Drew Pomeranz Stifles Astros, Boston Takes AL East; Kyle Schwarber Leads Cubs Past Reds

Players of the Day for Saturday, September 30, 2017

American League

Pomeranz: Wins clincher

Drew Pomeranz held Houston scoreless through six innings while his Boston teammates piled up the runs, as the Red Sox clinched the AL East crown with a 6-3 victory over the Astros.

Leaving the game after allowing a single to Jose Altuve leading off Houston's seventh inning, Pomeranz allowed three hits and one earned run, as Altuve eventually came around to score as the Astros plated two in the seventh, but, the Red Sox already had established a 5-0 lead and added another run in the bottom of the seventh on Rookie Betts' solo home run.

Pomeranz (17-6) walked two and struck out three in his last start of the regular season.

The win left Boston two games in front of the Yankees in the division, as New York took a 2-1 decision from Toronto in the Bronx. With just one game left in the regular season, the Yankees could no longer catch the Red Sox, who will open the ALDS on the road, either at Cleveland or Houston, pending results from Sunday's games.

Cleveland holds a one game lead over the Astros for the best record in the league. The team with the best record will host the winner of Tuesday's wild card game, Minnesota at New York. The Indians lost, 2-1, to the White Sox on Saturday.

National League

Schwarber: 2-4, HR, 4 RBI

On a day in which only two games had impact, there were an assortment of fresh faces on National League diamonds, along with some which will be recognizable in the upcoming playoffs.

One of those players heading into the post-season is Kyle Schwarber, who socked his 30th home run of the season as the Cubs hammered the Reds at Wrigley Field, 9-0.

Jon Lester threw five scoreless innings, improving to 13-8 for the season, allowing four hits and striking out seven without any walks. Schwarber led a 10-hit Chicago attack, going 2-for-4 with four RBI, including his two-run homer in the second inning which got the Chicago hit parade started.

He also singled in two more runs in the third inning, putting an early mark on the Cubs' second-last game of the regular season.

Schwarber is a hit-or-miss kind of player with immense power. He's batting .211 on the year, with 59 RBI, but 150 strikeouts.

In the games that mattered, St. Louis scored three runs in the eighth inning to defeat the Brewers, 7-6, ending all hope for Milwaukee in their pursuit of the wild card. Colorado took the second wild card spot while losing to the Dodgers, 5-3, but their record is two games up on the Brewers, clinching the final playoff spot on the next-to-last day of the season.

The Rockies play a single elimination game at Arizona on Wednesday, October 4.