Tigers pull even with Sox

Anibal Sanchez pitched his first shutout in more than a year, and the Detroit Tigers tied the White Sox for first place in the American League Central with a 2-0 victory Tuesday against the visiting Kansas City Royals.

Sanchez (4-6), who retired the first 11 hitters he faced, allowed three hits, struck out 10 and walked one. He threw 105 pitches in his first shutout since Sept. 10, 2011, when he tossed a one-hitter for the then-Florida Marlins.

Bruce Chen (11-13) yielded two runs and 10 hits, including RBI singles by Prince Fielder and Delmon Young in the first, in 6⅔ innings.

Braves wrap up wild card

Freddie Freeman hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning to lift the host Atlanta Braves past the Miami Marlins 4-3 and into the National League playoffs.

The Braves clinched at least a wild-card berth and trail the Washington Nationals by four games in the NL East with eight remaining.

Cards sitting pretty

Jaime Garcia (6-7) and two relievers combined on a seven-hitter, and Jon Jay had two hits and two RBI to fuel the visiting St. Louis Cardinals past the Houston Astros 4-0. The Cardinals’ magic number for clinching an NL wild-card spot is four.

Dusty had mini-stroke

The Cincinnati Reds said manager Dusty Baker suffered a mini-stroke while being treated for an irregular heartbeat last week in Chicago. The team said Baker, who has returned to Cincinnati, might be back managing by next week.