WASHINGTON (AP) - Jordan Zimmermann pitched the first no-hitter for the Washington Nationals, the gem preserved when defensive replacement Steven Souza Jr. made a diving catch in left field for the final out in a 1-0 victory over the Miami Marlins in a regular-season finale Sunday.
Zimmermann (14-5) allowed only two baserunners, finishing with 10 strikeouts and one walk in the fifth no-hitter in the majors this year.
Christian Yelich sent a long drive to left-center with two outs in the ninth. Souza, who made his big league debut this year and took over for Ryan Zimmerman to begin the ninth, ran hard into the gap, extended his glove and leaped for the sensational catch.
Ian Desmond hit a second-inning home run by Henderson Alvarez (12-7), who threw a no-hitter against Detroit on the final day of last season.
ATHLETICS 4, RANGERS 0
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Oakland finally clinched its third consecutive playoff berth as Sonny Gray (14-10) pitched a six-hitter to win for the first time in five September starts and Josh Reddick had an RBI triple.
The A's lost 30 of their previous 45 games before winning game No. 162. They play the win-or-go-home wild-card game Tuesday night at Kansas City.
After winning the AL West title the past two seasons, Oakland went into its game Aug. 10 a big league-best 72-44, good for a four-game division lead and an 11-game edge in the wild-card standings.
Rookie Nick Martinez (5-12) allowed two runs and four hits over 5 2-3 innings.
MARINERS 4, ANGELS 1
SEATTLE (AP) - The Mariners were eliminated in the fifth inning when Oakland's game ended, and Felix Hernandez (15-6) pitched five shutout innings to secure the AL ERA title at 2.14, just beating Chris Sale of the White Sox (2.17).
Seattle's 87 wins in the first season of All-Star second baseman Robinson Cano were its most since 2007. The Mariners had a 1 1/2-game lead for the second wild card on the morning of Sept. 7 but lost 12 of their next 17 games.
Cory Rasmus (3-2) was the loser for Los Angeles, which finished with the major leagues' best regular-season record at 98-64 and plays Kansas City or Oakland in the division series.
TIGERS 3, TWINS 0
DETROIT (AP) - David Price (15-12) allowed four hits in 7 1-3 innings, clinching Detroit's fourth straight AL Central title.
Ian Kinsler hit a solo homer in the third, and the Tigers added two more runs in the eighth off Kyle Gibson (13-12).
Detroit entered with a postseason berth already wrapped up, but the Tigers led the division by only one game over Kansas City. The Tigers face Baltimore in the AL division series.
ROYALS 6, WHITE SOX 4
CHICAGO (AP) - Right after Detroit secured its fourth straight division title, Kansas City manager Ned Yost started pulling some of his regulars from the lineu
Kansas City hosts Oakland on Tuesday night in their first playoff appearance since 1985.
Chicago's Paul Konerko went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts on the final day of his 18-year big league career. A six-time All-Star, Konerko finishes with a .279 average, 439 homers and 1,412 RBIs.
Casey Coleman (1-0) pitched a scoreless inning for his first win since Sept. 9, 2011 to beat Daniel Webb (6-5). Chicago finished 73-89, 10 more wins than year.
CARDINALS 1, DIAMONDBACKS 0
PHOENIX (AP) - St. Louis clinched its second straight NL Central title before the first pitch when Pittsburgh lost to Cincinnati, then beat Arizona 1-0 on Kolten Wong's RBI groundout in the sixth inning off Josh Collmenter (11-9).
St. Louis finished 90-72 and opens their NL division series Friday at the Dodgers.
The defending NL champions scratched scheduled starter Adam Wainwright, using five relievers instead. Justin Masterson (3-3) pitched two scoreless innings and Carlos Martinez got two outs for his first save.
Arizona had two hits and finished 64-98, the second-worst record in team history.
REDS 4, PIRATES 1
CINCINNATI (AP) - Johnny Cueto (20-9) hit an RBI single off Tony Watson (10-2) in the eighth and gave up six hits in eight innings, including Neil Walker's homer. Kristopher Negron added a two-run homer off Justin Wilson.
Aroldis Chapman pitched the ninth for his 36th save in 38 chances.
Pittsburgh hosts San Francisco in the NL wild-card game Wednesday, with the winner advacing to a division series against Washington.
GIANTS 9, PADRES 3
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Buster Posey and Adam Duvall homered, and starter-turned-reliever Tim Lincecum (12-9) pitched two scoreless innings for San Francisco (88-74).
San Diego (77-85) lost its final three games and finished third in the NL West at 77-85. Robbie Erlin (4-5) allowed four runs and four hits in 1 2-3 innings
YANKEES 9, RED SOX 5
BOSTON (AP) - Derek Jeter went 1 for 2 with an RBI infield single in the final game of his 20-year big league career, raising his career batting average to .310.
Three days after Jeter's emotional farewell in New York, pinstripe-wearing fans filled Fenway Park for Jeter's finale, chanting for him and the visiting Yankees and standing for each of his at-bats. After a hard line-drive out in the first inning, Jeter delivered career hit No. 3,465 as part of a four-run third inning, then left for a pinch runner.
The AL East rivals who will watch the playoffs together from the outside for the first time in 20 years.
Michael Pineda (5-5) earned the victory for the second-place Yankees, who finished 12 games behind Baltimore.
Clay Buchholz (8-11) gave up Ichiro Suzuki's two-run triple. The last-place Red Sox (71-91) are the first team in big league to go from worst to first and back to last in three consecutive seasons.
DODGERS 10, ROCKIES 5
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Adrian Gonzalez hit a three-run homer to finish with a major league-leading 116 RBIs,
The Dodgers' 94 wins were their most since going 95-67 in 2009 and they ended the regular season without a losing streak longer than three games.
Zack Greinke (17-8) defeated rookie Christian Bergman (3-5), setting a career high for wins.
Colorado's Justin Morneau won the NL batting title, finishing at .319 after he grounded out as a pinch hitter in the eighth. The Rockies went 66-96, including a franchise-worst 21-60 road mark.
METS 8, ASTROS 3
NEW YORK (AP) - Jose Altuve talked his way into the lineup and went 2 for 4 to finish with a .341 average and become Houston's first batting champion. Detroit's Victor Martinez was 0 for 3 and wound up at .335.
Bobby Abreu sparked the decisive rally with a base hit in his final big league at-bat. Lucas Duda homered and drove in four runs, and Bartolo Colon (15-13) reached 15 wins for the eighth time. The Mets (79-83) finished tied for second in the NL East, their highest spot in the standings since 2008.
Houston (70-92) improved by 19 wins over last year, the second-best turnaround in the majors behind the Angels. Duda's two-run double off rookie Nick Tropeano (1-3) snapped a fifth-inning tie, moments after Abreu singled to left.
BRAVES 2, PHILLIES 1
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Emilio Bonifacio led off the game with homer off Cole Hamels (9-9), and Freddie Freeman added an RBI single in the first.
Luis Avilan (4-1) pitched two scoreless innings, and Craig Kimbrel got his league-leading 47th save.
Philadelphia (73-89) finished with an identical record to 2013 and had consecutive losing seasons for the first time since 1999-00. The Phillies were last for the first time since 2000.
ORIOLES 1, BLUE JAYS 0
TORONTO (AP) - Jonathan Schoop hit a fifth-inning homer off R.A. Dickey (14-13), and Miguel Gonzalez (10-9) allowed five hits in five innings to become the fourth starter on Baltimore (96-66) to reach 10 wins.
Toronto (83-79) finished out of the playoffs for the 21st straight season, the longest drought in baseball. The Blue Jays were 38-24 on the morning of June 7, six games ahead of Baltimore in the AL East, then went 45-55.
INDIANS 7, RAYS 2
CLEVELAND (AP) - Rookie Zach Walters and David Murphy hit solo second-inning homers off Alex Cobb (10-9).
T.J. House (5-3) gave up Sean Rodriguez's leadoff homer in the second.
Cleveland won 85 games for its first consecutive winning seasons since 2000-01. Tampa Bay went 77-84, its first losing season since 2007.
CUBS 5, BREWERS 2
MILWAUKEE (AP) - Anthony Rizzo had a two-run homer in the first off Mike Fiers (6-5), becoming the Cubs' first Cubs left-handed hitter with 32 homers since Rick Monday in 1976. At 73-89, the Cubs improved from 66-96 last year and 61-101 in 2012 as they seek their first World Series title since 1908.
Jacob Turner (6-11) allowed two runs and four hits in five-plus innings, and Hector Rondon got his 29th save.
Milwaukee lost 22 of its last 31 and finished third at 82-80, missing the playoffs for the third straight year.