Tigers climb into tie for first in AL Central

DETROIT — Anibal Sanchez retired the final batter on a weak grounder, and Detroit's players began celebrating around the mound.

Clutch performance: Tigers starter Anibal Sanchez pitches against the Royals on Tuesday in Detroit. Sanchez threw a shutout to pull the Tigers into a tie for the AL Central lead. AP

Moments later, the home crowd roared a little louder when the AL Central standings were posted on the scoreboard in left field — with the Tigers back in a tie for first.

"We control our own destiny. We've just got to continue to play good baseball," catcher Gerald Laird said. "We don't have to rely on anybody to beat anybody now. It's all on our shoulders."

Sanchez threw his first shutout in over a year, and the Tigers caught the Chicago White Sox atop the division with a 2-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night. Detroit had spent only one day in first since the start of August. The Tigers were tied with the White Sox after beating them Sept. 2 — but quickly fell back.

Now it's even again with eight games to play. Even in this season of expanded playoffs, Detroit and Chicago are in an old-fashioned division race with seemingly everything at stake — because a wild card isn't a likely option.

"Nothing is over, nothing is in," Sanchez said. "We're right there."

Athletics 3, Rangers 2 (10)

In Arlington, Texas, George Kottaras hit a leadoff homer in the 10th inning.

Scheduled starter Yu Darvish was scratched by the Rangers about 2? hours before the first pitch because of a stiff neck.

Angels 5, Mariners 4

In Anaheim, Zack Greinke had a season-high 13 strikeouts in five innings.

Indians 4, White Sox 3

In Chicago, the White Sox gave Detroit an opening to tie for the AL Central lead when Gordon Beckham hit into a game-ending forceout with the potential tying run on second base.

Blue Jays 4, Orioles 0

In Baltimore, Aaron Laffey and five relievers combined on a six-hitter.

Twins 5, Yankees 4

In Minneapolis, Phil Hughes ran out of gas in the seventh inning and Boone Logan couldn't hold the lead for him.

Ichiro Suzuki finished 1-for-4.

Rays 5, Red Sox 2

In Boston, David Price struck out a season-high 13 and Jeff Keppinger hit a three-run homer.

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Braves 4, Marlins 3

In Atlanta, Freddie Freeman hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to put the Braves back in the playoffs with a victory over Miami.

Reds 4, Brewers 2

In Cincinnati, Johnny Cueto pitched seven solid innings for the Reds.

Norichika Aoki was 0-for-4 for the Brewers.

Phillies 6, Nationals 3

In Philadelphia, Darin Ruf homered for his first major league hit and Carlos Ruiz and Domonic Brown also went deep.

Pirates 10, Mets 6

In New York, Pedro Alvarez hit his 30th homer and drove in four runs.

Cardinals 4, Astros 0

In Houston, Jaime Garcia pitched seven sharp innings and Jon Jay drove in two runs.

Rockies 10, Cubs 5 (6?)

In Denver, DJ LeMahieu had three hits and finished a home run short of the cycle in a rain-shortened game.

Padres 2, Dodgers 1

In San Diego, Josh Beckett lost for the third time in six starts with Los Angeles, whose playoff chances were dealt a blow.

Diamondbacks 7, Giants 2

In San Francisco, Paul Goldschmidt hit a three-run homer and a pair of sacrifice flies for a career-high five RBIs.

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