PARTY LIKE IT’S 1985: ROYALS END DROUGHT
chicago Kansas City’s long postseason drought is over.
The Royals clinched a playoff spot for the first time in 29 years, beating the White Sox 3-1 on Friday night behind seven scoreless innings from Jeremy Guthrie (13-11).
Kansas City secured at least a wild card and ended the longest active postseason drought among the major North American sports leagues. Not since George Brett led the Royals to aWorld Series victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in 1985 had they reached the playoffs.
The celebration started after catcher Salvador Perez squeezed Michael Taylor’s foul popup for the final out. The Royals mobbed Perez near the plate, with the dugout and bullpen emptying.
With Detroit losing to Minnesota, Kansas City trails the Tigers by a game in the AL Central with two to play. If they are tied after Sunday, the teams will play game No. 163 at Detroit onMonday to determine the division winner. The NL East champion Nationals locked up home-field advantage until theWorld Series by beating the Marlins 4-0 on a three-hitter by Doug Fister (16-6) in the opener of a day-night doubleheader. Miami earned a split by winning the insignificant second game 15-7 with 22 hits, including Kike Hernandez’s grand slam. … Travis Snider and AndrewMcCutchen hit consecutive run-scoring doubles in the eighth inning, and the Pirates beat the Reds 3-1 to keep the pressure on NL Central-leading St. Louis. … Rick Porcello (15-13) allowed six runs in under four innings, and Detroit lost 11-4 to the on a night the Tigers had hoped to clinch the AL Central title. … Rookie Dalton Pompey had three extra-base hits, and the Blue Jays beat Baltimore 4-2, ensuring the Orioles will not finish with the best record in the AL. The Orioles came in three games behind the Angels, who will have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. … Josh Reddick drove in three runs, Scott Kazmir (15-9) won for the first time in seven starts, and the Athletics moved closer to their third consecutive playoff appearance with a 6-2 victory over the Rangers. … Corey Kluber (18-9) struck out 11 in eight innings, and the Indians beat the Rays 1-0. The Indians set the major-league record for strikeouts in one season. Kluber recorded the record-breaking number when he struck out David DeJesus in the eighth inning, the Indians’ 1,429th strikeout of the season. Detroit’s pitchers fanned 1,428 in 2013. … Derek Jeter took the night off after his emotional final home game and watched a bunch of Yankees rookies beat a group of Red Sox rookies 3-2. … Mets pitcher Jonathon Niese left his final start of the season with an elevated heart rate, a condition he has dealt with previously, and the As
rallied against reliever Carlos Torres (8-6) for a 3-1 victory.