It came down to the wire, but the American League’s East and Central divisions have their victors. In a division race that came down to the final game, the Cleveland Guardians have won the AL Central after a historic comeback, while the Toronto Blue Jays have locked up the AL East.<\/p>\n
Before Cleveland’s Game 162 against the Texas Rangers came to an end, the Detroit Tigers’ 4-3 loss<\/a> to the Boston Red Sox gave the division title to the Guardians. Cleveland held the head-to-head tiebreaker over Detroit heading into the Sunday, giving the team a boost over the Tigers regardless of the outcome.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The Guardians secured the division title after a historic season comeback, rolling to a one-game victory over the Detroit Tigers. Cleveland notched a playoff spot on Saturday with a walk-off hit by pitch<\/a>, with Detroit securing a berth the same day.<\/p>\n The Guardians’ division victory, meanwhile, completes a disastrous September collapse<\/a> for the Tigers, who at one point held a 15.5 game lead over the Guardians and led the division by double digits well into August. Detroit ends the season with a 87-75 record and a wild card spot despite once dominating the entire AL.<\/p>\n In the AL East, the Blue Jays beat out the New York Yankees for the division crown behind a 13-4 win<\/a> over the Tampa Bay Rays. Toronto became the first AL team to secure a postseason berth last week<\/a>, but the Yankees hung in to tie the Blue Jays’ record heading into the final day of MLB play.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n With Toronto holding the head-to-head tiebreaker, the team only needed a win to take the division. After gaining a 5-1 lead early in the matchup and nearly losing it, the Blue Jays surged back thanks to a two-homer game from Alejandro Kirk, and a five-run inning in the seventh.<\/p>\n The Yankees pulled off a 3-2 win<\/a> over the Baltimore Orioles, after Ben Rice notched a solo homer in the eighth to break a multi-inning stalemate. But New York will fall just short of the division, settling for the second-place finish.<\/p>\n