The Cleveland Guardians have once again secured the division title. On Saturday night, Patrick Bailey and Brayan Rocchio each contributed two of Cleveland’s five home runs, helping the team defeat the Kansas City Royals 11-5 and claim their third consecutive AL Central championship.
With this win, combined with Chicago’s 9-6 loss to Colorado, the Guardians (85-76) hold a two-game lead over the second-place White Sox (83-78) with just one game left in the regular season. Jose Ramirez and the Guardians have clinched the No. 2 seed in the American League playoffs, earning a first-round bye. They will rest for five days before enjoying home-field advantage in the best-of-five Division Series against the winner of the Wild Card Series between the sixth-seeded White Sox and either Houston or Texas, who will decide the AL West title on Sunday.
This marks Cleveland’s seventh division championship in the last 11 seasons. Despite Kansas City scoring three runs in the first inning off pitcher Tanner Bibee, Cleveland quickly turned the game around. An error by Royals’ shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. sparked a four-run second inning for Cleveland, featuring a two-run homer by Bailey and an RBI triple by Steven Kwan.
After missing four games due to a wrist injury, Chase DeLauter hit his 16th home run on Michael Wacha’s second pitch. Additional highlights include a triple and scoring by Travis Bazzana in the sixth, Rocchio’s 14th homer in the seventh, and back-to-back home runs from Bailey and Rocchio in a four-run ninth inning. Notably, nine of Cleveland’s 14 hits were for extra bases.
Bibee (7-15) pitched six innings, allowing three runs on seven hits with six strikeouts, while Wacha (9-10) threw 6 1/3 innings, giving up six runs — two earned — and six hits. Kansas City, now in last place (68-93), has lost 11 of their last 13 games and eight straight series, their longest skid since early 2023.
Looking ahead, the Guardians have yet to decide who will pitch in their regular-season finale on Sunday against left-hander Daniel Lynch (6-6, 4.13 ERA) and the Royals.
Reported by The Associated Press.
Fan Take: Cleveland’s continued dominance highlights their consistency and strength in the AL Central, setting the stage for an exciting playoff run. For baseball fans, it signals a fiercely competitive postseason where emerging young stars like Bailey and Rocchio could make a lasting impact on the sport’s future.
Source: www.foxsports.com
