NEW YORK (AP) — Francisco Lindor hit a grand slam in the sixth inning, his latest clutch swing in a storybook season full of them, and the New York Mets reached the National League Championship Series with a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday. Edwin Díaz struck out Kyle Schwarber with two runners aboard to end it as New York finished off the rival Phillies in Game 4 of their best-of-five Division Series, winning 3-1 to wrap up a postseason series at home for the first time in 24 years. “I want to win it all. And ours will be a team that will forever be remembered,” Lindor said, speaking in the interview room with one of his young daughters on his lap drinking from a Gatorade bottle.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Mookie Betts homered for the second straight night, Shohei Ohtani hit an RBI single and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat Dylan Cease and the San Diego Padres 8-0 on Wednesday night to force a deciding Game 5 in their tense NL Division Series. Will Smith and Gavin Lux each hit a two-run homer for the Dodgers, who snapped a two-game losing streak and now return home for the next matchup between the NL West rivals on Friday night. The Padres won 10-2 at Dodger Stadium in Game 2 on Sunday night, when tempers flared on the field and in the stands. The winner will have home-field advantage in the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets, who eliminated the Philadelphia Phillies in their NLDS.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The roof panels over the home of baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays were ripped to shreds after Hurricane Milton came ashore in Florida on Wednesday night, bringing wind gusts exceeding 100 mph and flooding parts of the state. It was not immediately clear if there was damage inside Tropicana Field, located in St. Petersburg. Television images showed the swaths that serve as the domed building’s roof were completely tattered, giving a clear line of sight to the lights that were on inside the stadium. There were only essential personnel inside the ballpark Wednesday night, all of them safe and accounted for, the Rays said. It was not being used as a shelter and no first responders were being staged there, the team said, adding that no official determination about damage can be made until the storm passes and conditions are safe.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Ivan Barbashev, Mark Stone and Victor Olofsson each scored two goals and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Colorado Avalanche 8-4 on Wednesday night in the teams’ season opener. Barbashev also had two assists, linemate Jack Eichel had four and defenseman Shea Theodore added three. Adin Hill finished with 28 saves. Mikko Rantanen had three goals, while Casey Mittelstadt also scored for the Avalanche. Alexandar Georgiev made 11 saves. Justus Annunen came in for Georgiev and stopped two of the four shots he faced.
WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
Major League Baseball playoffs
NY Yankees 3, Kansas City 2 (Yankees lead best-of-five series 2-1)
Detroit 3, Cleveland 0 (Tigers lead series 2-1)
NY Mets 4, Philadelphia 1 (Mets win series 3-1)
LA Dodgers 8, San Diego 0 (Series tied 2-2)