Indians win, clinch AL Central title
CLEVELAND » For the second year in a row, the Cleveland Indians are AL Central champions.
The Indians clinched their title on Saturday night when secondplace Minnesota lost to Toronto. Earlier, the Indians bounced back after having their league record winning streak ended at 22 games by beating the Kansas City Royals 8-4.
This is the first time the Indians have won consecutive division titles since 1999, when they finished a run of five straight first-place finishes. All of their fans were long gone from Progressive Field when this clinch became official.
Francisco Lindor’s RBI double in the sixth off Jason Hammel (8-12) gave the All-Star shortstop an extra-base hit in a club-record 10 straight games. The major league record is 14 straight, shared by Chipper Jones (2006) and Paul Waner (1927). BLUE JAYS 7, TWINS 2 » Marco Estrada pitched eight efficient innings, Josh Donaldson homered twice among his four hits and Toronto topped Minnesota.
Donaldson gave the Blue Jays a lead in the first by sending a firstpitch shot off Adalberto Mejia (4-6) into the second deck in left-center. DODGERS 3, NATIONALS 2» Cody Bellinger hit his 38th homer to match the National League singleseason record for rookies, and the Dodgers moved closer to the NL West title.
Chase Utley had two doubles and scored twice to help Los Angeles reduce its magic number to win the division to five. Rich Hill (10-8) and five relievers combined on a four-hitter. ASTROS 8, MARINERS 6» Dallas Keuchel threw six solid innings, Carlos Beltran had three hits and two RBIs and the Astros lowered their magic number for clinching the AL West title to one.
The Astros (90-58), who reached 90 wins for the first time since 2004, can secure the franchise’s seventh division title with one more win or a loss for the Los Angeles Angels. Los Angeles was scheduled to play Texas on Saturday night. MARLINS 7, BREWERS 4 » Derek Dietrich hit a two-run homer, Adam Conley pitched into the sixth inning and Miami beat Milwaukee to stop a six-game slide.
Milwaukee dropped four games back of NL Central-leading Chicago, which beat St. Louis 4-1 earlier in the day. The Brewers had won three straight and six of seven. RED SOX 3, RAYS 1 » Rick Porcello took a shutout into the eighth inning, Mookie Betts hit his 22nd home run and the Red Sox won for the eighth time in 10 games.
The win reduced Boston’s magic number for clinching a playoff spot to six and kept its AL East lead over the New York Yankees at three games. METS 7, BRAVES 3 » Jacob deGrom set a career high in wins, Dominic Smith and Gavin Cecchini each drove in two runs and the Mets snapped a five-game skid with a victory over Atlanta. WHITE SOX 10, TIGERS 4 » Matt Davidson and Nicky Delmonico homered, Tim Anderson had four hits and the White Sox captured their season series with the Tigers for the first time since 2008.
Chicago has won six of eight, outscoring its opponents 69-26. Reynaldo Lopez (2-3) allowed four runs in seven innings. REDS 2, PIRATES 1 » Sal Romano pitched a career-high eight shutout innings and Jesse Winker homered, leading Cincinnati to the victory.
Romano (5-6) allowed five hits, struck out six and walked none while improving to 3-1 over his last six starts.