 |
| Marwin Gonzalez |
American League
Houston took another step toward capturing the AL West flag for a second straight season with a 7-0 wipeout of Seattle Tuesday night.
Marwin Gonzalez belted his 16th home run of the season, upping Houston's lead to 4-0 in the third inning with the two-run blast. In the eighth, Gonzalez walked and scored the last of the Astro runs. He also singled in the second but was left stranded.
The win left Houston with a five-game lead in the division, as Oakland lost their third straight, losing 9-7 to the Angels. The magic number for the Astros to clinch is seven. They host the Mariners on Wednesday prior to a three-game series with the Angels. If they do capture the flag, Houston will do it on the road. They close out the season with three games at Toronto and four at - ironically - Baltimore, which has the worst record in the majors, 43-108.
Elsewhere, the Yankees prevented the Red Sox from clinching the AL East with a 3-2 win at Boston. The Red Sox need one win or one Yankee loss to wrap up the division. At 103-48, the Red Sox have the best record in the majors and a 10 1/2 game lead over New York in the division. New York looks forward to hosting the single-elimination wild card game against Oakland. They have a 2 1/2 game lead over the A's in the wild card race.
 |
| Paul DeJong |
With the playoff race in the National League about as tight as it could get, results from Tuesday's games provided a little breathing room for St. Louis as the Cardinals exacted an 8-1 triumph at Atlanta.
The win was the second straight for the Cardinals over the Braves, led by Paul Dejong's 2-for-5 night at the plate.
DeJong socked a two-run homer in the fourth, putting the Cardinals up by a 2-1 score, and added to the St. Louis lead by singling and scoring in the eighth, as the Cardinals tacked on four runs.
The home run by DeJong was his 19th, the three RBI increased his seasonal total to 62.
While the Cardinals gained in the wild card race, they did not pick up any ground on the Cubs, who hammered Arizona, 9-1, virtually eliminating the Diamondbacks from contention. With Milwaukee's 3-1 loss to the Reds, the Cubs lead the NL Central by 3 1/2 games over Milwaukee and 5 1/2 over St. Louis.
In the West, the Dodgers dropped Colorado, 3-2, in 10 innings, opening up a 1 1/2-game lead in the division. The second place Rockies slipped 1 1/2 behind the Cardinals for the second wild card spot. Milwaukee continues to hold the first position by two games over St. Louis.
Atlanta saw its lead in the East narrowed to 5 1/2 games as the Phillies topped the Mets, 5-2. Even the Nationals were given hope, 6 1/2 back after defeating Miami, 4-2.
The Cardinals will be looking for the sweep when they take the field in Atlanta Wednesday. Game time is 12:10 pm EDT. The Braves have lost four straight.
No comments:
Post a Comment