CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Guardians clinched a postseason berth with a win against the Minnesota Twins on Thursday. Two days later, the team took ownership of the division title.
After clinching their spot in the playoffs, the Guardians moved on to a road series against the St. Louis Cardinals where they won the opening game Friday night. That win paired with a Kansas City Royals loss took the team's magic number down to just one to clinch the American League Central division.
Entering Saturday's game against the Cardinals, the Guardians either needed to win or have another Royals loss. Kansas City did the heavy lifting, getting shut out by the Giants 9-0 just before the Guardians game began.
The Guardians have now won their 12 division title since the AL Central was formed 30 years ago, their fifth division championship since 2016.
While the Guardians have clinched their playoff berth and the division title, they still have more regular season baseball to play with one more game against the Cardinals before they head back home for a series with the Cincinnati Reds and another with the Houston Astros to take them into October baseball.
