ABRAHAM ALMONTE

Aaron Judge went homerless for the fourth straight game and remained one shy of Roger Maris’ American League record of 61 as the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 7-5 to close in on their first AL East title since 2019.

Jorge Soler hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh inning, Joc Pederson made a leaping catch at the wall for the final out and the Atlanta Braves rallied to beat San Francisco 6-5 to end the Giants’ five-game winning streak.

The Los Angeles Dodgers bench claps for Will Smith after he hit a two-run double against the San Diego Padres in the fifth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan)SAN DIEGO – The Los Angeles Dodgers became the first team to clinch a playoff spot in the pandemic-shortened season, beating the San Diego Padres 7-5 Wednesday behind Dustin May's gutty effort out of the bullpen and home runs from AJ Pollock and Chris Taylor. Los Angeles is seeking its first World Series title since 1988. Grisham angered the Dodgers by briefly posing at the plate after homering off Clayton Kershaw in the Padres' 7-2 win Monday night. He was scheduled to have an MRI in Los Angeles on Wednesday after facing just one batter Tuesday night.

Injured outfielders Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are likely to miss the New York Yankees' opener at Baltimore on March 26. ANGELS 11, INDIANS 7Michael Hermosillo had a three-run homer and RBI single for the Angels. RANGERS 6, GIANTS 5Wilmer Flores hit his first home run and Buster Posey added an RBI single for San Francisco. Ian Happ led off the game with a home run and added an RBI single. Willson Contreras had a two-run single for Chicago.