MAJOR LEAGUES
Jordan Zimmermann pitched the first no-hitter for the Washington Nationals, the gem preserved when defensive replacement Steven Souza Jr made a diving catch in left field for the final out in a 1-0 victory over the Miami Marlins in a regular-season finale on Sunday.
Zimmermann (14-5) allowed only two baserunners, finishing with 10 strikeouts and one walk in the fifth no-hitter in the majors this year.
Christian Yelich sent a long drive to left-center with two outs in the ninth. Souza, who made his big league debut this year and took over for Ryan Zimmerman to begin the ninth, ran hard into the gap, extended his glove and leaped for the sensational catch.
Ian Desmond hit a second-inning home run by Henderson Alvarez (12-7), who threw a no-hitter against Detroit on the final day of last season.
ATHLETICS 4, RANGERS 0
In Arlington, Texas, Oakland finally clinched their third consecutive playoff berth as Sonny Gray (14-10) pitched a six-hitter to win for the first time in five starts this month and Josh Reddick had an RBI triple.
The A’s lost 30 of their previous 45 games before winning game No. 162. They play the win-or-go-home wild-card game tonight in Kansas City.
Rookie Nick Martinez (5-12) allowed two runs and four hits over 5-2/3 innings.
MARINERS 4, ANGELS 1
In Seattle, the Mariners were eliminated in the fifth inning when Oakland’s game ended, but Felix Hernandez (15-6) pitched five shutout innings to secure the AL ERA title at 2.14, just beating Chris Sale of the White Sox (2.17).
Seattle’s 87 wins in the first season of All-Star second baseman Robinson Cano were their most since 2007. The Mariners had a 1.5-game lead for the second wild card on the morning of Sept. 7, but lost 12 of their next 17 games.
Cory Rasmus (3-2) was the loser for Los Angeles, who finished with the major leagues’ best regular-season record at 98-64 and play Kansas City or Oakland in the division series.
TIGERS 3, TWINS 0
In Detroit, David Price (15-12) allowed four hits in 7-1/3 innings, clinching Detroit’s fourth straight AL Central title.
Ian Kinsler hit a solo homer in the third, and the Tigers added two more runs in the eighth off Kyle Gibson (13-12).
Detroit entered with a post-season berth already wrapped up, but the Tigers led the division by only one game over Kansas City. The Tigers face Baltimore in the AL division series.
ROYALS 6, WHITE SOX 4
In Chicago, right after Detroit secured their fourth straight division title, Kansas City manager Ned Yost started pulling some of his regulars from the lineup.
Kansas City host Oakland tonight in their first playoff appearance since 1985.
Chicago’s Paul Konerko went naught-for-three with two strikeouts on the final day of his 18-year big league career. A six-time All-Star, Konerko finishes with a .279 average, 439 homers and 1,412 RBIs.
Casey Coleman (1-0) pitched a scoreless inning for his first win since Sept. 9, 2011, to beat Daniel Webb (6-5). Chicago finished 73-89, 10 more wins than year.
In other MLB action, it was:
‧ Cardinals 1, Diamondbacks 0
‧ Reds 4, Pirates 1
‧ Giants 9, Padres 3
‧ Yankees 9, Red Sox 5
‧ Dodgers 10, Rockies 5
‧ Mets 8, Astros 3
‧ Braves 2, Phillies 1
‧ Orioles 1, Blue Jays 0
‧ Indians 7, Rays 2
‧ Cubs 5, Brewers 2
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