Royals dominate Sale, Angels win division

LorenzoCain

The Royals dominated pitcher Chris Sale on their way to a 6-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday.

Sale entered the clash with a 12-3 win-loss record but only made it through five innings as the Royals got the better of him.

Lorenzo Cain set up the win with a three-run homer in the third inning.

Cain said afterwards: "Facing Chris Sale is always tough. He's definitely one of the best in the game. But we did a great job of swinging the bats tonight, so facing Detroit here soon, the confidence should be high."

The Royals are just a half-game behind Detroit in the American League (AL) Central after the leaders were beaten 8-4 by the Minnesota Twins.

AL East champions the Baltimore Orioles completed a three-game sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays with a 6-1 win.

The Los Angeles Angels are AL West champions after a five-run seventh inning saw them beat the Seattle Mariners 5-0.

That win and the Oakland Athletics' 6-1 loss to the Texas Rangers saw the Angels win the division for the first time since 2009.

The Mariners are two games behind the wildcard, while the Cleveland Indians and the New York Yankees are further adrift.

The Indians had a 2-0 win over the Houston Astros and sit five games behind and the Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 to be six back.

In the National League (NL) West, the Los Angeles Dodgers had their lead cut to two games.

An eight-run first inning led the Colorado Rockies to a 16-2 hammering of the Dodgers.

The second-placed San Francisco Giants capitalised with a two-run ninth seeing them past the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-2.

The St Louis Cardinals remain 2.5 games clear of the Pittsburgh Pirates after a 2-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Pirates crushed the Boston Red Sox 9-1.

The Atlanta Braves are still a chance of a wildcard after a 3-1 win against NL East champions the Washington Nationals.

Elsewhere, the Philadelphia Phillies overcame the San Diego Padres 5-2, the Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 3-1 and the Miami Marlins edged the New York Mets 4-3.

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