UNDATED (AP) — The American League has its first division title winner of the season.
The White Sox have clinched the AL Central title by taking Game 1 of a doubleheader with the Indians, 7-2.
Tim Anderson homered twice and had four RBIs while Chicago built a 7-0 lead by the second inning. Luis Robert and Eloy Jimenez added back-to-back solo homers for the White Sox, who will be making back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time in their 121-season history. The Sox hadn’t won a division crown since 2008.
In the nightcap, Oscar Mercado delivered a two-run, walk-off homer in the seventh as Cleveland earned a split with a 5-3 victory. Owen Miller hit a two-run single to put the Indians ahead in the sixth, but Chicago tied it in the seventh on an error by Yu Chang.
Checking out the rest of Thursday’s major league action:
— The Giants’ lead in the NL West is down to a game over Los Angeles after San Francisco’s 7-6 loss at San Diego. Jurickson Profar raced home on Victor Caratini’s infield single with one out in the 10th inning. Pinch-hitter Austin Slater hit a three-run homer to give the Giants a 5-4 lead with one out in the sixth.
— Max Muncy led off the 10th inning with a two-run homer to complete the Dodgers’ comeback in a 7-5 victory at Colorado. Muncy’s 35th home run of the season followed Trea Turner’s game-tying, RBI single with two out in the ninth. Max Scherzer struggled in allowing five runs over as many innings, but he remains undefeated since joining the Dodgers.
— The Cardinals’ winning streak is now at 12 games after they stormed back from a 5-0 deficit to beat the Brewers, 8-5. Paul Goldschmidt homered twice and had three RBIs for the Redbirds, who own their longest winning streak since the 1982 World Series team. Yadier Molina had two RBIs, including the run-scoring single that ignited the Cards’ comeback.
— The Phillies trailed 6-0 in the third inning before Didi Gregorius, Ronald Torreyes and J.T. Realmuto homered to power them to a 12-6 comeback over the Pirates. Gregorius began the comeback with a solo blast during a five-run third and Torreyes put Philadelphia ahead with a three-run shot in the sixth. Realmuto followed with a two-run homer and a two-run single as the Phils pulled within two games of Atlanta for the NL East lead.
— The Diamondbacks put together a five-run seventh that allowed them to beat the Braves, 6-4. Carson Kelly tied it with a three-run homer and Daulton Varsho added the go-ahead double that ended Atlanta’s four-game winning streak. Austin Riley homered for the third straight game as the Braves took a 3-0 lead off Madison Bumgarner with a three-run third.
— Juan Soto hit solo homers in consecutive innings to give the Nationals a 3-0 lead in a 3-2 win against the Reds. Soto was 3-for-3 with a walk as he raised his batting average to a National League-leading .325. The Reds scored twice in the ninth before falling 5 1/2 games out of a playoff berth with nine remaining.
— Shohei Ohtani scored the tiebreaking run in the sixth inning as the Angels beat the Astros, 3-2 to halt a six-game losing streak. The game was tied 1-all when Jack Mayfield lined a double off Lance McCullers Jr. to score Ohtani and Jared Walsh. Mayfield had six RBIs in the four-game series against his former team as Houston’s magic number for clinching the AL West stayed at three.
— The Twins notched a 7-2 win over the Blue Jays as Nick Gordon drove in four runs and Michael Pineda won his third straight start. Toronto fell a full game behind the Yankees for the second AL wild card and finished the game without Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who had his hand stepped on by teammate Randal Grichuk in the outfield.
— The Mariners picked up their fifth straight win by turning a 4-1 deficit into a 6-5 decision over the Athletics. Cal Raleigh started the comeback with a two-run homer, Mitch Haniger tied it with his 35th and Luis Torrens followed with a two-run shot. The outcome puts the Mariners two games behind the idle Yankees for the second AL wild card. The A’s are four back.
— Zac Lowther lowered his ERA to 7.66 by scattering three hits while fanning seven over five innings of the Orioles’ 3-0 shutout of the Rangers. Ryan Mountcastle and Austin Hays hit solo homers for Baltimore.
