CLEVELAND — Miguel Sanó’s grand slam capped a five-run eighth inning, and the Minnesota Twins grabbed firm control of the AL Central by beating the Cleveland Indians 9-5, completing a sweep of Saturday’s day-night doubleheader.
The sweep pushed the Twins 5½ games ahead of the Indians going into the final game of the showdown series Sunday.
Sanó’s 415-foot blast on Nick Goody’s first pitch ended up in the bleachers in left-center.
Eddie Rosario hit a two-run homer in the first inning, and Nelson Cruz added a two-run blast in the sixth, giving the Twins a total of 283 home runs on the season.
The Twins used two bullpen games to complete the sweep. Five pitchers combined to stop Cleveland’s offense 2-0 in the first game.
Four pitchers worked in the second game, with rookie right-hander Brusdar Graterol (1-0) going two scoreless innings for his first major league win.
YANKEES 13, BLUE JAYS 3: James Paxton pitched five innings to win his ninth straight start, Brett Gardner homered twice and drove in five runs, and New York hit five homers at Toronto.
Gleyber Torres and Luke Voit also homered for the Yankees, going back-to-back off right-hander Brock Stewart in the fifth as the AL East leaders won for the 14th time in 19 games.
Torres connected one inning after slipping while trying to make a throw to first and appearing to hurt his right leg or knee. Torres was checked on the field and stayed in to hit his 37th homer before being replaced by Tyler Wade in the sixth.
DJ LeMahieu had four hits for New York, his AL-leading 58th multihit game of the season. The Yankees had 19 hits, matching their season high for a nine-inning game.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
CUBS 14, PIRATES 1: Kris Bryant and rookie Nico Hoerner each homered among three hits, and Chicago went deep four times at home to set a club record with 237 home runs.
Bryant hit a two-run shot in the fourth and had four RBI. Hoerner’s second homer in two days, a three-run drive in the sixth, broke the Cubs’ old mark of 235 established in 2004.
Ben Zobrist and Victor Caratini added solo shots as the Cubs used a second straight big day at the plate to strengthen their bid for a fifth straight postseason berth. Chicago has outscored Pittsburgh 31-9 in the first two games of the series and won three straight overall.
Kyle Hendricks (11-9) allowed a run on seven hits in six innings while walking one for his third straight solid outing. He has a 1.52 ERA in the span.
BRAVES 10, NATIONALS 1: Ronald Acuna Jr. ignited a four-run rally with the go-ahead, two-run double, as Atlanta won at Washington and clinched a playoff berth.
Acuna Jr.’s double down the left-field line off reliever Fernando Rodney added fuel to a dramatic seventh inning for the Braves (93-57), who reduced their magic number to four to clinch their 19th division title.
Earlier in the seventh, Charlie Culberson was struck directly on the right cheekbone by a 91 mph fastball on Rodney’s first pitch of the game.
BREWERS 5, CARDINALS 2: Mike Moustakas and Yasmani Grandal homered to help Milwaukee win at St. Louis and remain one game behind the Cubs for the second wild-card spot.
METS 3, DODGERS 0: Rajai Davis hit a three-run double off Julio Urias with two outs in the eighth inning following a brilliant pitchers’ duel between Jacob deGrom and Hyun-Jin Ryu, and New York won at home.
The Mets stayed three games behind the Cubs for the second wild-card berth.
NOTES
CUBS: Craig Kimbrel was “feeling better,” according to Manager Joe Maddon, but there’s still no timetable for the closer’s return from right elbow inflammation.
Is it possible Kimbrel could miss the rest of the regular season?
“Anything is possible,” Maddon said. “Whether he can be back sooner, or that. Playing catch and throwing the bullpen (Sunday) will give us a lot of direction.”
RED SOX: Boston is on track to pay a $13.05 million luxury tax for a season in which it is likely to miss the playoffs.
The Red Sox payroll for purposes of the tax increased from $239.7 million on opening day to $242.8 million on Aug. 31, according to calculations by the commissioner’s office. That is well over the $206 million threshold where the tax begins.
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