Triple Crown threat Miguel Cabrera had four hits, including a homer during a five-run sixth inning as the Detroit Tigers beat the Royals 6-3 to clinch the AL Central title at Kauffman Stadium. 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 postseason. Meanwhile, the Royals, who will finish higher than fourth or fifth since 2003, has now gone 27 seasons since their last postseason appearance. The Royals will also finish with a sub .500 record for the 17th time in the last 18 years.
Cabrera broke a tie with the Rangers’ Josh Hamilton for the major league lead in homers with his 44th, a solo shot to right and Cabrera had singles in the fourth, seventh and ninth in addition to his homer in the sixth, pushing his AL-leading average to .329, ahead of the Angels’ Mike Trout and the Twins’ Joe Mauer. Cabrera also moved his astonishing RBI total to 137, by far the best in the majors.
The only celebrating the Royals did last night was when the honored the 20th anniversary of George Brett’s 3,000th hit, which occurred on Sept. 30, 1992.