MLB Wrap: Yankees, Rays clinch playoff berths

TORONTO — The New York Yankees clinched their 15th postseason berth in the past 16 years with a 6-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday. New York starter C.C. Sabathia (21-7) allowed one run in 8 1/3 innings to match Andy Pettitte's 21 wins in 1996 and 2003 for the most victories by a Yankee since Ron Guidry got 22 in 1985. Sabathia, who struck out eight, has a career record of 5-1 with a 2.39 ERA in six starts at Rogers Centre. The Yankees have reached the postseason every year but one since 1996, with the absence coming in 2008 when they finished third in the AL East, behind Tampa Bay and Boston. New York remains half a game behind the Rays in the fight over the honor of AL East winner. Making his third career start, Toronto's Kyle Drabek (0-3) allowed three runs in six innings. Rays 5, Orioles 0 In St. Petersburg, Florida, Tampa Bay also clinched a playoff berth by beating Baltimore. Rays starter David Price pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing only one runner past second. He struck out eight and walked none in what likely will be his final start of the regular season. Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena hit solo homers off Orioles starter Brad Bergensen (8-11). White Sox 5, Red Sox 4 In Chicago, the home team fought back to beat Boston, as the Red Sox bowed out of playoff contention. Paul Konerko tied the game in the eighth inning with a run-scoring double and Dayan Viciedo won it with a pinch-hit RBI single in the ninth. Chris Sale (2-1) pitched two scoreless innings for the win for the White Sox, who snapped a seven-game home losing streak. Juan Pierre singled with one out in the ninth off Michael Bowden (0-1). He stole second and third before Mark Teahen walked. Viciedo ended the game with a single. Royals 10, Twins 1 In Kansas City, Kila Ka'aihue hit two home runs and drove in a career-high four runs as Kansas City thrashed Minnesota. The Twins have dropped a season-worst five straight since clinching the AL Central title. Ka'aihue hit a three-run homer in the first off Nick Blackburn (10-11), then led off the second with another long shot for his first career multihomer game. He almost had a third in the seventh, sending a drive off the right-field bullpen fence for his first big league triple. Royals starter Sean O'Sullivan (4-6) held the Twins to one run in six-plus innings. Angels 4, Athletics 2 In Anaheim, Torii Hunter opened the scoring with a home run and his center field replacement, rookie Peter Bourjos, robbed Landon Powell of a homer to lead Los Angeles over Oakland. Bourjos also lost a home run when a video replay showed his drive toward the left field pole was foul, not fair as the umpire had ruled. Instead of a three-run homer, Bourjos returned to the plate and flied out. Angels starter Dan Haren (4-4) allowed two runs over six innings, striking out five and walking one. A's starter Dallas Braden (10-14) gave up 10 hits over seven innings. Mariners 3, Rangers 1 In Arlington, Felix Hernandez allowed only one run over eight innings to guide Seattle past AL West champion Texas. Hernandez (13-12) became the first pitcher since Randy Johnson in 2002 and only the seventh since 1980 to have a season with 30 starts in which he went at least six innings while conceding three earned runs or fewer. He lowered his AL-best ERA to 2.27 in what might have been his last start of the season. Justin Smoak, traded from Texas to Seattle as part of the Cliff Lee deal, hit a two-run homer in the fourth off Scott Feldman (7-11) to snap a 1-1 tie. The rookie homered twice in as many nights against his former team. . Reds 3, Astros 2 In Cincinnati, Jay Bruce homered on the first pitch of the bottom of the ninth to give Cincinnati a 3-2 victory over Houston on Tuesday night, sending the Reds to the postseason for the first time in 15 years. The Reds, who won in their last at-bat for the 22nd time this season, won the NL Central title. Aroldis Chapman (2-2) pitched a perfect ninth. Bruce's line-drive homer off Tim Byrdak (2-2) sent his teammates sprinting to home plate to pummel him while fireworks went off overhead. Dusty Baker joined Bill McKechnie as the only managers to lead three different NL teams to the playoffs. Baker has made it with the Giants and Cubs. Cincinnati finished fourth last season, its second under Baker, but the franchise thought it had the makings of something and kept the roster intact. The Reds have struggled against other top teams. They have gone 58-28 against losing teams, only 30-41 against those with .500 or better records. Giants 4, Diamondbacks 2 In San Francisco, Juan Uribe matched a career best with his 23rd home run and first-place San Francisco increased its NL West lead over San Diego to two games. The Padres lost 5-2 at home to Chicago, leaving San Diego 1 1/2 games behind Atlanta in the wild card race. San Francisco's win eliminated Colorado from playoff contention and gave the Giants a magic number of four to clinch their first playoff berth since 2003. Uribe hit a tying solo drive leading off the fourth. He also had 23 homers in 2004 with the White Sox. Jonathan Sanchez (12-9) struck out six in six innings to reach 200 Ks in a season for the first time in his career. Pinch-hitter Nate Schierholtz hit a go-ahead single in the sixth inning for the Giants. Rodrigo Lopez (7-15) went 5 2-3 innings and lost after winning his previous two starts. Cubs 5, Padres 2 In San Diego, Alfonso Soriano homered twice, including a two-run shot off struggling San Diego ace Mat Latos, and Chicago dropped the Padres 1 1/2 games behind Atlanta in the NL wild-card race. The 22-year-old Latos (14-9), who fumed after the Cubs scored two unearned runs in the fifth, lost his fourth straight start, his worst stretch this season. The Padres have lost 21 of 32 games since Aug. 25, when they were 76-49 and had a 6½-game lead over the Giants in the NL West. The Padres dropped two games behind the Giants, who beat Arizona 4-2. Chicago's Ryan Dempster and two relievers combined on a four-hitter. Dempster (15-11) struck out nine in seven innings. Carlos Marmol pitched the ninth for his 36th save. With the score tied at 2 and Xavier Nady aboard on a leadoff single in the sixth, Soriano hit his 23rd homer. Soriano homered off Mike Adams leading off the eighth. Latos allowed four runs, two earned, and seven hits in 5 2-3 innings. Braves 3, Marlins 2 In Atlanta, Eric Hinske hit a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the seventh inning and Atlanta improved its wild card chances. The Braves moved 1 1/2 games in front of San Diego, which lost 5-2 to Chicago. Trailing 1-0, the Braves rallied for three runs in the seventh off Anibal Sanchez (12-12), who had held Atlanta to three hits in six innings. Brooks Conrad knocked in the first run with a triple. Hinske hit his 11th home run to give Atlanta a 3-1 lead. Dan Uggla hit a solo homer off Peter Moylan in the eighth to get the Marlins within 3-2. It was his 32nd of the season and his 100th RBI. Craig Kimbrel (4-0) got the win with a hitless seventh, and Billy Wagner earned his 36th save with a scoreless ninth. Nationals 2, Phillies 1 In Washington, Adam Dunn led off the bottom of the ninth with his 38th homer, this one off Jose Contreras (6-4), to give Washington the win. Jimmy Rollins went 1 for 3 in his first start in nearly three weeks, Roy Oswalt didn't allow an earned run in five innings, and NL East champion Philadelphia began preparing for the playoffs. The Phillies clinched home-field advantage throughout the postseason a night earlier. Oswalt allowed two hits and two walks and left after only 66 pitches. Nationals starter Jason Marquis left with the scored tied 1-1, having allowed Raul Ibanez's 16th homer leading off the fourth. Marquis gave up seven hits in six innings in his last start of 2010. Drew Storen (4-4) earned the win by pitching the ninth. Mets 4, Brewers 3 In New York, Light-hitting New York rookie Ruben Tejada laced a two-run double in the bottom of the ninth off Milwaukee closer John Axford. David Wright had a two-run homer and the Mets opened their final homestand of the season with their third consecutive win. Corey Hart homered for Milwaukee and Randy Wolf pitched seven strong innings. Lorenzo Cain hit an RBI double. Axford (8-2) struck out Wright to escape an eighth-inning jam, but Ike Davis opened the ninth with a double. Josh Thole blooped a one-out single that put runners at the corners and Tejada drove the next pitch up the left-center alley for his third hit, and second double, of the game. Tejada raised his batting average from .199 to .210. Elmer Dessens (4-2) worked a perfect ninth inning for the win. Pirates 7, Cardinals 2 In St. Louis, Garrett Jones homered on a three-hit night and drove in three runs and Brian Burres pitched effectively into the sixth inning for Pittsburgh. There was no reaction when the official knockout punch came for the defending NL Central champions — Cincinnati's 3-2 win over Houston — with one out in the sixth and Pittsburgh leading 4-2. Albert Pujols became the first Cardinal to walk 100 times in three consecutive seasons. Rookie Matt Pagnozzi homered in the second for the Cardinals, who clinched at least a .500 record on Monday following a second-half swoon. St. Louis was 12-6 against the Reds, but is 26-33 against the rest of the division and 46-50 against teams with a losing record. Infielder Aaron Miles made his fifth career appearance as pitcher for St. Louis, working the ninth. Dodgers 9, Rockies 7 In Denver, Casey Blake homered twice, Rafael Furcal had two triples and Los Angeles helped eliminate Colorado from the playoffs. The Rockies were eliminated from the NL wild card with their loss and Atlanta's 3-2 win over Florida earlier Tuesday. Colorado's fate in the NL West ended when first-place San Francisco beat Arizona 4-2 on Tuesday night. James Loney and Matt Kemp homered for Los Angeles. Todd Helton and Dexter Fowler went deep for the Rockies, who have lost eight of nine. The Dodgers blew a four-run lead but came back in the eighth off reliever Octavio Dotel (3-4). Reliever Ronald Bellisario (3-1) got the win, pitching two-thirds of an inning. Kenley Jansen picked up his second save. – AP