KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With a 6-3 win over the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on Monday night, the Detroit Tigers clinched the AL Central title.
The Tigers beat the Royals five times in eight days to become back-to-back AL Central Champions. It also marks first time since 1935 that Detroit has made the postseason in back-to-back seasons.
Detroit (87-73, 37-42 away) is the talk of baseball for another reason however, third baseman Miguel Cabrera’s chase for the AL Triple Crown.
After crushing a solo home run off Royals starter Bruce Chen in the sixth inning, Cabrera now leads the AL in all three major hitting categories. In addition to his AL-leading 44th HR, Cabrera is batting .329 with 137 RBI’s.
Cabrera is on the fast track to becoming the AL’s first Triple Crown winner since Hall of Fame Red Sox outfielder Carl Yastrzemski accomplished the feat in 1967. Yastrzemski finished the season with numbers eerily close to Cabrera’s, a .326 average with 44 HR’s and 121 RBI’s.
The Royals (71-89, 36-43 home) on the other hand, are on the fast track to another disappointing finish, having lost eight of their last nine games.
Detroit scored five runs in the sixth inning to take a 6-0 lead. Chen (11-14, 5.07 ERA) earned the loss, giving up six runs on 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings. Royals left fielder Alex Gordon hit his 14th HR of the season, a solo blast to right in the sixth.
Tigers starter Rick Porcello (10-12, 4.59 ERA) earned the win. The Royals finished 1-9 with runners in scoring position.
Tigers starter Doug Fister (10-9, 3.38 ERA) takes the mound against Royals starter Jeremy Guthrie (4-3, 3.18 ERA) for game two on Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium.