Dodgers finish with 111 wins, best in NL since 1906 Cubs

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers finished with their 111th victory to become the National League’s winningest team in more than a century, and Clayton Kershaw tuned up for the postseason with nine strikeouts in beating the Colorado Rockies 6-1 on Wednesday.

Trea Turner hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the fifth inning for the NL West champions, who finished 111-51 to become the NL’s winningest team since the 1906 Chicago Cubs went 116-36.

Kershaw (12-3) reached 2,807 career strikeouts. He allowed one run and one hit in five innings and walked one as the Dodgers ended a three-game skid.

The Dodgers open the Division Series on Oct. 11 against the New York Mets or San Diego.

The Rockies were held to two hits for the fourth time this season and finished 68-94, equaling their most losses since 2015.

Freddie Freeman doubled and homered in his first two at-bats, but a flyout to the warning track in center field in the fifth ended his hopes of winning the NL batting title. Freeman hit .325 for the season; Jeff McNeil of the New York Mets finished at .326 after sitting Wednesday.

Turner’s three-run shot to right-center chased Chad Smith (0-1) and gave the Dodgers a 4-1 lead.

ATHLETICS 3, ANGELS 2

OAKLAND, Calif. — Stephen Vogt homered in the final at-bat of his career and scored the first run on a sacrifice fly after Shohei Ohtani pitched no-hit ball into the fifth, and Oakland beat Los Angeles.

Ohtani (15-9) finished with a 2.33 ERA and 219 strikeouts in 166 innings, and he hit .273 with 34 homers and 95 RBIs. He became the first player to qualify as a batter and a pitcher since rules for qualification were adopted in 1950.

Mike Trout hit his 40th home run with two outs in the eighth, a 452-foot drive. Trout reached 40 homers for the third time and first since hitting a career-best 45 in his 2019 AL MVP season.

Los Angeles (73-89) finished the year with a third straight loss following a season-best seven-game winning streak.

Ken Waldichuk (2-2) struck out four and allowed three hits over seven scoreless innings in his seventh career start. Kirby Snead finished for his first career save. Oakland finished an AL-worst 60-102.

TWINS 10, WHITE SOX 1

CHICAGO — Luis Arraez won the AL batting title, hitting a third-inning double after walking twice to finish the season at .316, and Minnesota rolled past Chicago.

Arraez was all but assured of topping the Yankees’ Aaron Judge for the batting crown when the day began.

Gary Sanchez and Jermaine Palacios homered during a six-run first inning for Minnesota, which snapped a four-game skid. The Twins finished at 78-84, a six-game improvement over 2021.

The White Sox (81-81), last year’s AL Central champions, had their three-game winning streak snapped and finished 12 games worse than their 2021 record.

Sanchez hit his 16th homer, a three-run shot, off Chicago starter Davis Martin (3-6), and he added an RBI double during a three-run second. Martin was charged with nine runs in 2 2/3 innings.

Louie Varland (1-2) allowed four hits in five scoreless innings in his fifth major league start.

Cole Sands worked the last four innings for his first save.

MARINERS 5, TIGERS 4

SEATTLE — Julio Rodríguez put an exclamation point on his Rookie of the Year candidacy with his 28th home run, Ty France hit a game-ending single and Seattle beat Detroit.

Rodríguez set a franchise record with his sixth leadoff homer this season and finished off his rookie campaign hitting .284 with 25 doubles, 75 RBIs and 25 stolen bases.

Mitch Haniger and Luis Torrens each it a two-run homer for the Mariners.

Seattle won it in the ninth after Gregory Soto (2-11) walked Curt Casali and his throwing error on J.P. Crawford’s grounder moved Casali into scoring position. Jarred Kelenic walked and France chopped a single down the right-field line.

Erik Swanson (3-2) struck out a pair in the ninth.

Seattle finished 90-72. Detroit went 66-96.

RANGERS 4, YANKEES 2

ARLINGTON, Texas — Aaron Judge was out of the lineup a day after hitting his American League record 62nd homer, and New York lost its regular-season finale to Texas.

The AL East champion Yankees (99-63) missed a chance to reach 100 wins for the 22nd time. They get an extended break before opening the AL Division Series at home on Tuesday.

Charlie Culberson and Jonah Heim homered for the Rangers (68-94), who wrapped up their sixth consecutive losing season.

Rangers rookie Glenn Otto (7-10) struck out five and walked two while allowing two runs and four hits over six innings. Matt Moore, the third Texas reliever, worked the ninth for his fifth save in six chances.

New York starter Domingo Germán (2-5) gave up four runs over 4 1/3 innings.

METS 9, NATIONALS 2

NEW YORK — Francisco Lindor and New York geared up for the playoffs by routing Washington, completing a fantastic regular season with the second-most wins in franchise history.

Jeff McNeil won the major league batting crown without taking a plate appearance, and New York (101-61) finished with the same record as Atlanta atop the NL East — although the Braves clinched the division title Tuesday because they already held the season-series tiebreaker.

Next up for New York is a best-of-three wild-card series at home against San Diego beginning Friday night.

Lindor hit a three-run double to make it 6-0 in the second inning. Mark Canha launched a three-run homer in the first, and slumping James McCann had three hits, including a three-run homer in the third.

Washington starter Erick Fedde (6-13) gave up nine runs and nine hits in 2 1/3 innings.

Trevor Williams (3-5) entered in relief to start the second and allowed two runs in six solid innings for the Mets.

GUARDIANS 9, ROYALS 2

CLEVELAND — José Ramirez drove in two runs and had four hits, Aaron Civale pitched six solid innings and AL Central champion Cleveland beat Kansas City.

Hours after the game, the Royals fired manager Mike Matheny and pitching coach Cal Eldred. Matheny became the fifth big league manager fired this year.

Cleveland (92-70) opens the wild-card round when it hosts Tampa Bay on Friday.

Ramirez had run-scoring singles in the second and sixth and added a double in the eighth.

Civale (5-6) struck out nine and gave up solo homers to Vinnie Pasquantino and Kyle Isbel.

Kansas City starter Jonathan Heasley (4-10) allowed six runs and nine hits in five innings. The Royals (65-97) finished last in the AL Central.

ORIOLES 5, BLUE JAYS 4, GAME 1

BLUE JAYS 5, ORIOLES 1, GAME 2

BALTIMORE — Otto Lopez hit a tiebreaking two-run single in the seventh inning, and Toronto beat Baltimore to split a doubleheader.

Terrin Vavra hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to lift the Orioles in the opener.

Lopez had three hits in the opener and two more in the second game. The Blue Jays, who entered the day having already clinched the top wild card in the American League, finished the regular season 92-70.

Baltimore went 83-79, a remarkable 31-game improvement from a year ago.

Yusei Kikuchi (6-7) retired all five of his hitters in the second game to earn the win in relief for Toronto. Yennier Cano (1-1) took the loss.

In the opener, Mitch White (0-5) allowed five runs and seven hits in four relief innings. DL Hall (1-1) earned his first career victory in relief, and Bryan Baker worked a perfect ninth for his first career save.

RED SOX 6, RAYS 3

BOSTON— Playoff-bound Tampa Bay lost its fifth straight game to finish the regular season as J.D. Martinez hit a pair of home runs for last-place Boston.

Xander Bogaerts also had a pair of hits in what could be his final game for the Red Sox.

Despite losing seven of their last eight games, the Rays went 86-76 to finish third in the AL East and will open the best-of-three wild-card round at Cleveland on Friday.

Ji-Man Choi had three hits, including a two-run homer in the third, for Tampa Bay.

Eduard Bazardo earned the win in his first career decision, allowing one hit and one walk in a scoreless fifth after starter Nick Pivetta threw 103 pitches in four innings. Josh Fleming (2-5) gave up both Martinez homers, allowing four runs on eight hits while striking out four.

Matt Barnes pitched the ninth for his eighth save. Boston finished 78-84.

ASTROS 3, PHILLIES 2

HOUSTON — Framber Valdez struck out 10 in five shutout innings to lead Houston past Philadelphia.

Christian Vazquez hit a solo homer and Chas McCormick and Yordan Alvarez drove in runs early to help American League-best Houston (106-56) to its fourth victory in five games.

It was the career-best 17th win for Valdez (17-6), second in the AL behind teammate Justin Verlander’s 18. Valdez allowed two singles and walked one as he surpassed 200 innings pitched for the first time in his five-year career.

Ryan Pressly pitched a scoreless ninth for his 33rd save.

Phillies starter Bailey Falter yielded two hits in one inning before he was lifted for Michael Plassmeyer (0-1). He allowed three runs and nine hits with six strikeouts in six innings. The playoff-bound Phillies finished 87-75.

GIANTS 8, PADRES 1

SAN DIEGO — David Villar hit two home runs and Austin Slater also connected for San Francisco, which beat playoff-bound San Diego to finish the season at 81-81.

The Padres head to New York to face the Mets in a wild-card series starting Friday night. San Diego finished 89-73. The Giants finished at .500 for the first time in the franchise’s 140 seasons.

Reliever Craig Stammen (1-2) started and gave up five runs and six hits in three-plus innings. He struck out three and walked three.

Yunior Marte (2-2), the second of seven Giants pitchers, worked two scoreless innings.

PIRATES 5, CARDINALS 3

PITTSBURGH — Miguel Andújar had three hits, Diego Castillo added two and Pittsburgh beat playoff-bound St. Louis.

Kevin Newman, Rodolfo Castro and Ji Hwan Bae drove in runs for Pittsburgh. Manny Banuelos (2-1) picked up the win in relief and Johan Ramirez worked the ninth for his second save of the season and first with the Pirates.

Tommy Edman had three of St. Louis’ eight hits. Matthew Liberatore (2-2), recalled from Triple-A Memphis earlier in the day, allowed five runs in five innings.

The Cardinals gave Albert Pujols the day off to rest up for the playoffs.

St. Louis went 93-69 and Pittsburgh was 62-100.

MARLINS 12, BRAVES 9

MIAMI — Rookie Peyton Burdick homered and drove in four runs to lead Miami over NL East champion Atlanta.

Matt Olson hit his 34th homer and Marcell Ozuna hit his 23rd for the Braves, who finished 101-61 and have a bye into the Division Series next week.

Miami went 69-93 in manager Don Mattingly’s last season.

Fortes’ two-run homer capped a five-run sixth and gave Miami a 10-6 lead. Jon Berti hit a two-run triple and scored on JJ Bleday’s triple off reliever Jesse Chavez (4-3).

Olson’s two-run drive off Andrew Nardi (1-1) in the seventh got Atlanta within 10-8 before Burdick connected with a two-run homer in the bottom half.

Dylan Floro inherited two runners with one out in the ninth and finished for his 10th save.

DIAMONDBACKS 4, BREWERS 2

MILWAUKEE — Josh Rojas and Corbin Carroll hit back-to-back home runs in the ninth inning and Arizona beat Milwaukee.

Milwaukee starter Corbin Burnes crossed the 200-inning threshold for the first time. The reigning NL Cy Young winner worked three perfect innings and fanned five to finish with a career-high 243 strikeouts.

Rowdy Tellez hit his team-leading 35th home run, breaking a 1-1 tie with a solo drive in the Milwaukee eighth off Sean Poppen (2-2).

Christian Walker led off the Arizona ninth with his third hit and Rojas homered off Trevor Gott (3-3). Carroll followed with his fourth homer of the season.

Kevin Ginkel worked a perfect ninth for his first save.

The Diamondbacks went 73-88. Milwaukee finished 87-75.

CUBS 15, REDS 3

CINCINNATI — David Bote drove in a season-high five runs for Chicago as Cincinnati lost 100 games for the first time in four decade.

Cincinnati finished 62-100, one shy of the franchise record for losses set by the 1982 team that went 61-101.

Rebuilding Chicago finished 74-88 and third in the NL Central.

Bote hit a three-run homer before Chicago broke the game open with a six-run sixth capped by Zach McKinstry’s three-run home run.

Adbert Alzolay (2-1), the first of five relievers who took over for the injured Adrian Sampson, pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Rookie right-hander Graham Ashcraft (5-6) took the loss.