The Detroit Tigers took a huge step on Tuesday night as they attempt to make the playoffs after playing mediocre baseball for most of the season.
The team defeated the Kansas City Royals 2-0 to pull into a tie with the Chicago White Sox for the AL Central division lead with only eight games left to play.
"We control our own destiny. We've just got to continue to play good baseball," catcher Gerald Laird said. "We don't have to rely on anybody to beat anybody now. It's all on our shoulders."
Anibal Sanchez threw his first shutout in over a year, striking out ten batters and only giving up three hits over nine innings.
Sanchez was one of the Tigers big acquisitions at the trading deadline along with Omar Infante. Sanchez has pitched so-so for Detroit, but came up big when he was needed the most. He threw 105 pitches and got his first shutout since Sept. 2011 with the Marlins.
"Nothing is over, nothing is in," Sanchez said. "We're right there."
The White Sox lost earlier in the day to the Cleveland Indians, allowing the Tigers to gain ground. Detroit had previously tied Chicago after beating them on Sept. 2, but quickly faded. They were three games behind on Sept. 19, but have played good baseball, winning three of the last five games.
The Tigers scored two runs in the first inning off of Royals starter Bruce Chen, and that was all they would need. Prince Fielder singled to score Austin Jackson and Delmon Young added another RBI single to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead. Sanchez did the rest.
Sanchez was pitching a perfect game and didn't allow a ball past the infield until the fourth inning when Alex Gordon hit a single. He got into a bit of trouble in the fourth inning after the Royals put two men on base, but third baseman Miguel Cabrera made a great defensive play to end the threat.
"Sanchez did a real good job," Chen said. "One of those games where you just have to tip your hat."
Chen allowed two runs on 10 hits in 6 2/3 innings.
Cabrera went 0-for-3 with a walk, but is in the midst of one of the best offensive seasons in recent memory and has a legitimate chance at getting the Triple Crown. Cabrera leads the league in batting with a .329 average, is first in RBIs with 133 and is just one home run behind Josh Hamilton for the league lead.
He would be the first player to earn the Triple Crown since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 and is the first player since Jim Rice in 1979 to be first or second in all three categories this late in the season.
Cabrera snapped a 14-game hit streak. Over the past nine seasons Cabrera has 1,051 RBIs, which is nearly as good as all-time RBI leader Hank Aaron's best nine-year total of 1,052.
Sanchez made a couple excellent plays in the field, including a bare handed pick up and throw out at first base in the third inning. He also made a nice throw to first base in eighth inning on Jarrod Dyson's grounder.
"He threw it good. It had a little movement on it, too," Fielder said. "Perfect throw. I just wasn't ready for it."
The pitcher now has six quality starts in his last seven games and improved his ERA to 0.90 in September.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Sanchez is the 3rd pitcher in the divisional era to throw a 10-stirekout shutout that helped bring his team into first place on September 1 or later. He also is the first Tigers pitcher to throw a 3-hit shutout with at least ten strikeouts since the early 1970s.
The Tigers worked fast, winning the game in only 2 hours, 13 minutes. Detroit will pitch Rick Porcello on Wednesday night against Kansas City starter Jeremy Guthrie.
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