Author: rincon

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Charlie Morton gave up a three-run homer to Michael Massey in the first inning and the Atlanta Braves squandered a chance to clinch a postseason berth, losing to the playoff-bound Kansas City Royals 4-2 on Sunday in what was supposed to be the final day of the regular season.

Atlanta hosts a doubleheader Monday against the New York Mets, a makeup of two games that were rained out last week between the NL East rivals as Hurricane Helene slashed through the southeastern U.S.

Atlanta and the Mets are both 88-72, and Arizona finished 89-73. If either team sweeps Monday, the Diamondbacks reach the playoffs. But if the doubleheader is split, the Mets and Braves advance and Arizona is out because the Braves and Mets hold the tiebreaker edge over the Diamondbacks.

Before recording an out, Morton gave up a leadoff double to Tommy Pham, a single to Bobby Witt Jr. and Massey’s homer.

Morton (8-10) surrendered four runs on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings.

The 40-year-old was drafted by the Braves in 2002 and made his MLB debut for Atlanta in 2008. He made what could be his final major league start and was given a small ovation after manager Brian Snitker pulled him in the top of the fifth inning.

Atlanta had ample opportunity to score more than two runs but went 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position.

Alec Marsh (9-9) allowed one earned run over five innings for the win. Kris Bubic pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Shohei Ohtani went 1 for 4 and fell short in his bid to become the National League’s first Triple Crown winner since 1937, stealing his 59th base to help the Los Angeles Dodgers rally past the Colorado Rockies 2-1 on Sunday in Charlie Blackmon’s final game.

Ohtani finished the regular season leading the NL in homers (54) and RBIs (130). His .310 average trailed San Diego’s Luis Arráez (.314) in the batting race.

The charter member of the 50-50 club, Ohtani swiped his 59th base during the eighth-inning rally.

The last NL Triple Crown winner was St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Joe Medwick in 1937. In the AL, Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera won the Triple Crown in 2012.

Chris Taylor tied the game in the eighth with his first homer since July 7. Soon after Austin Barnes swiped third as part of a double steal with Ohtani. Rockies reliever Seth Halvorsen appeared to get his cleat caught in the dirt in his delivery and stopped. He was called for a balk to bring home Barnes.

[Related: How Shohei Ohtani, without half his powers, rewrote MLB history again and went 50/50]

Evan Phillips (5-1) earned the win and Edgardo Henriquez closed out the ninth for his first career save, among 14 Dodgers with saves this season.

The Dodgers wound up a major league-best 98-64, breaking a string of four straight full seasons with 100 or more wins (they went 43-17 during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season). The NL West champions open the Division Series on Saturday and have home-field advantage throughout the postseason.

Sam Hilliard launched a 476-foot shot into the right field third deck to give the Rockies a 1-0 lead in the second, the fourth-longest in the major leagues this season.

Starter Ryan Feltner scattered two hits over six strong innings in a no-decision. Reliever Victor Vodnik (5-4) took the loss.

It was an emotion-filled afternoon for Blackmon, who went 1 or 2 in his 14th and final season — all with the Rockies. He was lifted for a pinch-runner after his single in the third.

Blackmon was honored in a pregame ceremony and trotted out to center field all alone to soak in the applause. He leaves as the franchise’s all-time leader in triples and second behind Hall of Famer Todd Helton in games played and runs scored.

Colorado (61-101) has back-to-back 100-loss seasons. The team went 59-103 last season. The Rockies saw 2,540,195 fans attend games at Coors Field this season. Last year, the attendance at the hitter-friendly ballpark was 2,607,935.

Before the game, Rockies manager Bud Black sidestepped the topic of his expiring contract.

“I’m not talking about me. You know that,” Black playfully said. “Thank you for not asking.”

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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