against Tigers
The Detroit Tigers gave the Houston Astros a scare in the ninth inning, but the Astros sent their fans home happy with a 3-2 walk-off win.
In a strong pitching showing from both teams, the only two runs through eight innings were solo home runs to Jose Altuve and rookie Jeremy Pena to give the Astros a 2-0 lead.
Jeimer Candalario tied the game in the top of the last inning with a two-run homer, but any hope of a win was short-lived as Kyle Tucker hit a walk-off base hit in the bottom of the ninth.
Mets extend NLCS, Yanks go up 3-1 in ALCS
Pete Alonso's three-run homer in the first inning set the tone as the New York Mets avoided elimination in the National League Championship Series with Friday's 12-6 Game 5 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
New York battered Dodgers' starter Jack Flaherty for eight runs through the first three innings to send the best-of-seven series back to Los Angeles for Sunday's Game 6. Starling Marte finished 4 for 5 and knocked in three runs to help keep the Mets alive, while Francisco Alvarez had a run-scoring single among his three hits.
Francisco Lindor and Jesse Winker each added two hits and had run-scoring triples for New York, which overcame a two-homer performance by Andy Pages that accounted for four of the Dodgers' runs.
Mookie Betts went 2 for 4 with a solo homer for the Dodgers, but Flaherty was unable to duplicate a stellar Game 1 effort in which he allowed just two hits over seven scoreless innings.
Los Angeles will now attempt to claim its second NL pennant in five years back home, though they'll have to face New York's Sean Manaea in Game 6. The left-hander is 2-0 with a 2.65 ERA in three starts this post-season and earned the win in Game 2 at Dodger Stadium.
The Mets got to Flaherty early in this one, as Lindor started the bottom of the first inning with a single and Brandon Nimmo followed with a walk. Two batters later, Alonso drove a pitch over the center field wall for a 3-0 lead.
Los Angeles got a run back in the second inning, but New York broke the game open with five runs off Flaherty in the third.
Alonso and Winker began the Mets' half of the inning with walks before Marte drove both runners home with a double. Marte later scored on Alvarez's two-out single that preceded Lindor's triple that extended the margin to 7-1.
Nimmo then capped the big inning by plating Lindor with a single.
Pages delivered his first homer of the game in the top of the fourth, but Winker tripled in Alonso in the bottom of the inning and scored on Jeff McNeil's sacrifice fly for a 10-2 New York lead.
The Dodgers got closer when Pages connected for a three-run homer off Reed Garrett in the fifth inning, and Betts' solo blast in the sixth trimmed the margin to 10-6.
New York would tack on another run in the bottom of the sixth, however, and Marte singled in Alonso in the eighth for more insurance.
Yankees score twice in ninth for 3-1 lead over Guardians in ALCS
New York's other team is now one win away from its first World Series appearance since 2009 after the Yankees scored twice in the ninth inning to pull out an 8-6 victory over the Cleveland Guardians in Game 4 of the ALCS.
The Yankees bounced back from Thursday's 7-5, 10-inning loss in Game 3 and from blowing a four-run lead in Game 4, as Cleveland scored three times in the seventh inning and once in the eighth to tie the game at 6-6.
Alex Verdugo and Gleyber Torres each knocked in runs off Cleveland All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase in the top of the ninth, however, before Tommy Kahnle held the Guardians scoreless in the bottom of the inning to give New York a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
The Yankees can close it out in Saturday's Game 5 in Cleveland behind Carlos Rodon, who beat the Guardians in Game 1 with six innings of one-run ball.
New York had built a 6-2 lead on three home runs - a two-run shot from Juan Soto in the first inning, a solo blast from Austin Wells in the second and Giancarlo Stanton's three-run shot in the sixth.
Josh Naylor had two hits and three runs batted in for the AL Central champion Guardians, while Jose Ramirez went 2 for 3 and knocked in two runs as both players keyed Cleveland's late rally.
The Guardians put two on to start the bottom of the seventh before Ramirez delivered a run-scoring double off reliever Clay Holmes to cut New York's lead to 6-3. Naylor followed with a double that brought in Steven Kwan and Ramirez and got Cleveland within one.
Naylor then led off the bottom of the eighth with a double off Mark Leiter Jr. and later scored on David Fry's infield hit that tied the game at 6-6.
The Yankees began the ninth with singles by Anthony RIzzo and Anthony Volpe off Clase, however. After Volpe stole second to put two in scoring position, Verdugo reached on a dribbler that Cleveland shortstop Brayan Rocchio mishandled for an error as the go-ahead run crossed the plate.
Torres followed with a single that scored Volpe for an 8-6 advantage.
The Guardians got their first run in the bottom of the first to counter Soto's two-run shot in the top of the inning. After Wells' homer in the second put New York up 3-1, Kwan singled in the third and later scored on a Naylor single to pull Cleveland closer.
MLB: Ohtani hits massive 3-run homer as Dodgers roll to 2-1 NLCS lead
Shohei Ohtani hit a mammoth three-run homer, Kike Hernandez added another postseason home run and the Los Angeles Dodgers notched their second shutout of the NL Championship Series, 8-0 over the New York Mets for a 2-1 lead on Wednesday night.
Los Angeles rebounded from a loss at home to grab the advantage in the best-of-seven series by pitching its fourth shutout in the past five playoff games.
Ohtani connected in the eighth, a 410-foot drive that soared into the second deck in right field and barely stayed fair above the foul pole for a 7-0 lead.
Max Muncy went deep in the ninth for his 13th career postseason homer, tying Corey Seager and Justin Turner for the franchise record. Muncy also connected in Game 2.
A fired-up Walker Buehler struck out Francisco Lindor to leave the bases loaded, and the Dodgers got five stingy innings from their hard-throwing bullpen. Buehler combined with four relievers on a four-hitter and Dodgers pitchers finished with 13 strikeouts.
Game 4 is Thursday night in Queens, with $325 million rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto scheduled to start for Los Angeles against veteran left-hander Jose Quintana.
Luis Severino fell behind 2-0 in the second, partly due to some shoddy fielding. He did not permit an earned run but threw 95 pitches and walked four in 4 2/3 innings, taking the loss.
Reed Garrett served up Hernandez’s homer and Tylor Megill gave up four runs in three innings, including homers by Ohtani and Muncy.
Mets even NLCS, Yankees take Game 1 of ALCS
Francisco Lindor ended the Los Angeles Dodgers' streak of 33 consecutive scoreless innings with a lead-off home run, and Mark Vientos had a grand slam later on as the New York Mets evened the National League Championship Series with Monday's 7-3 Game 2 victory.
New York, the sixth and lowest seed in the NL play-offs, also received five-plus effective innings from Sean Manaea to bounce back from a 9-0 loss to the top-seeded Dodgers in Sunday's series opener.
Los Angeles entered Game 2 off three straight shutout victories to tie the 1966 Baltimore Orioles for the longest run of consecutive scoreless innings in a post-season in MLB history.
Lindor quickly prevented the streak from going any further, however, as he blasted a pitch from opener Ryan Brasier into the right field seats to begin the contest. The Mets then broke the game open with five runs off Landon Knack in the second inning.
Starling Marte started the second with a single for his first of three hits on the day, and Knack walked Jesse Winker before surrendering Tyrone Taylor's one-out double that plated Marte for a 2-0 lead.
After Lindor was intentionally walked to load the bases with two out, Vientos extended the margin to 6-0 with his third homer of this post-season.
Manaea kept the Dodgers off the board until Max Muncy's solo homer in the fifth, though the left-hander departed after issuing back-to-back walks to Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernandez to start the bottom of the sixth.
After an error by Mets second baseman Jose Iglesias loaded the bases, Tommy Edman drove in Betts and Hernandez with a single off Phil Maton to bring Los Angeles within 6-3.
The Dodgers threatened again in the eighth by putting two on with two out, but New York closer Edwin Diaz got Enrique Hernandez to fly out and protect the Mets' three-run cushion.
After Marte singled in Pete Alonso in the top of the ninth for the Mets' final run, Diaz worked out of another jam in the bottom of the inning by striking out Betts, Teoscar Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in succession with two runners on.
The Mets will now host the next three games of this best-of-seven series, with Game 3 to take place Wednesday.
Rodon pitches Yankees to 1-0 lead over Guardians in ALCS
New York's other team also came out a winner on Monday, as the Yankees opened the American League Championship Series with a 5-2 victory over the Cleveland Guardians behind six sharp innings from Carlos Rodon.
Rodon struck out nine without a walk and held Cleveland to one run on three hits to help give the Yankees the early upper hand in this clash between the AL's two best teams of the regular season. The left-hander did not permit a run until Brayan Rocchio led off the top of the sixth with a solo homer.
Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton backed Rodon's gem with solo homers, and the Yankees also capitalised on seven walks and five wild pitches thrown by Cleveland hurlers.
Top-seeded New York will attempt to take a 2-0 lead behind ace Gerrit Cole on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium, with the Guardians slated to throw 12-game winner Tanner Bibee.
Soto started the scoring with a lead-off homer off Alex Cobb that ignited a three-run third inning for the Yankees. Cobb would issue three walks before departing with two out in favour of Joey Cantillo, who uncorked a pair of wild pitches that enabled Aaron Judge and Stanton to score.
Cantillo threw two more wild pitches after walking Gleyber Torres in the fourth, which set up Judge's sacrifice fly that brought in Torres for a 4-0 lead.
Rocchio's homer in the sixth got Cleveland on the board, but the Yankees countered in the seventh on Stanton's 13th career post-season homer.
The Guardians made a bid to get back in it in the eighth with three singles off reliever Tim Hill, including Steven Kwan's hit that knocked in Andres Gimenez and trimmed the deficit to 5-2.
New York then summoned closer Luke Weaver, who struck out pinch-hitter Will Brennan and retired All-Star Jose Ramirez on an inning-ending groundout to strand two runners.
Weaver recorded three more strikeouts in the ninth to end the game and earn his fourth save of the post-season.
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