MLB

Guardians 3, Tigers 1

Are … the Guardians going to run down the Tigers?! Detroit comfortably led the AL Central for the majority of this season, but after a Cleveland sweep, the Tigers’ lead is just 3.5 games. Normally, that would be a solid cushion with just over a week remaining, but Detroit travels to Progressive Field for a three-game set next week. If the Guardians sweep that series, it could lead to one of the most shocking division titles in recent memory.

Cleveland has made its mark with strong pitching all year, and this series was no different. Tanner Bibee’s sudden emergence as an ace in September certainly helped, as the right-hander pitched six innings of one-run ball in this victory. Having Bibee go toe-to-toe with Tarik Skubal was more than what the Guardians could’ve asked for.

Speaking of Skubal, the southpaw is on his way to repeating as AL Cy Young winner, but the Tigers surely were hoping he’d halt the Guardians’ momentum yesterday. It obviously didn’t happen, but Skubal still pitched well, striking out nine over six innings.

Mets 6, Padres 1

The story of this game was Brandon Nimmo. The left fielder released a terrible, and I mean terrible, throw in the third inning, allowing Fernando Tatis Jr. to score on a lazy sacrifice fly. That tied the contest at one, but credit to Nimmo, it wasn’t his chief impact yesterday.

Later that inning, Nimmo smacked a huge three-run homer, giving New York a 5-1 lead. Those were all the runs the Mets needed, and for at least another day, New York can rest with a small lead in the NL wild-card chase.

While the Padres aren’t in danger of missing the postseason like the Mets, San Diego is losing its grip on positioning. The Padres are practically out of contention for the top wild-card spot, and now are trying to catch the Dodgers in the NL West. With a deficit that’s continuing to increase, it appears the Padres will have to settle for the fifth seed.

Rays 4, Blue Jays 0

Chandler Simpson will likely never be a star — or anything close to it — due to his lack of power, but he’s been on a nice run this month. After going 3-of-4 yesterday, Simpson is hitting .301 as a rookie. His bat-to-ball skills will need to remain for him to play every day, but if he does, Simpson could be a 50-plus stolen-base guy on a regular basis.

Athletics 5, Red Sox 3

Brent Rooker has been one of MLB’s top sluggers for three seasons, and hopefully next year is when he finally gets to hit for a winning Athletics team. Going 1-for-4 in this win, Rooker recorded his 30th homer and RBI Nos. 86 and 87.

Yesterday was a double whammy of sorts for the Red Sox, with this loss and a Guardians victory. Boston remains in pole position for a wild-card spot, but none of the club’s final three series are particularly easy, including a trip to Tampa Bay. The Rays are above .500 at home this year.

Mariners 2, Royals 0

Good teams can win in a variety of ways, and this month, Seattle has established itself as a good team. The Mariners registered just five hits in this win, but thanks to a strong start by Luis Castillo, it didn’t matter.

Castillo pitched six scoreless innings, lowering his ERA to 3.63.