(The Sports Xchange) – Highlights from Major League Baseball games on Sunday:
Braves 8, Marlins 5
Giancarlo Stanton had two hits and one RBI, but failed to hit his 60th home run as his Miami Marlins lost to the Atlanta Braves 8-5.
Stanton singled twice, struck out twice out and grounded to shortstop.
In the ninth, after Stanton struck out on a high 0-2 slider by reliever Arodys Vizcaino, the fans showed their support.
They chanted “MVP!”, and Stanton came out of the dugout, tipped his cap, pounded his heart and raised his fist in a salute to the fans.
Atlanta reliever Dan Winkler (1-1) earned his first major league win, pitching one scoreless inning. Miami reliever Junichi Tazawa (3-5) took the defeat, allowing three runs in two-thirds of an inning.
Indians 3, White Sox 1
Jay Bruce drove in two runs and Jose Ramirez had two hits, including his major league-leading 56th double, as Cleveland beat Chicago.
Indians starter Josh Tomlin (10-9) and six relievers combined on a four-hitter. Tomlin allowed one run on four hits with six strikeouts and no walks in 5 1/3 innings to get the win.
Cody Allen pitched the ninth to pick up his 30th save.
Starting with their American League-record 22-game winning streak that began on Aug. 24, Cleveland finished on a 33-4 run. Their final record of 102-60 is the best in the AL, and the second-most wins in franchise history.
Dodgers 6, Rockies 3
Charlie Blackmon went 1-for-2, played three innings and finished with a National League-leading .331 average in Colorado’s loss to Los Angeles.
The Dodgers’ Justin Turner also went 1-for-2 and finished second at .322. It was Los Angeles’ 104th victory, tying for the second-most in franchise history. The Dodgers won 105 games in 1953 and 104 in 1942 while playing in Brooklyn.
Kyle Freeland (11-11) gave up two runs and five hits in three innings in his first start since Sept. 11 for the Rockies.
Astros 4, Red Sox 3
Houston and Boston rested most of their regulars in the Astros’ victory in the regular-season finale.
The teams will face each other in the AL Division Series starting Thursday in Houston. The Red Sox scored three runs on four hits, a walk and a passed ball off Astros starter Collin McHugh in the fourth inning.
The Astros came back with four runs off three pitchers in the seventh inning. Fernando Abad took the loss, falling to 2-1 with a 3.30 ERA this season.
Pirates 11, Nationals 8
Max Moroff delivered a bases-loaded double in the first inning and walked with them full in the eighth as Pittsburgh defeated Washington.
Jacob Stallings added three run-scoring hits for the Pirates. Angel Sanchez (1-0) allowed no runs in two innings of relief to earn his first big league victory.
The Nationals’ Anthony Rendon hit a three-run homer in the last of the first off Steven Brault to trim the margin to 5-3.
Reds 3, Cubs 1
Manager Joe Maddon substituted liberally in Chicago’s regular-season finale while Cincinnati’s Joey Votto made a last-ditch bid for the National League batting title in the Reds’ victory.
Votto went 2-for-4 to close with a .320 average, falling short of the batting crown as Rockies first baseman Charlie Blackmon went 1-for-2 against the Dodgers to close at .331.
Deck McGuire (1-1) earned his first big league win.
Cubs right-hander John Lackey entered in relief of starter Mike Montgomery in the fourth inning and took the loss, giving up one run in a one-inning appearance. He slipped to 12-12.
Diamondbacks 14, Royals 2
Jeremy Hazelbaker hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning as playoff-bound Arizona routed Kansas City.
The Diamondbacks will host the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday in the National League wild-card game. The winner will advance to play the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Division Series beginning on Friday in Los Angeles.
It was an emotional sendoff to four of the Royals players.
Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar, all eligible for free agency and integral parts of the 2014-15 clubs that went to back-to-back World Series, were pulled in the fifth inning as the Kauffman Stadium fans showed their appreciation by giving them a standing ovation.
Blue Jays 2, Yankees 1
Ryan Goins’ run-scoring groundout lifted Toronto over New York.
The Yankees sat Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez. Starlin Castro and Todd Frazier started but exited after their first at-bat. New York tied the game when Matt Holliday hit his 19th home run in the seventh inning.
Jose Bautista left for a pinch hitter in the seventh inning in what could have been his final game with the Blue Jays.
Before exiting, he hit a single off the left field wall in the second and lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, ending the season at .203 with 23 homers and 65 RBIs.
Twins 5, Tigers 1
Jason Castro drove in three runs to help Minnesota defeat Detroit.
Twins starter Bartolo Colon gave up one run in 6 1/3 innings. The 44-year-old walked off the field to a standing ovation in what could have been the last game of his lengthy career.
Minnesota meets New York on Tuesday in the American League wild-card game. Detroit (64-98) tied San Francisco for the worst record in the majors.
Phillies 11, Mets 0
Nick Williams’ three-run inside-the-park homer in a five-run eighth inning was the exclamation point as Philadelphia defeated New York in the final game for both managers.
The 25,754 fans gave Phillies manager Pete Mackanin a standing ovation as he swapped lineup cards at home plate for the final time.
Mackanin and Mets manager Terry Collins, who also will not return to his position next year, exchanged hugs.
Mackanin tipped his cap to the crowd in acknowledgment as he returned to the dugout where Phillies coaches and players greeted him with handshakes.
Mackanin will become a special assistant to the general manager 2018.
Angels 6, Mariners 2
Parker Bridwell threw seven shutout innings and Los Angeles blew open a scoreless game with six runs in the seventh to defeat Seattle.
Bridwell (10-3) allowed three hits, struck out three and walked one while lowering his ERA to 3.64 and becoming the team’s second double-digit winner this season.
The Mariners’ James Paxton matched Bridwell before leaving after six innings, allowing no runs and three hits, striking out nine and walking none.
The Angels finished 18-3 this season in games pitched by Bridwell, who began the season playing at the Triple-A level for the Baltimore Orioles.
Giants 5, Padres 4
Pablo Sandoval belted a season-ending home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to give San Francisco the victory over San Diego.
In avoiding what would have been only the second 99-loss season in franchise history, the Giants prevailed on a day right-hander Johnny Cueto might have started his final game for the team.
The veteran can opt out of the final four years of his six-year, $130 million contract in the offseason.
Cueto pitched the game’s first five innings, leaving in a 4-4 tie. He did not get a decision, and finished the season 8-8.
Rays 6, Orioles 0
Curt Casali hit his first home run of the season and Blake Snell had a career-high 13 strikeouts to lift Tampa Bay over Baltimore.
Snell retired the first 12 hitters and struck out two batters in six of seven innings. He allowed two hits.
Brewers 6, Cardinals 1
Aaron Wilkerson retired the first 17 batters he faced as Milwaukee defeated St. Louis.
Wilkerson (1-0), making his second big league start, lost his perfect game on a pinch-hit single by Jose Martinez in the sixth. Randal Grichuk then belted a solo homer in the seventh, his 22nd of the year, to spoil the shutout.
Wilkerson allowed nothing else in his seven innings, fanning five.
Athletics 5, Rangers 2
Daniel Mengden pitched seven shutout innings as Oakland closed with a victory over Texas.
Mengden (3-2) didn’t allow a baserunner until Adrian Beltre led off the fifth with a single to center.
Mengden gave up just four singles. He also set a season high with eight strikeouts and walked one. He went 3-1 over his final four starts with a 1.20 ERA.
