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Baseball Today
SCOREBOARD
Thursday, Oct. 1
Milwaukee at Colorado (3:10 p.m. EDT). Hoping to wrap up the NL wild card, the Rockies will send Aaron Cook (10-6) to the mound against the Brewers’ Manny Parra (11-10).
STARS
Tuesday
—Adam Lind, Blue Jays, hit three homers to lead Toronto to an 8-7 victory over Boston.
—Heath Bell, Padres, celebrated his 32nd birthday with a perfect ninth inning for his NL-best 41st save in 47 chances, striking out Manny Ramirez, Matt Kemp and James Loney to preserve San Diego’s 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
—Pedro Feliz, Phillies, hit a grand slam to lead Philadelphia to a 7-4 win over Houston.
—Dan Uggla and Cameron Maybin, Marlins, each homered as Florida cooled off Atlanta with a 5-4 victory.
—Bengie Molina, Giants, homered twice and drove in four runs in San Francisco’s 8-4 victory over Arizona.
—Jay Bruce, Reds, homered twice and had a career-high five RBIs to power Cincinnati to a 7-2 victory over St. Louis.
—Ryan Dempster, Cubs, pitched a five-hitter for his third career shutout, leading Chicago to a 6-0 win over Pittsburgh.
—Ken Griffey Jr., Mariners, hit homer No. 628, a three-run shot, to lead Seattle to a 6-4 win over Oakland.
BACKING IN
The Blue Jays hit six homers — three for Adam Lind — to beat the Red Sox 8-7 to send them to their fifth consecutive loss. But Boston backed into the AL wild-card berth when the Angels beat the Rangers 5-2 and eliminated Texas from the race. Boston celebrated its sixth playoff berth in seven years in the usual way: with spraying beer, commemorative hats and T-shirts, and the customary promises that they will play better once the postseason begins.
ONE BIG HIT
Pinch-hitter Chris Iannetta hit a two-run homer off David Weathers in the 11th inning to give Colorado a 7-5 victory over Milwaukee. Iannetta sent a 3-2 fastball into the Rockies’ bullpen in right-center for his 16th homer and first career game-ending drive. The Rockies widened their NL wild-card lead to three games over Atlanta with five games remaining.
HOLD UP
Tony Gwynn Jr. homered as the San Diego Padres beat Los Angeles 3-1, keeping the Dodgers from clinching their second straight NL West title. The Dodgers have lost three straight since securing a playoff spot on Saturday night. Colorado didn’t do the Dodgers any favors, beating Milwaukee 7-5 in 11 innings. Tuesday’s results forced the Dodgers to keep on ice the champagne they’d lugged with them from Pittsburgh, where they lost three of four to the lowly Pirates.
ON A ROLL
Little-used Juan Miranda’s base hit in the ninth inning gave the Yankees a 4-3 win over Kansas City. Following their major league-best 15th walk-off win, the Yankees (102-56) are 46 games over .500 for the first time since finishing 114-48 in 1998.
SAVE RECORD
Brian Fuentes worked the ninth of the Angels’ 5-2 win over Texas for his major league-leading 46th save, a career high and a new AL record for the most saves by a pitcher in his first season with a team. Joe Borowski had 45 for Cleveland in 2007.
JUST MISSED IT
Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols, who began Tuesday with an NL record-tying five grand slams this season, just missed another one when he hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning that Reds center fielder Willy Taveras caught just short of the warning track. Pujols went 1 for 3 in St. Louis’ 7-2 loss, leaving him with a .328 batting average.
SHORTSTOP SIGNED
The agent for Dominican shortstop Miguel Sano says the Minnesota Twins have agreed to sign his client for a bonus of $3.15 million. Sano is 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds. His favorite player is Florida’s Hanley Ramirez.
SEASON OVER
The Texas Rangers shut down outfielder Josh Hamilton for the remainder of the season to rest the pinched nerve in his back. Hamilton has missed 21 of the Rangers’ past 23 games with a back problem related to injuries from a crash into an outfield fence. Hamilton hit .268 with 10 homers and 54 RBIs this season while missing long stretches with injuries.
LONG SKID
The Orioles lost 3-1 to Tampa Bay for their 12th straight loss. The slide is the longest in the majors this season. Tampa Bay (Sept. 3-13) and Cleveland (Sept. 13-24) both had 11-game skids. It is Baltimore’s longest slump since dropping 12 in a row Aug. 16-28, 2004. The Orioles (60-97) are a season-worst 37 games under .500.
SPEAKING
“I basically told him, ’I don’t have anybody better than you.’ That’s the line I usually use and with him, I mean it.” — Tigers manager Jim Leyland on what he said to Justin Verlander when he visited the mound during the Twins’ two-run eighth inning. Verlander finished the eighth and Detroit went on to win 6-5.
SEASONS
Oct. 1
1903 — The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Boston Red Sox, 7-3, in the first World Series game. Jimmy Sebring hit the first series home run. Deacon Phillippe was the winning pitcher and Cy Young the loser.
1932 — Babe Ruth, as legend has it, called his home run against Chicago’s Charlie Root in the fifth inning of Game 3 of the World Series, won by the New York Yankees 7-5 at Wrigley Field. Ruth and Lou Gehrig each hit two homers for the Yankees.
1946 — For the first time in major league history, a playoff series to determine a league’s championship was played between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Cardinals took the first game 4-2 as Howie Pollet held the Dodgers to two hits, a homer and an RBI single by Howie Schultz.
1950 — The Philadelphia Phillies clinched the NL pennant on Dick Sisler’s three-run homer against Don Newcombe in a 4-1 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers on the season’s last day.
1961 — Roger Maris ended a season of personal torment by hitting his 61st home run against Tracy Stallard of the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. The homer eclipsed Babe Ruth’s 34-year-old single-season home run record. The Yankees won, 1-0.
1978 — The Cleveland Indians beat the New York Yankees 9-2 on the last day of the season to force a one-game playoff between the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox won their eighth straight game with a 5-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.