Guardians clinch 3rd straight AL Central crown with 11-5 win over Royals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Once again, the Cleveland Guardians are division champs.

Patrick Bailey and Brayan Rocchio each hit two of Cleveland's five home runs as the Guardians beat the Kansas City Royals 11-5 on Saturday night to clinch their third straight AL Central title.

Cleveland's victory coupled with Chicago's 9-6 loss to Colorado gave the Guardians (85-76) a two-game lead over the second-place White Sox (83-78) with one game remaining in the regular season on Sunday.

José Ramírez and the Guardians are assured the No. 2 seed in the American League playoffs and a first-round bye into a best-of-five Division Series. They will have five days off and then home-field advantage against the winner of a best-of-three Wild Card Series between the No. 6 seed White Sox and either Houston or Texas — whichever one wins the AL West on Sunday.

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