Guardians Clinch AL Postseason Berth on Stroll-off Hit By Pitch; Astros Eradicated

C.J. Kayfus was hit by a pitch from Robert Garcia with the bases loaded and two outs within the ninth inning, scoring Petey Halpin to clinch a playoff berth for the Cleveland Guardians with a 3-2 win over the Texas Rangers on Saturday night time.

Cleveland (87-74) is assured no less than an American League wild card and stays tied with Detroit atop the AL Central going into the ultimate day of the common season.

The Guardians personal the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Tigers. Which means a victory Sunday over Texas or Tigers loss at Boston would give Cleveland its second consecutive division title following a stirring comeback this season.

Houston was eradicated from postseason rivalry with Cleveland’s victory. The Astros will miss the playoffs for the primary time since 2016.

The fourth-place Guardians had been 40-48 by means of July 6 and nonetheless 15 1/2 video games out of first two days later.

Garcia (4-8) deliberately walked Gabriel Arias to load the bases earlier than hitting Kayfus on the best arm together with his second pitch to the rookie. Halpin was on third as a pinch runner for Johnathan Rodriguez, whose two-out stroll started the rally.

Cade Smith (8-5) retired 5 batters for the win as Guardians relievers mixed for 3 1/3 scoreless innings.

Rodríguez hit a two-run homer within the first off Jacob Latz to place Cleveland forward 2-1, scoring Jose Ramirez. Josh Jung’s RBI double plated Michael Helman within the high half.

Adolis Garcia launched a 433-foot dwelling run within the fourth in opposition to Joey Cantillo to tug the Rangers even at 2-all. Cantillo struck out eight over 5 2/3 innings and Latz had six strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.

Dylan Moore of the Rangers tried to attain on a delayed double steal within the eighth, however was thrown out by second baseman Brayan Rocchio to finish the inning. Jung had taken off from first base, prompting catcher Austin Hedges to go there initially.

The Guardians are an AL-best 41-25 for the reason that All-Star break. Cleveland is the fourth group in MLB historical past to make the playoffs in the identical season it had a 10-game shedding streak.

Guardians RHP Gavin Williams (12-5, 3.06 ERA) is slated to pitch the regular-season finale. The Rangers had not introduced a scheduled starter.

Reporting by The Related Press.

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