The Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday clinched the National League (NL) Central title with help from the MLB-leading Atlanta Braves.
Milwaukee claimed the division crown for the third time in six seasons, despite a 4-1 loss to the last-placed St Louis Cardinals and with the help of a come-from-behind win by the Braves.
Milwaukee clinched their second division crown in three seasons when the Chicago Cubs dropped a 7-6 decision to the Braves. Atlanta overcame a six-run deficit to eliminate the wild-card contending Cubs from the division race.
Photo: Michael McLoone-USA TODAY
The Milwaukee crowd roared as the ninth inning of the Cubs-Braves game was shown on the scoreboard.
“You could just sense something was going on in the stands a little bit,” Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said. “Then I turned behind me and looked down the tunnel and some of the clubhouse guys were scurrying around way too fast for us losing 4-1. So I knew something was going on then.”
The Brewers had clinched no worse than a wild-card berth on Friday, with a 16-1 win over the Miami Marlins, but they missed two chances to clinch the division title by losing to Miami on Saturday and Sunday, scoring a total of five runs in those two games.
“It’s so fun and something you want to do,” Milwaukee rookie Sal Frelick said, as teammates poured beer down the back of his new Central Division Champions shirt. “It’s something I’ve never experienced. It’s so fun, something I want to do for a long time.”
Meanwhile in Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Phillies put the NL on notice that they are ready for another run at the World Series after a 10-inning, 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Phillies also clinched the top wild-card seed and are to host all games in the second year of the National League wild-card series.
In Denver, the Colorado Rockies lost 11-2 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the second game of their doubleheader to record their first 100-loss season.
Chase Anderson pitched five scoreless innings for his first win in 17 starts this season and Nolan Jones homered in Colorado’s 4-1 win in the opener.
In Seattle, there was an unexpected moment of anxiousness for Mariners pitcher George Kirby and his team in the sixth inning of their 6-2 win over the Houston Astros after a foul ball hit into the stands behind the third base dugout was thrown back by a fan and grazed the pitcher.
Kirby was looking toward home plate and asking for a new ball from home plate umpire David Rackley when the ball came over the protective netting and brushed the front of his jersey in his midsection.
“It surprised the hell out of me. I thought it was the umpire because I had my hand up, asked for the ball. Thought he had threw it,” Kirby said. “I mean, it was an impressive throw. I’ll give him that, but, you know, what the heck?”
Seattle manager Scott Servais only saw it out of the corner of his eye and was instantly confused about what had taken place. The ball rolled over to first baseman Ty France, who threw it out of play.
“I’ve never seen it before and certainly in our home park,” Servais said.
The fan, who was wearing a Mariners jersey, was quickly identified by stadium officials and escorted out.
“The fact that he threw it at our starting pitcher in maybe the most critical game of the year — interesting, but you know, never a dull moment around the Mariners,” Servais said.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, the Arizona Diamondbacks dominated the Chicago White Sox 15-4, the Baltimore Orioles blanked the Washington Nationals 1-0, the New York Yankees blew past the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0, the Los Angeles Angels topped the Texas Rangers 9-3 and the San Diego Padres defeated the San Francisco Giants 4-0.
The Minneapolis Twins devastated the Oakland Athletics 11-3, the Tampa Bay Rays survived the Boston Red Sox 9-7, the Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals 6-3 and the Cincinnati Reds downed the Cleveland Guardians 11-7.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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