MLB: Dodgers advance in playoffs, Yankees force tiebreaker against Boston

(AFP) The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cincinnati Reds 8x4 on Wednesday to advance out of the wild card round of the major league playoffs.

The Dodgers were the first to advance out of the round with two wins at home against Cincinnati.

Starting Saturday, the defending champions will star in an explosive National League divisional series against the Philadelphia Phillies, another title contender.

To finish off the Reds, the Dodgers relied on a formidable start by Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

The Japanese pitcher contained Cincinnati through six innings in which he struck out eight opponents and allowed a career-high 113 pitches on four hits.

Yamamoto's dominance put the Dodgers back together after an error by Teóscar Hernández in the first inning.

The Dominican slipped a Austin Hays hit off his glove in a sequence that ended up costing the Dodgers two runs.

With Yamamoto in command, the home team rallied with hits from Betts, Puerto Rico’s Kiké Hernández and Venezuela’s Miguel Rojas.

With the home side leading 3x2, the Japanese again got the Dodgers out of a monumental jam at the top of the sixth inning.

The Reds loaded the bases with none out, but Yamamoto held firm, fanned Dominican prospect Elly De la Cruz and escaped the jam without allowing a run.

The champions made Cincinnati pay for the concession with four scores in that same sixth inning, starting with a Shohei Ohtani hit that drove in Kike Hernandez's run.

Betts collected another of his four hits to drive in Ben Rortvedt, and Teóscar Hernández made up for his error with a two-run double.

As in the series opener, the Dodgers’ bullpen ran into trouble in the eighth, letting Cincinnati load the bases again, but Alex Vesia struck out two to escape the jam unscathed.

Chisholm Jr. saves Yankees

In New York, the Yankees avoided a painful elimination in the nick of time with a 4x3 victory over archrivals the Boston Red Sox.

A two-run home run by Ben Rice put the home side ahead in the opening inning, but the visitors responded with Trevor Story, who first drove in two runs and then hit a home run to tie the game 3x3.

With the Yankees’ season on the line, Jazz Chisholm Jr. scored the go-ahead run in the eighth inning.

Austin Wells sent a single to the right-field wall and the Bahamian flew in from first base to throw to the plate, leading off the throw for Venezuelan catcher Carlos Narvaez.

Guardians sink Tigers

In Cleveland, the Guardians beat the Tigers 6x1 in a much tighter game than the score indicated.

The game reached the eighth inning tied at one run, when Venezuelan Brayan Rocchio broke the deadlock in favor of the home side with a 116-yard home run that opened a five-score inning.

Machado sentences San Diego

In Chicago, the Padres also drew an early bye with a solid 3x0 win against the Cubs.

Dominican star Fernando Tatís Jr. put the Padres on the board in the first inning, stealing third and scoring.

It was enough for the Padres with another blast in the fifth inning, on a homer by Dominican-American Manny Machado that drove in another run off Tatís Jr.

The visitors defended the spoils with outstanding work by their bullpen, especially Mason Miller.

The reliever threw a straight to Carson Kelly in the seventh inning at 104.5 mph (168.2 km/h), the fastest pitch in playoffs since Statcast records began in 2015.