ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Cincinnati Reds’ bid to become just the third team to make the playoffs following a 100-loss season ended in game No. 161 when they were eliminated during the seventh inning of a 15-6 defeat to the St. Louis Cardinals. Elly De La Cruz had just grounded out for the final out of the top of the seventh when the Marlins (84-76) finished a 7-3 win at Pittsburgh to clinch a wild-card berth. Any drama of scoreboard-watching dissipated when the Reds fell behind 11-0 by the third inning.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Yan Gomes hit a grand slam, but the Chicago Cubs were eliminated from postseason contention during a 10-6 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. Chicago’s game was going into the eighth inning when Miami finished its 7-3 victory at Pittsburgh, securing an NL wild card and knocking the Cubs out of the playoff race. It looked as if the Cubs were in good shape for a wild card when they improved to 78-67 with a 5-4 victory at Colorado on Sept. 11. But they dropped 11 of their next 15 games. Before the victory at Milwaukee, they had lost four in a row by a total of five runs. They also had dropped nine straight road games.
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago White Sox lost 100 games for the first time since 2018 as Ha-Seong Kim had four hits to lead the San Diego Padres to a 6-1 win. Michael Wacha (14-4) struck out seven, walked one and allowed three hits over seven scoreless innings as the Padres, who were eliminated from playoff contention Friday, moved to above .500 (81-80) for the first time since May 10. Jurickson Profar had two hits and drove in four runs and Ji Man Choi added a pair of hits, his first with San Diego. Chicago’s Mike Clevinger (9-9) was roughed up for six runs in 1 2/3 innings.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Miami Marlins are heading back to the playoffs for just the second time in 20 years. Jazz Chisholm hit his 19th home run of the season and Miami grabbed a wild-card spot in the National League with a 7-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Josh Bell drove in three runs for Miami, which relied on seven pitchers to reach the postseason at the end of a 162-game season for the first time since 2003.
