Patrick Bailey and Brayan Rocchio homered twice and Chase DeLauter also went deep as the Cleveland Guardians beat the host Kansas City Royals 11-5, and with the Chicago White Sox’s loss to the Colorado Rockies, clinched their third consecutive AL Central title Saturday night.
Rocchio, who posted back-to-back homers with Bailey in the ninth, and Steven Kwan and Travis Bazzana had three hits apiece, while Nathaniel Lowe added four RBIs for the Guardians (85-76), who have won nine of 10 and will receive a bye into the AL Division Series as the No. 2 seed.
Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee (7-15) yielded three first-inning runs, then did not allow another run over his six-inning outing. He gave up seven hits, struck out six and walked one.
Jac Caglianone had a pair of RBI doubles for Kansas City (68-93), which is in a 6-18 rut. The Royals starter Michael Wacha (9-10) allowed six runs (two earned) and six hits over 6 1/3 innings, striking out four and walking one.
The Royals wasted no time getting to Bibee. Carter Jensen opened the first with his first of two doubles, went to third on Bobby Witt Jr.’s bloop single and scored on catcher Bailey’s throwing error to second base on Witt’s successful steal attempt. Caglianone followed with a run-scoring double and eventually came home via Michael Massey’s single for a 3-0 lead.
The Guardians then went ahead when Rocchio doubled and scored on Kwan’s triple past diving left fielder Isaac Collins to make it 4-3.
Kansas City got two runs in the eighth, beginning with back-to-back doubles from Witt and Caglianone off Craig Yoho. Pasquantino added an RBI single.
Lowe hit a two-run single to cap the Guardians’ four-run ninth.