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Cubs, Cardinals, White Sox End Regular Season With Losses

>>Cubs Fall To Reds
 
Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant each had a light day of work as the Chicago Cubs prepared for the playoffs by playing much of their roster during a 3-1 loss to Deck McGuire and the Cincinnati Reds in the regular-season finale on Sunday.
 
Most of Chicago's starting lineup was gone by the fifth inning. Rizzo flied out leading off the first, and then was replaced in the field by Taylor Davis. Bryant and shortstop Addison Russell were pulled after the NL Central champion Cubs batted in the fourth.
 
Chicago (92-70) is trying to become the first team to repeat as World Series champions since the New York Yankees won three in a row from 1998-2000. It will face Washington in the NL Division Series beginning on Friday.
 
>>Indians Down White Sox To Finish Season
 
Jay Bruce had a two-run single, Josh Tomlin pitched into the sixth inning and the Cleveland Indians got their AL-best 102nd victory, beating the Chicago White Sox 3-1 on Sunday in their regular-season finale.
Cleveland will next play an AL Division Series against the winner of the wild-card game between the Yankees and Twins. The 102 victories were the second most in franchise history behind the 1954 team's 111.
 
Jose Ramirez went 2 for 2, including his AL-high 56th double, and Carlos Santana had a sacrifice fly for the Indians, who are seeking a second straight World Series appearance. Bruce's two RBIs in the first inning gave him 100 for the second time in his career.
 
Tomlin (10-9) allowed a run and four hits. Cody Allen got his 30th save.
 
Chris Volstad (1-2) allowed three runs in six innings.
 
>>Brewers Crush Cardinals in Season Finale
 
Aaron Wilkerson took a perfect game into the sixth inning, Brett Phillips hit a three-run homer and the Brewers beat St. Louis 6-1 on Sunday, closing out their near-miss of a season with the best record of any team that did not make the playoffs.
Jesus Aguliar added a two-run homer in the eighth for the Brewers, who finished 86-76, 13 games ahead of last year's pace. They were in first place or tied for the top spot in the NL Central for 65 days, but ultimately they were eliminated from wild-card contention with a loss on Saturday.
 
St. Louis finished 83-79, three games worse than last year. The Cardinals failed to make the postseason in back-to-back years for the first time since 2007-2008.
 
Randal Grichuk homered in the seventh for the Cardinals, who lost four of their last five.
 
Jack Flaherty (0-2) gave up five hits and four runs over five innings.
 
St. Louis' next game will be March 29 on the road against the Mets.
 
>>White Sox Land Top 5 Draft Pick; Tigers No.1 Overall
 
On Sunday, baseball's regular season came to a close. Although the day's results didn't impact the playoffs, they did alter the 2018 draft order.
 
Because the San Francisco Giants won (on a Pablo Sandoval walk-off home run) and the Detroit Tigers lost, the two teams tied for the worst record in baseball. The Tigers owned the tiebreaker, however, by virtue of having a worse record in 2016.
 
As such, the Tigers will have the first overall pick in the 2018 draft. Here's the full order -- keep in mind, it's in reverse of the standings, with the previous season's won-lost record serving as the tiebreaker.
 
The Phillies, White Sox and Reds round out the top five of the first round.
 
The New York Mets were anticipated to contend for a playoff spot but the team was pounded with injuries and finished a disappointing 70-92 and have the six the sixth pick.
 
The Padres, Braves, A's and Pirates round out the top ten. 
 
11 through 15 are Baltimore, Toronto, Miami, Seattle and Texas. 

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