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The Cleveland Guardians clinched their third straight AL Central title by beating the Kansas City Royals 11-5 on Saturday, securing the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the AL playoffs.
CLEVELAND GUARDIANS CLINCH THIRD STRAIGHT AL CENTRAL TITLE WITH 11-5 WIN OVER KANSAS CITY ROYALS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Cleveland Guardians clinched their third consecutive American League Central Division title with an 11-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Saturday night at Kauffman Stadium. Patrick Bailey and Brayan Rocchio each hit two of Cleveland's five home runs as the Guardians (85-76) secured the division crown. The win, combined with the Chicago White Sox's 9-6 loss to the Colorado Rockies, gives Cleveland a two-game lead over the second-place White Sox (83-78) with one game remaining in the regular season.
Guardians Secure No. 2 Seed and First-Round Bye
With the division title, the Guardians are assured the No. 2 seed in the American League playoffs and a first-round bye into a best-of-five Division Series. They will have five days off before hosting the winner of a best-of-three Wild Card Series between the No. 6 seed White Sox and either the Houston Astros or Texas Rangers — whichever team wins the AL West on Sunday.
It is Cleveland's seventh division crown in the past 11 seasons, further cementing the franchise's recent dominance in the AL Central. The Guardians have now won nine of their last 10 games and five straight series.
Bailey and Rocchio Power Guardians Offense
Kansas City jumped on Guardians starter Tanner Bibee for three first-inning runs, highlighted by doubles from Carter Jensen and Jac Caglianone. But Bibee settled in and shut out the Royals the rest of the way as Cleveland quickly mounted a comeback.
A fielding error by Bobby Witt Jr. at shortstop opened the Guardians' four-run second inning. Bailey hooked a two-run homer off the right-field foul pole, and Cleveland grabbed a 4-3 lead when Steven Kwan's slicing liner eluded diving left fielder Isaac Collins for an RBI triple — one of four extra-base hits in the inning.
After missing four games with a right wrist sprain, Chase DeLauter lined Michael Wacha's second pitch of the third into the right-field seats for his 16th home run. Travis Bazzana tripled and scored on Nathaniel Lowe's sacrifice fly in the sixth, and Rocchio hit his 14th homer in the seventh. Bailey and Rocchio connected for back-to-back homers to highlight a four-run ninth. Nine of the Guardians' 14 hits went for extra bases.
Bibee (7-15) allowed three runs and seven hits in six innings, striking out six. Wacha (9-10) worked 6 1/3 innings, permitting six runs — two earned — and six hits.
Royals End Season with Eight Straight Series Losses
The last-place Royals (68-93) have dropped 11 of 13 and 18 of 24. Kansas City lost eight straight series to finish the season, its longest such skid since losing eight in a row from April 10 to May 7, 2023. The Royals were eliminated from playoff contention earlier in the week.
Up next, the Guardians were undecided on the mound for their regular-season finale Sunday against left-hander Daniel Lynch (6-6, 4.13 ERA) and the Royals.
Cleveland Guardians Kansas City Royals AL Central Patrick Bailey Brayan Rocchio Tanner Bibee Michael Wacha
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