Miguel Cabrera had four hits, including a homer during a five-run sixth inning, and the Detroit Tigers held off the Kansas City Royals 6-3 Monday night to clinch the AL Central title.
Gerald Laird added a bases-loaded double, Rick Porcello (10-12) pitched shutout ball into the sixth inning and Jhonny Peralta went deep off Bruce Chen (11-14) to help Detroit reach the post-season in consecutive years for the first time since 1934-35.
"We wanted to win this game. That was our goal, to win this one," Cabrera said. "We did it."
After hanging over the dugout railing the entire ninth inning, the Tigers streamed onto the field and behind the pitchers' mound to celebrate their accomplishment the moment Jose Valverde got Alcides Escobar to ground out to shortstop with a runner on second for his 35th save in 40 chances.
The Tigers (87-73) will have the worst record among AL division champions, which means they'll open the playoffs Saturday at home against the division winner with the second-best mark.
Not that when and where matters much to Jim Leyland's bunch.
They're just glad to be back in the playoffs.
"It was a rocky road, it was a tough season, but in this business, you have to be able to take some hits," Leyland said.
After winning the division by 15 games last season and signing Prince Fielder in the off-season, the Tigers entered spring training with lofty expectations. But they got off to a surprisingly slow start and were below .500 in early July. They were still well behind Chicago early last month.
The White Sox faltered, though, and the Tigers took advantage.
"It wasn't easy," said Fielder, who also had four hits, "but we got it done."
Now, with Cabrera closing in on baseball's first Triple Crown since 1967 and Justin Verlander in contention for a second straight Cy Young Award, Detroit is the hottest team in the majors.
YANKEES 10, RED SOX 2
NEW YORK - Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson, Russell Martin and Mark Teixeira stepped up the plate, sent the ball over the wall and circled the bases like a conga line in a ninerun second inning as the Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 10-2.
With record-tying power backing a superb start by CC Sabathia, New York has first place all to themselves with two games to go. The Yankees lead the Baltimore Orioles by one game after the O's lost 5-3 to Tampa Bay.
