The Detroit Tigers clinched the American League Central on Monday with a 6-3 win against the Kansas City Royals.
With a three-game lead over the Chicago White Sox and three games to play in the regular season, the Tigers only needed one win or a White Sox' loss to clinch. They wasted little time locking it up, winning the first game of their three game series with the Royals. The AL Central title is Detroit's second straight.
Rick Porcello got the win for the Tigers, allowing one run over five innings. Porcello left with a 1-0 lead, but got plenty of run support in the next inning as the Tigers scored five runs in the top of the sixth inning to pull away. Miguel Cabrera got the rally started in the sixth inning with a solo home run, his 44th home run of the season. Cabrera finished 4-5 in the game, raising his batting average to a league leading .329. The home run also puts Cabrera in the AL lead, one more than Josh Hamilton.
The Royals cut into the Tigers 6-0 lead, but not enough as Jose Valverde recorded his 35th save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning to close the game and clinch the division for Detroit.