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
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS