Baseball Report: Yankees Control Their Wild Card Playoff Destiny

(CBS New York) — With the MLB regular play successful its last week, immoderate of the chaotic paper and part races stay excessively adjacent to call. In the American League, the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, and Seattle Mariners each beryllium wrong 2.5 games of each different for the 2 chaotic paper spots. In the National League, the Atlanta Braves pb the Philadelphia Phillies by 2.5 games successful the contention for the NL East title. Out west, the San Francisco Giants are outpacing the Los Angeles Dodgers for the part title.

This week’s Baseball Report looks astatine the Yankees’ leap to the apical of the AL chaotic paper contention and the NL West part contention betwixt MLB’s 2 winningest teams.

Yankees Sweep Red Sox

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The Tampa Bay Rays person led the American League East for the past 2 months. That pb has grown successful September, leaving the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Toronto Blue Jays to jockey for Wild Card positioning. Only 2 teams from the American League (and 2 from the National League) volition play successful the Wild Card Game. And the Seattle Mariners and Oakland A’s besides stay wrong striking distance. With a week of games left, the contention for those 2 spots is excessively adjacent to call.

Going into Friday’s action, the Red Sox held the homefield vantage successful the Wild Card race. They sat 2 games up of the Yankees, who would beryllium the visiting team, if the crippled were to beryllium played that day. The Blue Jays, astatine 3 games back, were connected the extracurricular looking in. By Sunday night, the contention looked a small different. The Yankees’ three-game bid astatine Fenway could not person gone immoderate amended for the Bronx Bombers, oregon immoderate worse for the Red Sox.

Boston started the bid successful their fortunate yellowish jerseys, riding a seven-game winning streak. But Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole took a two-hit shutout into the sixth inning. Giancarlo Stanton managed 3 hits, including a three-run homer to right-center. Gleyber Torres added a solo changeable for 1 of his 2 RBI. The 8-3 effect chopped the Red Sox pb for home-field vantage to 1 game.

The Red Sox jumped retired to a two-run pb connected Saturday. But Stanton would enactment hot. Red Sox reliever Tanner Houck issued 2 two-out walks successful the eighth inning. Reliever Darwinzon Hernandez past walked the bases loaded for Stanton, who belted a grand slam implicit the Green Monster to enactment the Yankees ahead.

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The Red Sox and Yankees were tied going into Sunday night’s game. Boston held a 3-2 pb going into the seventh, aft Yankees outfielders dropped a brace of casual popups. Aaron Judge came to the sheet with runners connected 2nd and 3rd and 1 out. The Red Sox had aggregate chances to nonstop the slugger backmost to the dugout, but couldn’t convert. Judge past lined a two-run treble to left-center to marque the people 4-3. Stanton would travel that up with a two-run homer again implicit the Green Monster. The Yankees would yet win 6-3 and permission Boston with a one-game pb successful the contention for the apical Wild Card spot.

Stanton finished the bid with seven hits successful his 12 at-bats. That includes 3 location runs and 10 RBI, which is much runs batted successful than the Red Sox had successful the bid arsenic a team. And overmuch of his accumulation came successful unit situations. Stanton was the archetypal Yankee to heap up 10 RBI against the Red Sox since Mickey Mantle did it successful 1954.

National League West Race

Neither the Giants not the Dodgers are warring for their playoff lives. The Giants are 102-54 arsenic of Monday night, with the astir wins the squad has had successful astir 3 decades. The Dodgers beryllium 2 games backmost astatine 100-56. Both teams person agelong since clinched a playoff spot. But the NL West rubric remains precise overmuch successful play.

The Giants person won 15 of their past 19 games arsenic of Sunday. That includes a three-game expanse of the Colorado Rockies implicit the weekend. San Francisco returns location from Colorado with a accidental to triumph the division. They’ll unfastened a three-game bid against the Arizona Diamondbacks connected Tuesday, and past extremity the regular play with different three-game bid with the San Diego Padres. The Giants volition beryllium without their location tally leader, Brandon Belt. The archetypal baseman broke his near thumb successful Sunday’s crippled portion attempting to bunt.

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The Dodgers kept pace Sunday, topping the Diamondbacks to instrumentality 2 of the 3 games successful their play series. Julio Urías pitched 5 innings of shutout shot to seizure his MLB-leading 19th win. Corey Seager deed 2 retired of the park, helping the Dodgers to a 3-0 win. The Dodgers unfastened a three-game acceptable with the Padres Tuesday nighttime and travel that with 3 against the Milwaukee Brewers to adjacent the regular season.