The Detroit Tigers won their third American League Central division title Wednesday after defeating the Minnesota Twins 1-0, holding off second-place Cleveland Indians - who must now settle for a wild card position if they want to participate in the postseason.
"I just don't think people realize how hard it is to win," said Tigers manager Jim Leyland after the game.
Max Scherzer, a Cy Young candidate, won his 21st game of the year - the most wins for a pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB), giving up only two hits over seven innings and striking out 10 Twins batter in the process.
"For us to be able to do it three straight years now is really special and a testament to the talent in our clubhouse," said Scherzer.
With the playoffs on the horizon, the Tigers will activate All-Star shortstop Jhonny Peralta, who was suspended 50 games for breaking MLB's drug policy for his participation in the Biogenesis MLB investigation. Peralta, who did appeal the commissioner's office decision hoping to get back with the team in time for the playoffs, will get at-bats prior to the postseason and likely play one of the corner outfield positions in order to allow Jose Iglesias, a trade-deadline acquisition who has better defensive skill sets than Peralta, to play shortstop.
"He's worked hard, eager to get back. The team has been receptive to him coming back, and we think it's best for the ballclub to give him the opportunity," said Dombrowsk to MLB.com. "He's a good person, he made a mistake, he served his penalty, and it's taken me some time to really know where all this would go over a time period. That's why sometimes you need to digest things and sit back, not make immediate decisions. We look at it if he can make our club better, it'll be a spot where we're open to that. He's been with us a long time. He made a one-time mistake and he served his penalty."
Second-place Cleveland will now focus their energies on locking down the second wild card slot, beating the Chicago White Sox 7-2, with Nick Swisher hitting a two-run home run to help put Cleveland one game ahead of the Texas Rangers in the AL Wild Card standings with four games left.
"We did what we needed to do," said Cleveland manager Terry Francona. "It's very exciting to go play games that are this meaningful. This is as good as it gets."
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