The MLB Postseason field continues to grow with two more divisions clinched on Tuesday night!
Yankees Clinch AL East
The Yankees clinched the American League East with a 5-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night at the Rogers Centre.
Gleyber Torres had a big night for the Yankees, collecting three hits and driving home three of the Yankees’ five runs. Jameson Taillon tossed seven and a third innings and allowed two runs while striking out six in the victory.
Tuesday night’s victory over the Blue Jays was their 95th victory of the season, securing a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the AL Division Series. The Yankees will make their 58th playoff appearance in franchise history and their sixth consecutive playoff appearance.
Cardinals Clinch NL Central
Less than a week after hitting his 700th career home run, Albert Pujols can add another accomplishment to the long list of them, one more division title before he hangs it up after the season. Pujols spoke to the Cardinals clubhouse after last night’s division-clinching victory and told the players to enjoy it and get ready for what they hope is a deep run into October.
The Cardinals clinched the division against the closest team to them in the standings, the Milwaukee Brewers, with a 6-2 win last night. Paul Goldschmidt drove in a pair of runs, and St. Louis got six innings of one-run ball from Miles Mikolas,
Milwaukee’s only path to October baseball now lies within the National League Wild Card standings, where the Brewers trail the Phillies by a game and a half for the final spot on that side of the bracket.
Philadelphia has lost three in a row and seven of their last 10, so there is a chance that the Brewers can jump them this week, but they’ll have to do it, at least partially, against the Cardinals, whom they play once more tonight before opening a series with the Marlins.
Braves Move Into Tie with Mets Atop NL East
An 8-2 victory for the Braves in Washington, fueled by two Ronald Acuña home runs, helped Atlanta move into a tie with the Mets, who lost to the Marlins last night despite getting some help from the Miami bullpen late in the game.
Atlanta and Miami each have a game left in their respective series with the Nationals and Marlins before they open their final series of the season against each other on Friday in Atlanta (maybe, see below).
With Hurricane Ian nearing the Gulf Coast of Florida, Major League Baseball is discussing contingency plans for that Mets-Braves series set to be played in Atlanta this weekend. One of the options being discussed is moving some of the games to October 6, after the conclusion of the regular season. Moving start times is also an option.
According to the National Weather Service, Ian is due to make landfall in Florida early Wednesday, with expected hurricane-force winds and potentially life-threatening storm surges. From there, the storm will likely blow north into Georgia, producing significant rain on Friday and Saturday even as it decreases in intensity.
Odds and Ends
- Tampa Bay reduced their magic number to clinch a playoff spot to three thanks to the win and Baltimore’s 13-9 loss to Boston.
- The Rays will be getting some help in the form of Tyler Glasnow:
- Jorge Alfaro walked it off for the Padres on Tuesday night, literally, walked it off. Alfaro watched Craig Kimbrel’s 3-2 fastball miss the plate, logging his fifth walk-off of the season, helping the Padres move closer to clinching a Wild Card spot.
- Sister Jean threw out the first pitch at the Cubs game on Tuesday:
- Tony Kemp made a wild catch last night!
- Anthony Santander is making this multi-home run thing, a thing, lately:
- Guardians reliever Enyel De Los Santos recorded an immaculate inning for Cleveland on Tuesday:
- All the homers!