MLB roundup: Adam Wainwright beats Milwaukee Brewers for 200th win
Wainwright (5-11) struck out three batters and walked two to join Bob Gibson (251) and Jesse Haines (210) as the only Cardinals pitchers to reach the 200-victory plateau with the team.
John King retired two batters in the eighth inning and closer Ryan Helsley got the last four outs for his 12th save. Willson Contreras homered in the fourth inning for the Cardinals to provide the game's only run.
Starter Freddy Peralta (12-9) allowed one run on four hits in six innings for the Brewers (84-66). He struck out six batters and walked nobody.
Phillies 7, Braves 1
Zack Wheeler pitched six strong innings and visiting Philadelphia matched its season high with five homers in a win over Atlanta in the opener of a three-game series.
Philadelphia has won three of its last four games and leads idle Arizona by 3 1/2 games for the No. 1 National League wild-card spot. Atlanta has lost four in a row. Wheeler (12-6) allowed one run on three hits and two walks while striking out five. He recorded his 200th strikeout of the season, doing so for the second time in his career. The Philadelphia home runs came from Johan Rojas, his second, Bryce Harper, his 18th, J.T. Realmuto, his 19th, Nick Castellanos, his 25th, and Kyle Schwarber, his 45th.
Three of the home runs came against Atlanta starter Kyle Wright (0-3). Making his second start since returning from shoulder inflammation that caused him to miss 110 games, he pitched four innings and allowed four runs on five hits, with four walks and five strikeouts.
Orioles 8, Astros 7
Cedric Mullins socked a go-ahead, three-run home run with one out in the top of the ninth inning as Baltimore rallied for a stunning victory over host Houston.
Mullins drove a 2-1 slider from Astros closer Ryan Pressly (3-5) 425 feet out to right-center field, plating Ryan O'Hearn and Austin Hays, who started the rally with back-to-back singles. O'Hearn went 5-for-5 with two RBIs and a run for the Orioles, who have won three games in a row.
The Astros have a 1 1/2-game lead over the Rangers and Mariners in the American League West, while Baltimore extended its lead in the AL East to 2 1/2 games over the idle Tampa Bay Rays. Houston starter Jason Verlander allowed three runs on eight hits in six innings, while Orioles starter John Means gave up one run on four hits in five innings.
Padres 11, Rockies 9
Garrett Cooper, Luis Campusano and Eguy Rosario all homered as San Diego built an eight-run lead, then held on to beat visiting Colorado. The Padres pushed their winning streak to a season-best five games.
The Rockies scored two runs in the sixth, eighth and ninth and had the tying runs on first and second when Brenton Doyle flied out to end the game. Josh Hader got the final out, securing his 30th save of the season.
Michael Wacha (12-4) allowed three runs, two earned, in five innings for the win. Ty Blach (3-2) yielded seven runs in 3 2/3 innings. Nolan Jones and Brendan Rodgers each had three hits for the Rockies, and Jones homered.
Dodgers 8, Tigers 3
J.D. Martinez homered twice among his three hits and drove in five runs as Los Angeles opened its final homestand of the regular season with a victory against Detroit.
Miguel Rojas added a home run for the Dodgers, who clinched the National League West title Saturday. They won their fourth game in a row. Los Angeles is 3 1/2 games behind Atlanta in the chase for the best record in the NL, with the Braves holding the tiebreaker. Lance Lynn (12-11), who is expected to be one of the Dodgers' top three starters heading into the postseason, allowed three runs - all on a fifth-inning home run by Jake Rogers, in five innings.
Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (11-9) gave up five runs in three-plus innings for the Tigers, who saw their four-game winning streak end. He departed in the fourth with an undisclosed injury.
Royals 6, Guardians 4
Drew Waters' two-run double during a fourth-run eighth inning led Kansas City to a comeback win over visiting Cleveland.
The Guardians' Trevor Stephan (6-7) hit a batter and walked three in the eighth, driving in one run and loading the bases ahead of Waters' double off Enyel De Los Santos. Waters had two of Kansas City's six hits, snapping his 0-for-12 slump. Jackson Kowar (2-0) earned the win with a scoreless eighth for the Royals and James McArthur collected his first career save with a perfect ninth.
Andres Gimenez collected three of the Guardians' nine hits and stole his 29th base, and Gabriel Arias had two RBIs.
Reds 7, Twins 3
Rookie right-hander Connor Phillips provided a much-needed boost by throwing seven strong innings as Cincinnati defeated visiting Minnesota.
Phillips (1-0), who was making just his third career start after injuries and illness prompted his call-up from Triple-A Louisville, surrendered just two runs on three hits and a walk while striking out seven for his first big league win. He gave up solo home runs to Royce Lewis and Alex Kirilloff but retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced.
The Twins, who lead the American League Central, missed a chance to further lower their magic number. It stood at five going into the game because the Cleveland Guardians lost to Kansas City earlier.
Mets 2, Marlins 1
Jeff McNeil slugged a tiebreaking solo homer in the top of the ninth inning to help New York defeat host Miami.
Miami had its three-game win streak snapped, damaging its standing in the National League wild-card race. The Marlins slipped one game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks and a half-game behind the Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds in the chase for the last two NL wild cards.
The Mets, who are out of contention, won their second straight game.
Red Sox 4, Rangers 2
Rob Refsnyder's two-RBI single highlighted a three-run eighth inning that lifted Boston over host Texas in the series opener in Arlington.
Rafael Devers, Bobby Dalbec and Luis Urias each logged multiple hits and scored a run. Urias also hit a game-tying single in the fifth. Kutter Crawford struck out seven over six innings of two-run ball, and Josh Winckowski (4-2) worked around two walks to strike out the side in his inning of work to earn the win.
Texas logged two hits against Crawford in its two run-scoring innings but totaled only five in the game. Marcus Semien was 2-for-4 with both RBIs. Will Smith (2-7) gave up three runs on two hits in only one-third of an inning.
White Sox 6, Nationals 1
Mike Clevinger came within one batter of pitching a shutout and Luis Robert Jr. smacked a three-run homer as Chicago defeated host Washington.
Clevinger (8-8) struck out seven batters and surrendered only six hits - including Dominic Smith's two-out home run in the bottom of the ninth inning - in a complete game. He has fanned 23 batters without issuing a walk in 26 September innings. It was his third career complete game, his first since 2020.
The Nationals dropped the opener of their final homestand of the season, giving them six defeats in the past seven games. Joan Adon (2-3) allowed five runs and nine hits in five-plus innings.
Mariners 5, Athletics 0
Bryan Woo thrilled family and friends with five shutout innings, Jose Caballero belted a two-run home run and visiting Seattle opened a three-game series against Oakland with a victory.
Woo (4-4) started a major league game in Oakland for the first time, miles from where he starred at Alameda High School. He survived a two-walk first inning to blank the A's on three hits and four walks. The right-hander struck out six.
A's starter JP Sears (5-12) gave up four runs on six hits and four walks in 5 2/3 innings. He fanned six.