The San Diego Padres were one strike away from padding their lead atop the NL wild-card standings.

The Detroit Tigers' Parker Meadows changed that with one swing of the bat.

Down 3-0 with two outs and two strikes in the top of the ninth inning, Meadows hit a grand slam to stun the Padres and send the Tigers to a thrilling 4-3 win on Thursday.

Parker hit a 101 mph four-seam fastball off Robert Suarez that travelled 361 feet and landed just over the short left-field fence in San Diego.

San Diego (80-62) lost for the first time in four games and its lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks shrunk to just one-half game for the NL's top wild-card spot.

Jurickson Profar and Xander Bogaerts each homered for the Padres, who end the regular season with a three-game series at Arizona.

Meadows' homer was just his sixth of the season and lifted the Tigers (71-70) back over .500 and within five games of the Royals for the AL's final wild-card spot.

Braves lose, now tied for final NL wild card spot

The Atlanta Braves suffered a 3-1 loss to the last-place Colorado Rockies to drop into a tie for the league's final wild-card berth with the idle New York Mets.

Atlanta and New York have identical 76-64 records with 22 games remaining.

The Braves, who got their lone run on Ramón Laureano's RBI single in the first inning, managed just five hits with Orlando Arcia's second inning-double the only one going for extra bases in the finale with the Rockies (52-89).

Colorado's Michael Toglia and Ezequiel Tovar each hit solo homers off Atlanta starting pitcher Reynaldo Lopez, who gave up three other hits while striking out 11 without a walk in his six innings of work.

Rockies starter Austin Gomber went eight innings, yielding a run and five hits without issuing a walk while striking out six.

Phillies push winning streak to five

The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Miami Marlins 5-2 to extend their winning streak to five games and increase their lead atop the NL East to eight games.

Bryson Stott hit an RBI single in the first inning and a long solo homer during Philadelphia's four-run sixth inning.

Kody Clemens knocked in a pair of runs with a double in the sixth and later came around to score on a wild pitch.

Ranger Suarez gave up three hits over five scoreless innings for the Phillies (84-56), who have won 10 of 12.

The Marlins (52-88) scored their first run in the seventh on an RBI single by Jesús Sánchez and plated their final run an inning later on a throwing error by Clemens.

J. D. Martinez highlighted a seven-run third with a grand slam and Kodai Senga won his season debut before leaving with an injury as the New York Mets remained red hot with an 8-4 win over the struggling Atlanta Braves on Friday night. 

Senga allowed two runs – both on Adam Duvall’s second-inning home run – and two hits over 5 1/3 innings with one walk and nine strikeouts after spending the first four months of the season on the injured list with a right shoulder strain.

He left in the sixth when he strained his left calf after throwing 73 pitches. Senga will have an MRI on Saturday.

New York won its fifth straight and moved past the Braves for the NL’s top wild card. The Mets (55-48) are a season-high seven games over .500 following their 11th win in 14 games.

The Mets reached Charlie Morton for seven runs in the third.

After Tyrone Taylor reached on an error by third baseman Austin Riley, Francisco Lindor was hit by a pitch and Brandon Nimmo walked. Martinez then belted his ninth career grand slam to give the Mets a 4-2 lead. Morton retired Pete Alonso, but Jeff McNeil doubled and Vientos followed with his 14th home run. One out later, Francisco Alvarez homered to make it 7-2.

Duvall hit his second home run of the game in the ninth and Marcell Ozuna added his 29th, but the Braves lost their season-high sixth straight. That is their longest slide since another six-game skid from Sept. 25-30, 2017.

Profar’s blasts power streaking Padres

Jurickson Profar hit his second two-run homer to snap a ninth-inning tie and the San Diego Padres won their sixth straight, 6-4 over the Baltimore Orioles.

Profar took struggling Orioles closer Craig Kimbrel deep in the ninth to score Luis Campusano, who singled with one out.

Kimbrel blew saves in two of his previous three appearances and has allowed eight runs in his last 3 2/3 innings.

Profar hit his first two-run shot of the game off Grayson Rodriguez in the sixth to erase a 2-0 deficit.

San Diego had 13 hits and used eight pitchers one day after Dylan Cease threw a no-hitter at Washington.

Anthony Santander and Jordan Westburg homered for the first-place Orioles, who have lost four of five and nine of 13.

Red Sox rally, overcome Judge’s long home run

Masataka Yoshida capped a three-run eighth with a two-run single and the Boston Red Sox overcame Aaron Judge’s major league-leading 36th home run in a come-from-behind 9-7 win over the reeling New York Yankees.

Judge’s three-run blast in the seventh gave the Yankees a 6-4 lead and was measured at 470 feet. It landed in a small section of stands above a back wall and below a videoboard.

Austin Wells followed with a solo shot to make it 7-4.

The Red Sox got two runs back in the bottom half on Ceddanne Rafaela’s two-run homer off Luke Weaver that went over the Green Monster and out of Fenway Park.

Weaver allowed Rob Refsnyder’s third hit of the game to lead off the eighth and walked Connor Wong.

Clay Holmes relieved with one out and allowed Wilyer Abreu’s tying double before Yoshida singled home two runs.

The Yankees have lost five of six and are 10-23 since a 50-22 start.

Jose Ramirez hit a three-run homer and Gabriel Arias had three hits and three RBIs as the Cleveland Guardians won their seventh straight, 10-8 over the struggling Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night.

Bo Naylor fell a home run shy of the cycle and scored three runs as Cleveland collected 14 hits and went 7 for 11 with runners in scoring position.

Ramirez’s drive to center capped a five-run fourth that extended Cleveland’s lead to 8-4. With 237 homers, he’s now in sole possession of third place on the franchise’s career list.

The major league-leading Guardians used five relievers after Logan Allen was tagged for six runs and nine hits over three-plus innings.

Emmanuel Clase pitched the ninth for his AL-best 25th save.

Jordan Westburg went 4 for 4 and Gunnar Henderson, Colton Cowser, James McCann and Anthony Santander homered for the Orioles, who lost their season-high fifth straight.

Santander’s home run was his 12th this month, tying the club record for June shared by Boog Powell (1964), Rafael Palmeiro (1998), Albert Belle (2000) and Chris Davis (2013).

Surging Mets rough up Cole

Mark Vientos homered twice off Gerrit Cole and the New York Mets took the New York Yankees’ ace deep four times before holding on for a 9-7 victory in the first Subway Series matchup of the season.

Reed Garrett gave up Aaron Judge’s grand slam – his major league-leading 29th home run – in the eighth inning but worked a perfect ninth to preserve the Mets’ 10th win in 12 games.

Vientos led off the second with his first home run of the night and Harrison Bader connected against his former teammate one out later.

Vientos opened the fourth with another longball to extend the Mets’ lead to 4-0 and Brandon Nimmo’s two-run shot off Cole in the inning made it 6-0.

Cole allowed six runs on seven hits in four innings with four walks and no strikeouts in his second start of the season.

He surrendered a career-high five home runs at Minnesota on June 9, 2022.

Juan Soto also went deep for the Yankees, who have lost seven of nine but maintain a two-game lead over Baltimore in the AL East.

Padres’ Profar hits grand slam after benches empty

Jurickson Profar broke open the game with a grand slam after he was the focal point of a benches-clearing dustup and Manny Machado had a two-run homer as the San Diego Padres defeated the Washington Nationals 9-6.

With one out in the first inning, Washington catcher Keibert Ruiz jawed at Profar and put a hand on his shoulder just before his at-bat. Machado, who was on deck, then put a hand on Ruiz’s shoulder as he got in between them, and players and coaches from both teams swarmed onto the field.

Plate umpire Brian Walsh warned both teams, and Nationals pitcher MacKenzie Gore hit Profar with a pitch but wasn’t ejected.

Machado followed by taking Gore deep for a 2-0 lead.

Profar’s fourth career grand slam and second this season came in the sixth off Derek Law and extended the lead to 9-4.

The Nationals apparently felt Profar trolled them after hitting a walk-off, two-run single in the 10th inning in Monday’s 7-6 win.

The San Diego Padres delivered an unbelievable five-run seventh-inning rally to progress to the NLCS for the first time in 24 years and end the Los Angeles Dodgers' record-breaking season prematurely.

The Padres had lost Game 1 of the NLDS and trailed 3-0 halfway through the seventh inning in Game 4 against the Dodgers, who have dominated them for the past decade and had notched a franchise-best 111-51 regular season.

But San Diego found a way in front of the largest crowd in Petco Park history, booking their maiden NLCS appearance since 1998, where they will take on the Philadelphia Phillies, after they beat the Atlanta Braves 8-3 on Saturday.

Jake Cronenworth delivered a go-ahead two-run single as the Padres rallied with five hits and five runs in the seventh inning after managing only four hits in six innings prior to that.

Freddie Freeman lined a two-run double in the third inning before Will Smith's seventh-inning sacrifice fly for Mookie Betts had put the Dodgers 3-0 up, the latter marking the first run the Padres bullpen had conceded all series.

San Diego responded in a crazy inning, with Austin Nola bouncing to the right side to plate Jurickson Profar, before Kim Ha-seong's left-field line drive drove in Trent Grisham to make it 3-2.

Juan Soto tied the game up with a shot into right field, before Jake Cronenworth's go-ahead two-run double turned the crowd raucous.

Closer Josh Hader struck out Freeman to clinch the win and slay the dragon from down the road at long last.

The defeat ended the campaign for the Dodgers, whose 111 regular-season wins were the fourth-most wins in MLB history and the most by a National League (NL) team since 1906.

Yankees facing elimination after Gonzalez walkoff

Oscar Gonzalez stole the show and the win for the Cleveland Guardians with a two-run single with two outs in the ninth inning to earn a 6-5 win over the New York Yankees and a 2-1 ALDS lead.

Gonzalez hit the walk-off shot when he lined a 1-2 pitch from Clarke Schmidt through the middle to bring home Stevan Kwan and Amed Rosario.

That came after the Yankees had rallied from an early 2-0 deficit as Aaron Judge snapped his postseason skid with a two-run home run. New York had carried a 5-3 lead into the ninth inning.

The Yankees bullpen flopped, meaning they are facing an early exit when the ALDS resumes on Sunday at Yankee Stadium.

Astros advance after Pena ends epic

Jeremy Pena blasted an 18th-inning solo shot to advance the Houston Astros to the ALCS for the sixth straight season, ending an epic 1-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners and completing the sweep.

Luis Garcia closed out six hours and 22 minutes of prolonged postseason action, after Pena sent Penn Murfee into the seats over left-center field with a 415-foot blast.

Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby had been brilliant with five strikeouts across seven innings, but Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr overcame illness to send down seven K's across six innings, while Houston's bullpen only allowed five hits and struck out 15.

The game was only the fourth to last 18 innings in MLB postseason history, and the first in postseason history to go scoreless through 17 innings. 

The San Diego Padres tied up the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers with a nail-biting 5-3 victory in a game that included five solo home runs on Wednesday.

Manny Machado played a key role going two-for-five, including a first-inning solo homer along with a third-inning RBI, while Jurickson Profar got his fifth RBI this postseason to put the Padres up 4-3 in the sixth inning.

Jake Cronenworth added another with a solo blast over right-field in the eighth inning before Josh Hader closed it out.

Yu Darvish pitched five innings with seven strikeouts but allowed seven hits and three runs.

The Dodgers had their chances, with nine batters left on base, while they did not have a hit with a runner in scoring position all night.

Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy and Trea Turner all scored solo home runs for the Dodgers. Freeman, who went two-for-four, got on base with a ninth-inning double but Will Smith was caught short of the wall in right-field by Juan Soto to end it.

Clayton Kershaw had six K's across five innings for the Dodgers, restoring his position as the MLB's all-time leading postseason strikeout leader with 213.

Pitcher Brusdar Graterol made a key play down 4-3 in the sixth inning, throwing out Wil Myers at home from a Trent Grisham bunt, but the Dodgers could not capitalise with the Padres' bullpen again exceptional, led by Robert Suarez.

The next two games of the NLDS are at Petco Park where the Padres will be playing in front of their fans in a postseason game for the first time since 2006.

Wright leads Braves to level up with Phillies

Kyle Wright threw six stellar innings as the Atlanta Braves squared the NLDS as they blanked the Philadelphia Phillies 3-0.

After a lengthy rain delay, Wright allowed only two hits with one walk, whilst striking out six Phillies, before reliever A.J. Minter pitched a perfect seventh inning.

The Braves piled on all three runs in the sixth inning with three consecutive two-out singles, as Ronald Acuna Jr overcame a 96mph fastball from Zack Wheeler to his elbow to break the tie, driven in by Matt Olson whose line hit got by first baseman Rhys Hoskins on an in-between hop.

Austin Riley's gentle dribble got Dansby Swanson to home plate, before Travis d'Arnaud grounded to center-field to drive in Olson.