Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – The Cleveland Guardians punched an improbable ticket to the Major League Baseball playoffs on Saturday with a 3-2 victory over the Texas Rangers. The win was sealed when C.J. Kayfus was hit by a pitch from Robert Garcia with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth inning. This walkoff victory ensures that the Guardians are assured of at least an American League wild card berth. As the final day of the regular season approaches, they remain tied with the Detroit Tigers atop the AL Central division.
The Tigers, whose September swoon saw them plummet out of the AL Central lead, also secured a postseason berth with a 2-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox. The Guardians own the head-to-head tiebreaker and will claim the division if both teams finish Sunday with the same record. This is a remarkable outcome for Cleveland, who lost 10 straight games from June 26 to July 6 and trailed the Tigers by 15.5 games in early July. As of the start of September, they were still 11 games back in the standings. Cleveland’s victory also eliminated the Houston Astros, who will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
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In other games on the penultimate day of the regular season, the Chicago Cubs — already in the playoffs for the first time since 2020 — secured home field advantage in their wild card series against San Diego with a 7-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field. First baseman Michael Busch had a standout performance, hitting two home runs, marking the third multi-homer game of his career. Busch launched a leadoff shot off Cardinals pitcher Michael McGreevy in the first inning and added a two-run homer off McGreevy in the fifth. He also hit a double in the third inning and drove in a run with a triple in the seventh, but was denied a final chance to complete the cycle when he was intentionally walked in the eighth inning.
Meanwhile, New York’s Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Ryan McMahon all homered as the Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-1, keeping them locked in a race with Toronto for baseball’s American League East division title. Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected for arguing called strikes against Judge in the fifth inning, after which the New York captain belted a two-run single to help seal the victory. Judge initially staked the Yankees to a 1-0 lead with his 53rd home run of the season in the first inning. Stanton and McMahon added solo homers off Baltimore pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano in the second, while rookie pitcher Cam Schlittler tossed seven shutout innings.
The Yankees, already assured of at least a wild card berth, won their seventh straight game to stay level with the Blue Jays atop the division. Toronto defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 5-1 and holds the tiebreaker over the Yankees should they finish tied after Sunday’s games. “That’s the beauty of our sport,” Boone remarked regarding the division crown coming down to the final day of a campaign in which each team plays 162 games.
The race for the final National League wild card spot will also come down to Sunday after the New York Mets stayed alive with a convincing 5-0 victory over the Miami Marlins. The Mets, boasting a $340 million payroll and a roster filled with All-Star talent, had the best record in baseball through June 12. However, their late-season struggles have led them to battle with the Cincinnati Reds for the last National League berth. The Reds, seeking their first postseason berth since 2020, overcame the Milwaukee Brewers 7-4. They are currently tied with the Mets for the final wild card but own the tiebreaker if they finish with the same record.
© 2024 AFP
