On a solemn anniversary, Major League Baseball honored those lost during the September 11 tragedy with pre-game ceremonies around the country. The highlight of the day saw the Mets & Yankees face off in Yankee Stadium, 25 years later. Also around MLB, the first two playoff spots were punched.
Rays first to clinch playoff spot
Tampa Bay won 3-1 over the Astros on a walk-off, making the Rays the first club in the American League & Majors to punch a ticket to October.
Houston managed to scrape one run against Drew Rasmussen, thanks to a force-out RBI from Yainer Diaz. But in the fifth, Victor Mesa Jr. continued his strong season with another big hit. Mesa Jr., who was hitting .400 in his previous 12 contests, hit his 13th home run of the year.
Then in the ninth, Junior Caminero took a 97 MPH fastball from Bryan Abreu to left-center for his 40th home run of the year.
Brewers win in romp
Minutes after the Rays clinched a playoff spot, the Brewers did as well. However, Milwaukee did so in an anticlimactic manner, as the Brewers won 20-0 over the Reds.
William Contreras had three hits, including a home run, and six RBI for Milwaukee. Brice Turang hit his 18th home run of 2026 and drove in four, Garrett Mitchell went deep, and Joey Ortiz & Jackson Chourio each had four hits.
Starter Dustin May struck out six over six scoreless innings. On the other end, Andrew Abbott allowed eight runs over two innings.
This victory comes almost a month after the Brewers won 22-0 at home against the Mariners.
Yankees take first game against Mets
The Yankees won their 85th game of the season, defeating the Mets 6-4 in the first of three in The Bronx.
Cody Bellinger got to Nolan McLean, who allowed a season-high 10 hits on the 11th, with a three-run shot in the second to make it 4-1. Ben Rice made it 5-1 with a solo home run in the fifth.
A.J. Ewing had two hits, one of which was his ninth home run of 2026.
Guardians get back on track
A three-run ninth inning pushed the Guardians to a 5-2 win over the Twins, a significant victory in the AL Wild Card race.
Angel Martinez made it a 2-1 game in the seventh with a two-run shot. Kaelen Culpepper tied it in the seventh, and it wasn’t until the ninth that the Guardians were able to take the lead and get some daylight.
Yoendrys Gomez tossed a wild pitch that scored Travis Bazzana. Later on, Brayan Rocchio hit a two-run double to add two more to the score.
Orioles defeat Jays
The Blue Jays could not keep pace with the Guardians, as Toronto lost 7-4 to the Orioles.
In a must-win game for the O’s, the offense came through against Max Scherzer. Dylan Beavers was all over this game, as he hit a solo shot to start the scoring, and then drove in two more in the second to make it 6-0 after Colton Cowser and company hit around the right-hander.
Kazuma Okamoto hit his 31st home run of the season, while Brett Bateman belted his first career MLB home run.
Everything else
- Cubs def. Pirates 12-2
- Tigers def. Rockies 6-2
- Nationals def. Angels 4-3
- Royals def. Red Sox 3-2
- Dodgers def. Marlins 6-2
- Braves def. Phillies 6-5
- Cardinals def. White Sox 7-3
- Diamondbacks def. Rangers 9-1
- Athletics def. Mariners 6-5 (10)
- Padres vs. Giants 7-5
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