Rays clinch 2nd consecutive AL East crown

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – The Tampa Bay Rays clinched their second straight AL East title, with Mike Zunino hitting a go-ahead homer and Brandon Lowe later adding a pair of RBI doubles to beat the Miami Marlins 7-3 on Saturday night. Pete Fairbanks retired Lewis Brinson on a foul popup with the bases loaded for the final out, giving the Rays the chance to celebrate on the field. Earlier in the day, Tampa Bay’s magic number was cut to one when the New York Yankees beat Boston 5-3. There was a standing ovation from the season-high crowd of 23,783 at Tropicana Field when the Yankees’ victory was announced after the top of the sixth inning. Tampa Bay improved to 96-59 and won its fourth division title since becoming a major league team for the 1998 season. The club debuted as the Devil Rays then, and wore jerseys with that name during this clinching victory. The Rays, who lost the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games last season, have never won the championship. Shane McClanahan (10-6) allowed one run and six hits over five innings. Zunino connected off Sandy Alcantara (9-14) for his 32nd homer. YANKEES 5, RED SOX 3 BOSTON (AP) – Giancarlo Stanton hit a go-ahead grand slam over the Green Monster in the eighth inning and New York tied Boston for the top spot in the AL wild-card race. The Yankees, who stayed two games ahead of Toronto, now have a chance to nudge in front of their longtime rivals in Sunday night’s series finale at Fenway Park. Stanton connected off reliever Darwinzon Hernandez with two outs to give the Yankees a 5-2 lead. The slugger also had three hits and a three-run homer Friday night to help New York win the series opener. Luis Severino (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings. Aroldis Chapman allowed Bobby Dalbec’s solo homer in the ninth but held on for his 29th save. Tanner Houck (1-5) took the loss. CARDINALS 8, CUBS 5 CHICAGO (AP) – The St. Louis Cardinals set a franchise record with their 15th straight win, boosted when catcher Yadier Molina and center fielder Harrison Bader helped pull off a wild double play against Chicago. Bader, Tyler O’Neill and Paul DeJong homered as these Cardinals broke the team record of 14 wins in a row set in 1935, a year after Dizzy Dean and the Gas House Gang won the World Series. Bader went 4 for 4 and scored three times as the Cardinals held their comfortable lead for the second NL wild card. Nolan Arenado doubled to spark a three-run rally in the seventh after Codi Heuer (7-3) replaced starter Adrian Sampson. Ian Happ drove in three runs for the Cubs, who have lost five straight and nine of 10. The loss snapped Chicago’s streak of seven consecutive winning seasons at Wrigley Field. Kwang Hyun Kim (7-7) pitched a scoreless inning for the win. BRAVES 10, PADRES 8, 10 INNINGS SAN DIEGO (AP) – Jorge Soler hit a go-ahead double with one out in the 10th inning for his fourth RBI, and Atlanta maintained its 1 1/2-game lead in the NL East while eliminating San Diego from playoff contention. The Padres were one out from a win in regulation when Eddie Rosario hit a tying single off major league saves leader Mark Melancon, who was trying for his 39th. Soler, who hit a three-run homer in the sixth, then helped seal the biggest collapse in Padres history with his hit off Daniel Hudson (5-3). Ozzie Albies added a sacrifice fly. San Diego, led by superstars Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado and with a payroll of more than $170 million, had a one-game lead for the second NL wild card on Sept. 9 but then went into a devastating free-fall that cost the Padres a second consecutive postseason appearance. Richard Rodriguez (5-4) pitched the ninth and Will Smith worked a perfect 10th for his 34th save.