MLB: Pittsburgh Pirates clinch second consecutive playoff appearance
Wednesday 24 September 2014 11:08, UK
Starling Marte's go-ahead sixth-inning double secured the Pittsburgh Pirates a 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night - and a second consecutive playoff appearance.
Marte's RBI double off Alex Wood proved decisive at Turner Field, while Gerrit Cole also had a good night as he recovered from a shaky start to retire the final 17 hitters he faced.
The result, combined with Milwaukee's 3-1 loss to Cincinnati, meant the Pirates were guaranteed at least a National League wildcard - exactly one year after Marte's ninth-inning tie-breaking homer had clinched their first post-season spot in 21 years.
Back-to-back homers from Todd Frazier and Devin Mesoraco off Brewers starter Mike Fiers in the first inning spurred the Reds to victory at Great American Ball Park.
Welington Castillo went deep and drove in the decisive RBI single in the 10th inning to hand the Chicago Cubs a 4-3 triumph over St Louis, keeping the Cardinals' magic number at four to wrap up a second straight NL Central title.
Rookie Yordano Ventura gave up four hits and blanked Cleveland for seven innings as the Kansas City Royals prevailed 7-1 to keep up the pressure on American League Central-leading Detroit and put the Indians on the brink of elimination.
Bitter-sweet
Miguel Cabrera's RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning kept the Tigers a game ahead of Kansas City, courtesy of a 4-3 success against the Chicago White Sox.
RA Dickey went seven strong innings to help the Toronto Blue Jays topple the Seattle Mariners 10-2, but it was bitter-sweet as the Royals' win meant the Blue Jays were ousted from play-off contention.
Nelson Cruz's 40th major league home run lifted the AL East champion Baltimore Orioles to a 5-4 win over the New York Yankees, pushing the Yankees to the verge of play-off elimination as they slipped five games off the pace for the second AL wild card.
Adam LaRoche hit a three-run homer for Washington as the Nationals boosted their hopes of home-field advantage in the NL play-offs with a 4-2 win over the New York Mets.
In other games, the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Boston Red Sox 6-2, the Miami Marlins overcame the Philadelphia Phillies 2-0, the Texas Rangers edged the Houston Astros 2-1 and the Minnesota Twins saw off the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-3.
