PITTSBURGH — The St. Louis Cardinals clinched their third National League Central title in a row Wednesday with an 11-1 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates as Jason Heyward had a grand slam and Tyler Lyons pitched seven scoreless innings in the second game of a day-night doubleheader.
The Pirates are assured of finishing second to the Cardinals for the third consecutive year despite having the second-most wins in the major leagues.
The Pirates will play in the one-game NL wild-card playoff for a third straight year, meeting the Chicago Cubs on Oct. 7.
The Cardinals will meet the wild-card winner in the best-of-five National League Division Series, which will open Oct. 9 at St. Louis.
Pittsburgh won the first game, 8-2.
Blue Jays 15, Orioles 2, Game 1
Orioles 8, Blue Jays 1, Game 2
BALTIMORE — Chris Davis led a four-home run attack with two solo shots, and starter Kevin Gausman shut down Toronto for eight innings as the Baltimore Orioles salvaged a split of Wednesday’s doubleheader with an 8-1 victory over the Blue Jays in the nightcap.
The Blue Jays routed the Orioles, 15-2, in the opener, a victory that clinched the American League East for Toronto, the team’s first American League East title and playoff berth in 22 years.
This victory stopped Baltimore’s five-game losing slide and ended the Blue Jay’s six-game winning streak.
Cubs 10, Reds 3
CINCINNATI — Jon Lester retired the final 20 batters he faced and Austin Jackson had a career-high five RBIs for Chicago.
Lester allowed one runner over his final seven innings. He struck out nine and didn’t walk as he lowered his ERA to 3.34.
Jackson had a pair of RBI doubles and Starlin Castro had four hits, including a homer.
Twins 7, Indians 1, Game 1
CLEVELAND — Joe Mauer and Byron Buxton homered and Torii Hunter drove in three runs as Minnesota beat Cleveland in the first game of a doubleheader.
The Twins, who started the day 1 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Angels for the second wild-card spot in the American League, broke the game open with a four-run fourth inning that knocked Carlos Carrasco out of the game.
Kyle Gibson pitched six scoreless innings giving up four hits, while matching his career high with nine strikeouts.
Rays 6, Marlins 4
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Grady Sizemore hit a three-run double and Tampa Bay Rays earned the win.
Sizemore, who struck out with the bases loaded in the fourth, got another shot in the fifth and broke open a close game, chasing Jarred Cosart. Sizemore is 8-for-15 during a six-game hitting streak, and he has nine RBIs in his past seven games.
Braves 2, Nationals 0
ATLANTA — Jordan Zimmermann had a quality start in what was likely his last game for Washington, but it wasn’t good enough to get a victory.
Rookie Williams Perez pitched out of trouble during his six innings and Atlanta made a pair of early runs stand up against Zimmerman, who becomes a free agent after the season.
Perez had just one perfect inning, but he benefited from two double plays and the Nationals went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.