This story was originally published by Dead Spin
Shohei Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to reach 50 home runs and 50 steals in the same season as his Los Angeles Dodgers clinched a playoff berth with a 20-4 beatdown of the host Miami Marlins on Thursday afternoon.
Ohtani went 6-for-6 with 10 RBIs, three homers, two doubles, two steals and four runs. He got to 50-50 with an opposite-field homer in the seventh inning, earning a standing ovation from the crowd in Miami. He finished the night with 51 homers — a new Dodgers season record, breaking Shawn Green’s mark of 49 in 2001 — and 51 steals.
The Dodgers, who have made the playoffs 12 straight years, got solid pitching from Jack Flaherty (13-7). He went six innings, allowing five hits, two walks and three runs. He is 3-0 in three career starts in Miami, and his 13 wins this season are a career best.
Marlins starter Edward Cabrera (4-8) took the loss after wildness limited him to just 2 1/3 innings. He walked five, hit a batter and gave up four hits in surrendering seven runs.
Astros 3, Angels 1
Jon Singleton slapped a two-run, two-out double into center field in the bottom of the eighth inning and host Houston beat Los Angeles, remaining unbeaten in nine games started by Yusei Kikuchi.
Singleton capped a rally against Angels reliever Ryan Miller (0-1) by lining a 1-2 sweeper to center field. Yordan Alvarez — who had worked a leadoff walk — and Yainer Diaz scored to snap a 1-1 deadlock.
Kikuchi pitched six innings, giving up five hits and one walk and striking out nine. Hector Neris, Bryan Abreu (3-3) and Josh Hader — who notched his 32nd save — worked a scoreless inning each as the Astros reduced their magic number to clinch the American League West to five games.
Diamondbacks 5, Brewers 1
Brandon Pfaadt took a one-hit shutout into the seventh inning as visiting Arizona kept pace in the National League wild-card chase by beating Milwaukee.
Pfaadt (10-9) allowed only a single in the fourth inning before Garrett Mitchell’s two-out solo homer in the seventh cut Arizona’s lead to 3-1. Pfaadt struck out a career-high 12, including seven in a row to tie a franchise record, and walked none in a 104-pitch outing. A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez each followed with a perfect inning to complete the two-hitter as Arizona moved within two games of idle San Diego for the top NL wild-card spot.
The Diamondbacks snapped a scoreless tie with three runs on one hit in the fifth. Gabriel Moreno and Geraldo Perdomo opened with consecutive walks. Corbin Carroll then reached on an error by third baseman Andruw Monasterio, with Moreno scoring.
Mets 10, Phillies 6
Brandon Nimmo hit the tie-breaking homer in the third inning and finished with three RBIs for red-hot New York, which beat visiting Philadelphia in the opener of a four-game series between the National League East rivals.
Mark Vientos and Pete Alonso hit back-to-back homers in the first inning and Francisco Alvarez hit a three-run shot in the fourth for the Mets, who scored at least 10 runs for a third straight game for the first time in franchise history.
Trea Turner briefly tied the game by hitting a two-run homer in the top of the third while Bryce Harper had a two-run double for the NL East-leading Phillies, who missed a chance to clinch a playoff berth.
Pirates 3, Cardinals 2
Nick Gonzales went 2-for-4 with a triple, a run and the decisive RBI as visiting Pittsburgh edged St. Louis.
Yasmani Grandal hit a home run for the Pirates, who avoided a four-game sweep. Luis Ortiz allowed two runs on five hits in six innings. He struck out seven and walked two. Reliever Carmen Mlodzinski (4-5) recorded the victory and Aroldis Chapman earned his 10th save.
Brendan Donovan went 4-for-4 with two RBIs for the Cardinals. Erick Fedde allowed one run on four hits in six innings. He struck out three and walked one. Reliever JoJo Romero (7-3) took the loss.
Guardians 3, Twins 2 (10 innings)
Andres Gimenez had three hits, including a game-ending RBI single in the 10th inning, as Cleveland clinched a playoff spot by rallying to defeat visiting Minnesota.
With Minnesota’s Caleb Thielbar (2-4) on the mound and Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez as the automatic runner at second base in the 10th, Josh Naylor struck out before Lane Thomas was intentionally walked. Gimenez then laced a hit to right field to end it.
Kyle Manzardo had a home run among three hits for Cleveland, which won for the fifth time in six games to earn at least a wild-card spot in the upcoming playoffs.
Orioles 5, Giants 3
Anthony Santander hit a game-ending, two-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to propel Baltimore past San Francisco.
Santander fouled off four consecutive two-strike pitches from Ryan Walker before connecting for his 42nd homer of the year. Jackson Holliday hit a two-run single and Zach Eflin pitched six strong innings to help the Orioles snap a three-game losing streak.
Trying to protect a 3-2 lead in the top of the ninth, Baltimore closer Seranthony Dominguez walked Patrick Bailey and Heliot Ramos to lead off the inning. Casey Schmitt hit a drive to right-center, with Baltimore outfielders Cedric Mullins and Austin Slater colliding on the play. Brett Wisely, who pinch-ran for Bailey, scored the tying run. Michael Conforto also homered for the second day in a row for the Giants.
Braves 15, Reds 3
Matt Olson and Michael Harris II each clubbed a pair of home runs as Atlanta crushed host Cincinnati in the rubber match of a three-game series.
Harris finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs and four runs scored. Ramon Laureano and Jorge Soler also smacked three-run homers for the Braves. Starter Chris Sale (18-3) set a career high by picking up his 18th win. He gave up two runs on five hits in five innings, walking two and striking out six.
Rookie Blake Dunn hit his first major league home run as part of a 2-for-3 day for the Reds, who have dropped five of their last eight. Dunn scored three times. Elly De La Cruz had three of Cincinnati’s 10 hits.
Mariners 3, Yankees 2
Logan Gilbert snapped a six-start winless streak as Seattle salvaged the finale of a three-game series with visiting New York.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. homered for the Yankees, who had clinched a playoff berth with a 2-1 victory in 10 innings on Wednesday night and lead the AL East by four games over Baltimore.
Gilbert (8-11), who hadn’t won since Aug. 10, allowed two runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings. The right-hander walked two and struck out nine for the Mariners.
Blue Jays 4, Rangers 0
Kevin Gausman threw five hitless innings and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a pair of solo homers to back up a pair of early runs as Toronto won in Arlington, Texas.
Guerrero went 3-for-4 with three runs and a walk. Gausman (13-11) was perfect through 4 1/3 innings before surrendering a walk to Nathaniel Lowe. Gausman had six strikeouts on 58 pitches without allowing a hit before being removed because of “lower back tightness,” according to the team.
Texas, which had just two hits, lost for the sixth time in its last nine games. In his second major league start and home debut, Rangers rookie right-hander Kumar Rocker (0-1) surrendered two runs (one earned), two hits and four walks, striking out five in three innings.
Rays 2, Red Sox 0
Zack Littell allowed just one hit over seven innings as Tampa Bay blanked Boston in a combined one-hit shutout in St. Petersburg, Fla.
In an economical 75-pitch outing, Littell (8-9) fanned seven without a walk in his 28th start. He retired 21 of 22 batters he faced, allowing just a single to center by Nick Sogard in the third — the only Red Sox baserunner on the night. The Rays’ Brandon Lowe had an RBI, and Jose Caballero singled and produced his American League-leading 44th stolen base.
Red Sox starter Brayan Bello yielded one run on five hits in 5 2/3 innings, recording seven strikeouts and two walks.
Cubs 7, Nationals 6
Dansby Swanson collected three hits and four runs and Cody Bellinger had three RBIs to lift host Chicago past Washington.
Chicago’s Seiya Suzuki launched a two-run homer and Ian Happ had three hits and scored twice. Isaac Paredes drove in a pair of runs for the Cubs, who banged out 12 hits to snap a modest two-game skid.
Washington’s Joey Gallo belted a three-run homer and James Wood, Andres Chaparro and Jose Tena each drove in a run. CJ Abrams recorded four hits and scored twice for the Nationals, who have yielded 29 runs during their four-game losing skid.
–Field Level Media
