The Cleveland Guardians yesterday clinched their second American League Central Division championship in three years, another impressive achievement for rookie manager Stephen Vogt.
Cleveland made the title official when the second-place Kansas City Royals lost 9-0 to San Francisco.
Thus, even though they fell 6-5 to the St. Louis Cardinals, the Guardians kept the title.
It is the fifth division crown for the franchise since 2016. They return to the playoffs for the first time since losing the Division Series in 2022 to the New York Yankees.
Cleveland arrived needing a win in St. Louis or a Kansas City loss to end the race for the Central.
Even before the Guardians finished playing the Cardinals, the Royals had already lost.
Kansas City rallied from 10 games on June 25 to reach the Guardians atop the division with a 6-1 victory at Cleveland on August 27. But the Guardians bounced back, winning 7-5 the next day to avoid a four-game sweep.
That started a seven-game losing streak for the Royals, and the Guardians pulled away in September.
It’s the 12th. Cleveland’s division crown, all in the American League Central since 1995.
Now, Cleveland is in a tight dispute with the Yankees, leaders of the American League East Division, for first place in the American League, which grants home-field advantage in the playoffs.
JOC PEDERSON, José Herrera and Ketel Marte hit home runs as the Arizona Rattlers beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-0, maintaining their position in the fight for the National League wild cards.
TWO HOME RUNS each by LaMonte Wade Jr. and Matt Chapman, combined with five scoreless innings by Landen Roupp, led the San Francisco Giants to a 9-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals, who suffered their sixth loss in the thread.
IN THE seventh inning, Matt Olson broke the tie with a two-run home run, and the Atlanta Braves defeated the Miami Marlins 6-2, to remain two games behind the New York Mets in the fight for the last wild card of the National League.
THE METS once again prevented the Philadelphia Phillies from winning the National League East Division title, after defeating them 6-3, with home runs by Francisco Álvarez and Luisángel Acuña.
This was the 17th victory in 22 games for the red-hot Mets.— AP
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2024-10-01 11:50:24
