MLB roundup: Tigers clinch wild card as White Sox set new loss record
The White Sox (39-121) set the modern-day record for most losses in a single season, surpassing the expansion 1962 New York Mets. The Tigers, who won their sixth straight game, secured an American League wild-card berth.
Detroit opener Brenan Hanifee allowed one hit in two scoreless innings. Brant Hurter (6-1) gave up one run on two hits over the next four frames.
Chicago starter Garrett Crochet tossed four scoreless innings, allowing four hits and a walk while striking out six. Zach DeLoach hit his first career homer in the top of the sixth.
Padres 5 Diamondbacks 3
Luis Arraez went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a triple, a run and an RBI to help San Diego post a victory over Arizona in the opener of a pivotal three-game series at Phoenix.
Jackson Merrill and David Peralta each had two hits and one RBI as San Diego clinched the top wild-card spot and No. 4 seed in the National League playoffs. The Padres will host a yet-to-be-determined opponent beginning on Tuesday.
Arizona lost for the fourth time in five games and is part of a three-way virtual tie for the other two wild-card spots with the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets. Corbin Carroll homered and Eugenio Suarez had two hits for the Diamondbacks.
Brewers 8 Mets 4
Rhys Hoskins hit a first-inning grand slam and Milwaukee went on to hand visiting New York a costly loss, in the opener of a three-game series with significant postseason implications.
The Mets, playing for the first time since Tuesday after a pair of hurricane-related postponements in Atlanta, dropped into a tie for the final two National League wild-card spots with the Braves, who blanked the Kansas City Royals 3-0, and the Arizona Diamondbacks (88-72), who lost 5-3 to the San Diego Padres.
The Brewers, who clinched the NL Central last week, have secured the No. 3 seed in the playoffs and will host a wild-card series next week.
Braves 3 Royals 0
Max Fried scattered three hits over 8 2/3 scoreless innings and Sean Murphy belted a two-run homer to lift host Atlanta over Kansas City.
Marcell Ozuna scored on a throwing error in the eighth inning for the Braves, who have won four in a row to move within a half-game of both the New York Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks for one of the final two wild-card spots in the National League. The Mets and Diamondbacks were playing their respective games later Friday night.
Michael Massey had two doubles for the Royals, who saw their three-game winning streak end. Kansas City still punched its ticket to the postseason after the Minnesota Twins fell to the Baltimore Orioles.
Dodgers 11 Rockies 4
Shohei Ohtani added to his record-breaking season with four hits, including a home run, and four RBIs, and Los Angeles moved closer to clinching the best record in the majors with a win over Colorado in Denver.
Ohtani also stole his 57th base to set a single-season record by a Japanese-born player. Ohtani singled twice, doubled and hit a three-run homer into the second deck in right field during Los Angeles' four-run sixth inning, his 54th. Los Angeles can clinch the best record in baseball with a win Saturday night.
Ezequiel Tovar and Nolan Jones had two hits apiece for Colorado (61-99).