CINCINNATI (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers wrapped up their second straight postseason appearance Wednesday night, with Ryan Braun’s grand slam sparking a 9-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds that also tightened the NL Central race.
The Brewers have won six in a row and 17 of 19 despite losing MVP Christian Yelich to a broken kneecap, vaulting from also-ran to at least a wild card. There’s more at their fingertips — the division-leading Cardinals lost again, slicing their lead over the Brewers to 1 1/2 games.
Milwaukee trails Washington by one game for the wild card lead.
The Brewers jogged onto the field and formed a scrum by second base after when Junior Guerra got Christian Colon on a grounder for the final out.
TWINS 5, TIGERS 1
DETROIT (AP) —Luis Arraez and Eddie Rosario homered, Randy Dobnak allowed one hit in six innings and Minnesota beat Detroit, then won the AL Central title when Cleveland lost to the White Sox in Chicago.
Minnesota earned its first division title since 2010 and only its second postseason appearance since then. The Twins (98-60) have their highest victory total since the 1970 team also won 98 games.
Dobnak (2-1) allowed no scoring after an unearned run in the first. Arraez hit a two-run homer in the seventh off Drew VerHagen (4-3). Nelson Cruz added an RBI single in the eighth, and Rosario’s two-run shot that inning made it 5-1.
ASTROS 3,
MARINERS 0
SEATTLE (AP) — Zack Greinke came within two outs of pitching the third no-hitter by Houston this year, losing his bid on a single by Seattle rookie Austin Nola in the ninth inning.
Greinke (18-5) was in complete control while trying for his first career no-hitter. He drew cheers from the orange-shirted Astros fans when he took the mound to begin the ninth and retired Tom Murphy on a grounder.
NATIONALS 5,
PHILLIES 3
WASHINGTON (AP) — Wilmer Difo drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI single in the seventh inning and Anibal Sanchez pitched seven solid innings to help Washington beat Philadelphia.
Washington faced a 2-1 deficit when Asdrubal Cabrera singled and Yan Gomes doubled with one out in the seventh. Victor Robles followed with a sacrifice fly that tied it. Difo, who was making his first start since May 16, followed with a single to right-center off reliever Mike Morin (1-3) that scored Gomes.
DIAMONDBACKS 9, CARDINALS 7
PHOENIX (AP) — Pinch-hitter Paul Goldschmidt grounded into a game-ending double play with two runners on the base and NL Central-leading St. Louis fell short in a ninth-inning rally against Arizona.
St. Louis and Arizona were back on the field about 11 hours after the Diamondbacks’ 3-2 victory in 19 innings, a game that took nearly seven hours. Cardinals starter Michael Wacha was pulled in the second inning with tightness in his right shoulder.
PIRATES 4, CUBS 2
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The collapsing Chicago Cubs were eliminated from playoff contention shortly before losing their eighth straight game, falling to Pittsburgh.
Back-to-back wild pitches by David Phelps in the eighth inning enabled Pittsburgh to score the winning run. Just before Phelps’ bout with wildness, Milwaukee clinched the second NL wild card with a victory at Cincinnati. The Cubs will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
WHITE SOX 8,
INDIANS 3
CHICAGO (AP) — Shane Bieber got tagged early and Cleveland lost ground in the AL wild-card race, falling to Chicagot. The Indians’ loss clinched the AL Central title for Minnesota.
Cleveland lost for the second time in its last nine tries and dropped 1½ games behind Tampa Bay for the second AL wild-card spot.
METS 10, MARLINS 3
NEW YORK (AP) — Pete Alonso hit his major league-high 51st home run, one short of the rookie record, and Jacob deGrom made his last overpowering pitch for a repeat Cy Young Award as New York routed Miami in an easy win that wasn’t enough to keep the Mets in the playoff hunt.
New York was eliminated from the NL wild-card race when Milwaukee secured the league’s final postseason berth by completing a 9-2 victory in Cincinnati as the Mets batted in the eighth.
RAYS 4, YANKEES 0
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Charlie Morton and the Tampa Bay bullpen combined on a one-hitter and the Rays held their lead in the AL wild-card race, beating New York.
Tampa Bay is in the second wild-card spot, 1½ games ahead of Cleveland and a half-game behind Oakland. The Rays swept a two-game series from the 102-win Yankees, holding them to DJ LeMahieu’s soft, clean single to right field with two outs in the sixth inning off Morton (16-6).
BRAVES 10, ROYALS 2
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Josh Donaldson had a career-high three doubles while driving in four runs, Dansby Swanson had a career-high four hits while driving in two, and NL East champion Atlanta cruised past Kansas City.
With their playoff seed secure and nothing on the line, the Braves sent reliever Josh Tomlin to the mound for his first start of the season. Luke Jackson (9-2) was among six relievers to go the rest of the way, helping the Braves snap a four-game skid to the Royals.
RED SOX 10,
RANGERS 3
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Christian Vázquez, Mitch Moreland and Rafael Devers homered, and Rick Porcello won what could be his final start for Boston.
Porcello (14-12), who will be a free agent, allowed all three runs on six hits, no walks and two hit batters in six innings. He matched a season high with eight strikeouts and retired his last 11 batters.
BLUE JAYS 3,
ORIOLES 2
TORONTO (AP) — Rowdy Tellez hit two solo home runs, Jacob Waguespack pitched six shutout innings and Toronto beat Baltimore.
Tellez hit a leadoff drive against right-hander Gabriel Ynoa (1-10) in the fourth, then followed up with an opposite-field shot off left-hander Paul Fry to begin the sixth.
DODGERS 6, PADRES 4
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Joc Pederson homered twice, including his franchise-record ninth leadoff shot, and pinch-hitter Edwin Rios had a tiebreaking shot in the seventh to help Los Angeles beat San Diego.
Chris Taylor also homered for the Dodgers, who have won three straight and four of five.