DENVER (AP) - The playoff-bound Colorado Rockies are headed to Los Angeles for a tiebreaking game to decide the NL West title after routing the Washington Nationals 12-0 on Sunday behind Charlie Blackmon’s cycle.
Tied atop the division with the Dodgers entering the last day, the Rockies won for the ninth time in 10 games, while Los Angeles routed San Francisco to send the season to Game 163.
The one-game tiebreaker will be Monday at Dodger Stadium, and the loser goes to the Chicago Cubs or Milwaukee for Tuesday’s wild-card game.
Nolan Arenado hit two of the Rockies’ five homers and took over the National League lead with 37, one more than teammate Trevor Story - who also went deep. David Dahl homered for the sixth time in seven games.
Colorado (91-71), is trying for its first division title.
Blackmon finished off his first career cycle and the ninth in Rockies history with a double in the eighth. He tripled in the first, homered in the third, singled in the fifth and struck out in the sixth.
Tyler Anderson (7-9) didn’t look the least bit bothered by a sore shoulder that sidelined him for about a week. He scattered four hits over 7 2/3 innings for his first win since July 4.
Arenado got the Rockies rolling in the first, with a two-run shot off Erick Fedde (2-4), who was starting after the Nationals elected to skip NL Cy Young Award candidate Max Scherzer.
DODGERS 15, GIANTS 0
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Justin Turner and free-swinging Los Angeles headed for a one-game showdown against Colorado, jumping on San Francisco from the start in a win for a weekend sweep.
Walker Buehler was set to start for the Dodgers (91-71) as the defending NL champions try for a sixth straight West title.
Rich Hill (11-5) pitched two-hit ball for seven innings to keep the playoff-bound Dodgers on a roll.
Manny Machado, Matt Kemp and Max Muncy all joined the hit parade as Los Angeles left nothing to chance in Game No. 162. Kemp had a two-run double and RBI single among his three hits.
Los Angeles followed up an 18-hit performance Saturday with 16 more to finish with 43 in the three-game series.
Chris Taylor drew a walk from Andrew Suarez (7-13) to begin the game, Turner followed with an RBI double and the rout was on. Brian Dozier’s two-run homer and a two-run double by Kemp highlighted a seven-run third inning.
CUBS 10, CARDINALS 5
CHICAGO (AP) - Anthony Rizzo had four hits and scored three times, and Chicago set up a tiebreaker game for the NL Central title.
Jorge De La Rosa worked a hitless ninth inning to move the Cubs back into a tie with the Brewers at 95-67. Chicago hosts Milwaukee on Monday afternoon, and the winner gets a spot in the division series and home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs. The loser plays again Tuesday night, hosting the runner-up in the NL West in the wild-card game.
Jack Flaherty (8-9) cruised into the third inning with a 2-0 lead and retired the first two batters, but the next six hitters reached, producing four runs. Rizzo hit a tiebreaking double to give him 100 RBIs on the year, waving his arms in the air as he coasted into second. Jason Heyward added an RBI single.
Allen Webster (1-0), the first of eight Chicago relievers after Mike Montgomery was pulled in the third, got two outs for the win.
BREWERS 11, TIGERS 0
MILWAUKEE (AP) - Triple Crown contender Christian Yelich and Milwaukee advanced to an NL Central tiebreaker against Chicago with its seventh straight win.
Yelich went 0 for 2 with two walks and scored twice, ending his 10-game hitting streak. He is hitting .323 in his first season with Milwaukee, locking up the first batting title in Brewers’ history.
Yelich has 109 RBIs, tied with Colorado’s Nolan Arenado and two behind leader Javier Baez of the Cubs. Yelich’s 36 home runs are tied with Colorado’s Trevor Story and St. Louis’ Matt Carpenter, one behind Arenado.
The tiebreakers are considered game No. 163 of the regular season, meaning Yelich’s stats - and those of Arenado and Baez - from Monday’s game will count in the totals. The last NL player to win the Triple Crown was Joe Medwick in 1937 for the Cardinals.
Gio Gonzalez (10-11) toiled efficiently through five scoreless innings in his fifth start since being acquired on Aug. 31 from Washington.
Jesus Aguilar hit his 35th homer, connecting in the fourth off Spencer Turnbull (0-2). Aguilar added an RBI grounder in the seventh.
RED SOX 10, YANKEES 2
BOSTON (AP) - Mookie Betts claimed the big league batting title and J.D. Martinez hit his 43rd homer to lead AL East champion Boston into the playoffs with its franchise-record 108th win.
Five days before they might meet in the postseason for the first time since Boston’s epic comeback in their cathartic 2004 World Series championship run, the teams ran out 41 players in a meaningless Game 162. Red Sox manager Alex Cora compared it to the final day of spring training.
Betts finished with a major league-best .346 average, Martinez drove in three to give him an AL-best 130 RBIs, and Rick Porcello pitched two innings of no-hit ball before leaving with a 7-0 lead in his final tuneup for the postseason. The 2016 AL Cy Young Award winner is expected to start Game 3 of the ALDS, following Chris Sale and David Price to the mound.
Eduardo Rodriguez (13-5) was credited with the win by the official scorer as the most effective reliever. Yankees starter Luis Cessa (1-4) got just one out.
ANGELS 5, ATHLETICS 4
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Mike Scioscia ended his 19-year run as Los Angeles manager with a win over playoff-bound Oakland when Taylor Ward hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the ninth inning.
Scioscia, the longest-tenured manager in the major leagues, finished with a 1,650-1,428 record, including 80-82. He guided the franchise to its only World Series title in 2002.
The A’s (97-65) will face the Yankees in New York in the AL wild-card game on Wednesday.
With Los Angeles trailing 4-2, Shohei Ohtani singled off Chris Hatcher (3-3) leading off the ninth, Jefry Marte hit an RBI double and Ward followed with a drive to left-center.
Parker Bridwell (1-0) pitched the ninth for the win.
TWINS 5, WHITE SOX 4
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Joe Mauer received one more pitch as catcher, and Minnesota likely said goodbye to the longtime face of its franchise during an emotional win over Chicago.
The 35-year-old Mauer was playing the final game of an eight-year, $184 million contract. He doubled into the left-center gap with a line drive off Juan Minaya in his final at-bat.
The 2009 AL MVP then made a surprise appearance behind the plate in the ninth, his first time catching in a game since Aug. 19, 2013. He caught one pitch from Matt Belisle, then walked off to a final standing ovation and was replaced by Chris Gimenez.
Max Kepler and Jake Cave homered for the Twins, and reliever Andrew Vasquez (1-0) earned the victory for the Twins with one perfect inning of relief. Trevor May replaced Belisle and got three straight outs with the tying run on second in the ninth to earn his third save.
Dylan Covey (5-14) gave up five runs over six innings as Chicago lost its 100th game.
ORIOLES 4, ASTROS 0
BALTIMORE (AP) - Baltimore ended a trying season with a salute to outfielder Adam Jones and a victory that could end up serving as a parting gift to manager Buck Showalter.
Jimmy Yacabonis, Paul Fry (1-2) and Mychal Givens combined on a one-hitter against the AL West champions, who open the playoffs at home Friday against Cleveland.
Baltimore finished at 47-115, the most losses in franchise history and the most for a big league team since Detroit’s 119 in 2003. The Orioles were only the fifth team since 1900 to lose 115 or more.
In the top of the ninth, Showalter sent Joey Rickard in to replace Jones, who received a standing ovation as he jogged off the field. Upon his arrival in the dugout, the chain of hugs and high-fives ended with his arms wrapped around Showalter.
Brad Peacock (3-5) gave up four runs in the fourth inning, getting only one out.
MARINERS 3, RANGERS 1
SEATTLE (AP) - Roenis Elias allowed one hit in five innings, and Seattle closed out the regular season with a win in what could be the final game of Adrian Beltre’s career.
The Texas third baseman has not announced whether this was his final season, although Sunday had the feeling of finality. Beltre played 4½ innings before being lifted before the bottom of the fifth, given a standing ovation by the crowd of 21,146. Beltre went 1 for 2 and finished with a .273 average, 15 homers and 65 RBIs.
Beltre, who spent five seasons with the Mariners from 2005-09, was given a standing ovation leading off the fifth inning as a “Thank You, Adrian” message was shown on the video board. Beltre tipped his helmet to the crowd before flying out to right field. Beltre took the field for the bottom of the fifth and was replaced by Jurickson Profar, receiving hugs from all of his teammates on the field and in the dugout.
Elias (3-1) struck out four and walked none in a game that took just 2 hours, 14 minutes. David Freitas had an RBI double and Andrew Romine a run-scoring single off Yovani Gallardo (8-8) in the second inning. Kyle Seager added a sacrifice fly in the fifth.
PIRATES 6, REDS 5, 10 INNINGS
CINCINNATI (AP) - Pablo Reyes scored on Jackson Stephens’ wild pitch in the top of the 10th inning, rallying Pittsburgh over Cincinnati.
The Reds were one of a record eight major league teams to finish with at least 95 losses this year. There were seven in 2002.
Starling Marte and Josh Bell homered for the Pirates, who finished 82-79 - their most wins since they last made the playoffs in 2015. They head into next season with a solid rotation and bullpen, their best hopes for getting back into contention in the NL Central.
Reyes doubled off Stephens (2-3), advanced on an error and scored on the wild pitch. Michael Feliz (1-2) pitched the ninth, and Felipe Vazquez got his 37th save in 42 chances.
METS 1, MARLINS 0
NEW YORK (AP) - Noah Syndergaard pitched his first major league shutout and New York wrapped up a disappointing season with its second consecutive 1-0 victory.
Todd Frazier hit an RBI double for the Mets, who finished fourth in the NL East at 77-85 under rookie manager Mickey Callaway - a seven-win improvement over last year.
Promising rookie Sandy Alcantara (2-3) struck out a career-high 10 over seven innings in his sixth major league start for the Marlins. The Marlins were scoreless over their final 24 innings.
Syndergaard (13-4) allowed five hits and fanned six in a fast finale that took just 2 hours, 10 minutes.
RAYS 9, BLUE JAYS 4
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Ryan Yarbrough got his rookie-leading 16th win and Tampa Bay turned another bullpen game into its 90th victory.
Ryne Stanek was Tampa Bay’s “opener” for the 29th time and went two scoreless innings. Yarbrough (16-6) followed and gave up two runs and four hits over three innings to get his 14th relief win.
The Rays went 87-60 after losing 12 of their first 15 games.
Outgoing Blue Jays manager John Gibbons decided to have some fun in the finale and let 35-year-old catcher Russell Martin manage the game.
Loser Sam Gaviglio (3-10) allowed five runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings.
INDIANS 2, ROYALS 1
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Carlos Carrasco and Trevor Bauer combined for a five-hitter, Francisco Lindor homered and scored twice, and Cleveland beat Kansas City.
Carrasco (16-10) was working with a limited pitch count in a tuneup before an anticipated start in Game 2 of the AL Division Series against Houston on Saturday. He went five innings, allowing one run on three hits, walking two and striking out six.
Bauer took over in the sixth, hurling four scoreless innings of relief while striking out two for his first career save. Bauer ended the season with a 2.21 ERA, second in the AL to Tampa Bay’s Blake Snell.
The Indians opened the scoring after Lindor led off the game by reaching on an error when Eric Skoglund (1-5) fumbled his grounder. After stealing second, Lindor then stole third and scored when Alcides Escobar failed to catch the throw to third for the second error of the inning.
PHILLIES 3, BRAVES 1
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Needing a win to have a shot at home field in the NL Division Series, Atlanta lost to Philadelphia.
The Braves needed a win and a loss by both Colorado and Los Angeles to secure home-field advantage when the division series starts Thursday. The Dodgers and Rockies both ended up winning big, setting up a one-game playoff to decide the NL West.
Cesar Hernandez hit a leadoff home run, and Rhys Hoskins’ RBI double in the fifth inning helped a Phillies team that was 15 games over .500 on Aug. 5 finish with 80 wins.
Kevin Gausman (10-11) took the loss in a game where the Braves used five pitchers.
Tommy Hunter (5-4) earned the win in relief for the Phillies, and Seranthony Dominguez got his 16th save to end a season where expectations soared in early August only to become unraveled in one of the bigger - but not close to the biggest - late-season collapses in team history.
PADRES 4, DIAMONDBACKS 3, 10 INNINGS
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Manuel Margot scored on a dropped third strike in the 10th inning to lift San Diego past Arizona.
The Diamondbacks, a playoff team last year who led the NL West on the first day of every month this season, ran out of steam to finish in third place, nine games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and Colorado Rockies.
Margot, who also homered on a 3-for-5 afternoon, reached in the 10th on his career-high eighth triple. When Jake Barrett (0-1) struck out pinch-hitter Francisco Mejia and the ball got away from John Ryan Murphy, Margot raced home on Murphy’s throw to first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. The relay back to home was tardy.
Arizona went ahead 3-2 in the ninth on a sacrifice fly from Socrates Brito, but the Padres tied it 3-3 on Eric Hosmer’s bloop single to left. Jose Castillo (3-3) pitched the 10th for the win.
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