The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-6 last night. The Bucs wasted a 5-0 lead after three innings. The Phillies hit three home runs in mounting the comeback. Pirates starting pitcher Johan Oviedo six earned runs on seven hits over five innings in his final start of the season. He walked two and struck out six. He ends the year with a 4.31 ERA. Connor Joe led the Bucs with a four-hit game, including his 29th double of the season. It was the Pirates third consecutive loss.
The two teams play again tonight at 6:05pm. WISR pre-game is 5:40pm. Luis Ortiz will start for the Pirates. Zach Wheeler starts for Philadelphia.
The Pirates pitching staff currently has the fourth-most strikeouts as a staff in team history. They are 15 strikeouts away from second-most in franchise history.
Ronald Acuna, Jr. of the Atlanta Braves has become the first ever player in MLB history to steal 70 bases and hit 40 home runs in a season. He stole his 70th base in the 10th inning, leading the Braves to a 6-5 victory over the Chicago Cubs. The victory clinched the top overall playoff seed in the National League for the Braves. The victory by the Braves locks up the top seed for the National League playoffs.
The Cubs have now fallen into a tie with Miami for the final N.L. Wild Card. The Marlins split a doubleheader with the New York Mets Wednesday. Currently, both teams have four games remaining in the regular season. The Marlins currently hold the tie-breaker.
The Cincinnati Reds lost to the Cleveland Guardians 4-3 last night, and remain 1-1/2 games out of that Wild Card.
Houston defeated Seattle 8-3 last night and continue to hold the final American League Wild Card by 1-1/2 games over the Mariners.