Giants beat Padres, become 1st team to clinch playoff berth

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – The San Francisco Giants became the first major league team to clinch a playoff spot this season, hitting four home runs to beat the San Diego Padres 9-1 on Monday night for their season-high eighth consecutive victory. After finishing 29-31 in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, the Giants have done a complete turnaround in manager Gabe Kapler’s second season. They have the best record in baseball (94-50) with 18 games remaining – nine of them against the Padres, who are trying to win an NL wild card. San Francisco extended its latest hot streak by getting early power at the plate and steady pitching from the bullpen after opener Dominic Leone threw two strong innings. Tommy La Stella connected on the fourth pitch from Padres starter Yu Darvish (8-10) and Evan Longoria hit a three-run shot five batters later. Mike Yastrzemski added a solo homer in the fourth when Brandon Belt also went deep as San Francisco secured a spot in the postseason for the first time since 2016. Zack Littell (3-0) worked 1 2/3 innings of relief and earned the victory. BLUE JAYS 8, RAYS 1 TORONTO (AP) – Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his major league-leading 45th home run, Alek Manoah set a career high by pitching eight shutout innings, and Toronto dealt AL East-leading Tampa Bay its fourth loss in five games. Teoscar Hernández had his first career five-hit game and Bo Bichette added a solo home run, his 24th, as the surging Blue Jays improved to 12-1 in September. Guerrero moved ahead of Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani for most home runs in the majors. He also eclipsed the single-season high set by his Hall of Fame father with Montreal in 2000. Manoah (6-2) allowed just one hit, walked none and struck out 10 in snapping a five-start winless streak. Rays left-hander Ryan Yarbrough (8-5) allowed seven runs and 10 hits in 2 1/3 innings. YANKEES 6, TWINS 5, 10 INNINGS NEW YORK (AP) – Aaron Judge hit a tying three-run homer off Alex Colomé with two outs in the eighth inning, Gary Sánchez lined a winning single in the 10th, and New York overcame a five-run deficit to beat Minnesota. New York won for just the fourth time in 16 games and closed within a half-game of AL wild-card leaders Toronto and Boston with 18 games to play. Gleyber Torres was the automatic runner on second when Sánchez singled with one out in the 10th off Ralph Garza Jr. (1-3). Jorge Polanco and Miguel Sanó hit two-run homers in the first inning, and Byron Buxton added a solo homer for a 5-0 lead in the third. DJ LeMahieu began the comeback with a sacrifice fly in the sixth. Joey Gallo hit his 33rd homer, his eighth with the Yankees, in the seventh. Judge added his 33rd homer. Clay Holmes (5-1) pitched the 10th as New York ended a six-game home losing streak, its longest in a decade. CARDINALS 7, METS 0 NEW YORK (AP) – Adam Wainwright won his fifth straight start in a rare matchup of 40-year-old pitchers, and St. Louis blanked New York. Paul Goldschmidt homered and had two RBIs for the surging Cardinals, who began the day one game behind Cincinnati and San Diego for the second NL wild card. New York entered three games behind the Reds and Padres. The 40-year-old Wainwright (16-7) allowed four hits in six innings with three walks and four strikeouts in a matchup against 41-year-old New York starter Rich Hill. Dylan Carlson had an RBI double, and Nolan Arenado, Yadier Molina, Edmundo Sosa and Harrison Bader all had RBI singles in the ninth. Hill (6-7) allowed three runs on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts in five innings. ASTROS 15, RANGERS 1