NATIONAL LEAGUE
AFP, LOS ANGELES
The Los Angeles Dodgers finally secured the National League West Division title on Saturday by blanking Colorado 5-0 and snapping a five-game losing streak.
PHOTO: REUTERS
It was the second consecutive West Division crown for Los Angeles, who will face the St Louis Cardinals in the first round of the Major League Baseball playoffs.
“It took a little longer than we thought,” outfielder Juan Pierre said.
The win not only halted the losing skid, but it earned the Dodgers home field advantage against the Cardinals.
“This is what I was hoping for when I signed here,” catcher Brad Ausmus said. “To be a small piece of the puzzle.”
Nobody partied harder than the Dodgers after wrapping up their division title at Dodgers Stadium. The players started in the clubhouse, then moved their champagne celebration out onto the field where a group of fans watched and cheered from the stands.
“It never gets old,” manager Joe Torre said. “You do it with different people all the time. It is great to see all these men turn into little boys. We didn’t think it would come soon enough. We were on the brink last Sunday. I am just glad we finished it off tonight. It is very satisfying.”
It was the 94th win of the season for Los Angeles, who can’t open the playoffs against Colorado because a team cannot begin the post-season against a wild-card team from its division. Left handed pitcher Clayton Kershaw threw six scoreless innings as the Dodgers exploded for five runs in the seventh inning.
Pinch hitters Ronnie Belliard and Mark Loretta had RBI singles in the seventh.
“It felt good. To do this for your team is the best thing in the world,” Kershaw said. “It was fun. With a team like this all you want to do is perform your best. I got a smile on my face now, I don’t know what to say.”
The victory gave the Dodgers consecutive division titles for the first time since 1977-1978. It also marked the third time in four years that Los Angeles has reached the playoffs, something they hadn’t done since winning pennants in 1963, 1965 and 1966.
Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez finally had something to smile about on Saturday. He has had plenty of up and downs, starting out as the darling of Dodger fans, before being slapped with a 50-game suspension for failing a drug test.
“I am just happy to be a part of this,” Ramirez said. “This is like a family. I am just blessed. We going to go try to win it all. We have to live day-by-day, play hard and see what happens.”
Perhaps no one has struggled more than Ramirez during the recent losing skid.
He went 0-for-10 with eight strikeouts in one three-game stretch. He’s hitting just .216 (16-for-74) over September and October. In the 27 games Ramirez played before he was suspended, he hit .348 with six home runs and 20 RBIs. In the 75 games since his return, he’s hitting just .274 with just 13 home runs.
Saturday’s other results:
• Marlins 4, Phillies 3
• Brewers 5, Cardinals 4
• Nationals 6, Braves 4, 11 inns
• Cubs 5, Diamondbacks 0
• Mets 5, Astros 1
• Reds 8, Pirates 4
• Padres 2, Giants 0
AMERICAN LEAGUE
REUTERS, DETROIT, MICHIGAN
The Minnesota Twins caught the Detroit Tigers in the tight American League Central Division race on Saturday, leaving the two teams tied in the hunt for a playoff spot going into the final day of the regular season.
The challenging Twins squeezed past the Kansas City Royals and Cy Young Award contender Zack Greinke 5-4 to grab a share of the division lead when the Tigers lost to the Chicago White Sox 5-1.
The results left both teams with identical 85-76 records going into their final games, when the Twins again play the Royals and the Tigers will meet the White Sox.
Should either the Tigers or the Twins win and the other loses, the winner would be the Central Division champion and playoff representative.
Should both teams win or lose, they would play a one-game tie-breaker in Minneapolis tomorrow for the division title.
Michael Cuddyer’s eighth inning home run broke a 4-4 tie to pull the Twins past the Royals at Minneapolis.
Minnesota grabbed a 4-0 lead on Delmon Young’s three-run double in the sixth inning, but the Royals roared back with three runs in the top of the eighth to tie the score.
Greinke, who came into the game with a 16-8 record and the league’s best earned run average, 2.16, lasted six innings, giving up six hits, while striking out five and walking two.
The loss went to Dusty Hughes (0-2), who gave up the tie-breaking homer to Cuddyer.
Blackburn allowed only four hits and two runs over seven innings, before Minnesota turned to their bullpen.
Jon Rauch (5-1), who took over in the eighth after reliever Jose Mijares allowed Kansas City back into the game, earned the win. Joe Nathan had a perfect ninth for the save, his 47th of the season.
At Detroit, Chicago’s Alex Rios went four-for-five and drove in three runs as the Tigers lost their third consecutive game.
Rios put Chicago ahead 3-0 with a run-scoring double in the third, added another run with a single in the fifth and singled home a third run in the ninth.
Freddy Garcia (3-4) held the Tigers to six hits and a run over seven innings, while striking out seven.
Detroit used six pitchers, with starter Alfredo Figaro (2-2) lasting only one-and-a-third innings.
Saturday’s other results:
• Angels 4, Athletics 2
• Rays 5, Yankees 3
• Red Sox 11, Indians 6
• Orioles 6, Blue Jays 3
• Mariners 2, Rangers 1
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