CHICAGO - The Atlanta Braves clinched the NL East title on Sunday, and then rode two home runs by Andrelton Simmons to a 5-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
The game was in the sixth inning when Washington lost 4-2 to Miami, giving the Braves their first division crown in eight years. There were a few high-fives in Atlanta’s dugout when the Marlins won, and a couple of Braves fans did the tomahawk chop in the stands.
Manager Fredi Gonzalez high-fived a fan as he made his way to the dugout after a lineup change, and the celebration really picked up when Craig Kimbrel finished for his major league-best 49th save. The Braves poured out of the dugout and bullpen and jumped in a circle near the mound before retreating to the cramped visitors’ clubhouse at Wrigley Field to continue the party.
“What a great feeling,” Gonzalez said. “It really is a great feeling to realize we’ve played 150-some games to get to this point. We knew early on that the Nationals had lost but we still wanted to be able to celebrate and come out with a win. And we did.” Simmons hit a solo home run in the fourth and a two-run shot in the eighth, giving him 17 home runs on the year.
Simmons’ second career multihome run game was more than enough run support for Julio Teheran (13-8), who struck out 7 over 6 innings and allowed 1 run.
The Cubs had a chance to tie it when they put runners on second and third with two outs in the fifth, but Teheran managed to escape the jam despite a solid at-bat by Starlin Castro. Teheran needed 11 pitches to get Castro for a swinging strikeout, preserving Atlanta’s 3-1 lead.
Freddie Freeman also hit a two run home run for the Braves, who have won three of four. Freeman had three hits and is batting .356 (26 for 73) with 6 home runs and 17 RBI in his last 20 games.
Atlanta is headed to the playoffs for the second consecutive year and third time in four seasons. But it’s the first division title for the Braves since 2005, when they won 90 games and then lost to Houston in the division series.
METS 4, PHILLIES 3 Wilfredo Tovar produced the winning hit in his major-league debut and visiting New York swept Philadelphia. Tovar knocked in two runs with a single in the seventh to put the Mets ahead.
REDS 11, PIRATES 3 Rookie Billy Hamilton had three hits and stole two more bases, and visiting Cincinnati routed Pittsburgh to tie the Pirates for the NL wild-card lead. The Reds and Pirates each have a magic number of two to close out Washington and clinch a playoff spot.
DODGERS 1, PADRES 0 Adrian Gonzalez scored an unearned run and Zack Greinke combined with three relievers on a two-hitter to lead visiting Los Angeles over San Diego. Andrew Cashner (10-9) took a two-hitter into the seventh when Gonzalez singled with one out, Matt Kemp struck out and Michael Young doubled off the right-field wall. Will Venable bobbled the ball, and Gonzalez came home after initially being held by third base coach Tim Wallach.
DIAMONDBACKS 13, ROCKIES 9 Matt Davidson hit a three-run home run for the second consecutive day, and visiting Arizona opened anearly six-run lead before hanging on to beat Colorado. Rookie Chris Owings doubled, scored twice and drove in two runs for the Diamondbacks, who led 7-1 in the third and 13-5 in the ninth.
MARLINS 4-4, NATIONALS 2-5 Wilson Ramos’ ninth-inning grounder bounced off a leg of third baseman Chris Coghlan for a game-ending error that allowed pinch-runner Eury Perez to score from third, and host Washington beat Miami for a doubleheader split that left the Nationals five games back in the NL wild-card race with six games left. Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich hit home runs as Miami won the opener.
BREWERS 6, CARDINALS 4 Norichika Aoki scored three times and doubled home a run, and host Milwaukee beat St. Louis, hours after the Cardinals clinched a playoff berth.
AMERICAN LEAGUE ATHLETICS 11, TWINS 7 Coco Crisp hit a three-run home run, Daric Barton and Jed Lowrie each had solo shots and host Oakland wrapped up its second consecutive AL West title while overpowering Minnesota. The A’s, who had MLB’s fourth-lowest opening day payroll at about $65 million, clinched their 16th division crown and 25th postseason appearance when Texas lost 4-0 at Kansas City earlier.
RAYS 3, ORIOLES 1 Enny Romero combined with five relievers on a three-hitter in his major league debut, lifting host Tampa Bay by Pittsburgh. The 22-year-old left-hander allowed 1 hit and 4 walks in 4 2/3 shutout innings.
Brandon Gomes (3-1) followed and struck out Manny Machado with a runner on second.
INDIANS 9, ASTROS 2 Michael Brantley and Michael Bourn had two RBI apiece as host Cleveland became the first team since the 1961 Yankees to sweep six four-game series in the same season.
ROYALS 4, RANGERS 0 Justin Maxwell ended host Kansas City’s home season with a two-out grand slam in the 10th off former Royals All-Star closer Joakim Soria.
WHITE SOX 6, TIGERS 3 The host Tigers fell short in their effort to clinch the AL Central during their final homestand, and their magic number for the division title remained at two.
MARINERS 3, ANGELS 2 Justin Smoak hit a tiebreaking two-run home run and Felix Hernandez had 10 strikeouts in a four-inning start for the visitors in a game delayed twice by bees.
RED SOX 5, BLUE JAYS 2 David Ortiz and Jackie Bradley Jr. hit home runs and Felix Doubront (11-6) gave up 2 runs and 4 hits over 7 innings in his last start before moving to the bullpen for the playoffs for the host Red Sox.
INTERLEAGUE GIANTS 2, YANKEES 1 After honoring Mariano Rivera in a pregame ceremony and celebrating Andy Pettitte’s last regular-season home start, the host Yankees saw their AL wild-card hopes dim when Tony Abreu hit a go-ahead double off David Robertson.
Sunday’s games NATIONAL LEAGUE Cincinnati 11, Pittsburgh 3 Miami 4-4, Washington 2-5 NY Mets 4, Philadelphia 3 Atlanta 5, Chicago Cubs 2 Arizona 13, Colorado 9 LA Dodgers 1, San Diego 0 Milwaukee 6, St. Louis 4 AMERICAN LEAGUE Cleveland 9, Houston 2 Chicago White Sox 6, Detroit 3 Boston 5, Toronto 2 Tampa Bay 3, Baltimore 1 Kansas City 4, Texas 0 (10) Seattle 3, LA Angels 2 Oakland 11, Minnesota 7 INTERLEAGUE San Francisco 2, NY Yankees 1
Sports, Pages 13 on 09/23/2013