Tigers Clinch Central Division with 4-1 Win; David Wright Homers Twice as Mets Bludgeon Braves, 12-2

Players of the Day for Friday, September 16, 2011

American League

The Detroit Tigers clinched their first Central division title in franchise history, getting a superb mound performance from a key acquisition, Doug Fister, who stymied the Seattle Mariners on three hits over eight innings, for a 4-1 win.

Doug Fister

It was Detroit's first division title since taking the AL East in 1987, prior to the leagues going to a three-division set-up in 1994. MLB had been a two division format since 1969, but the Tigers when the leagues further realigned in 1994, Detroit stayed in the East. In 1998, Detroit moved into the Central as expansion provided the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Rays. Milwaukee moved from the AL Central to the NL Central, allowing Detroit to switch divisions.

The Tigers came from well back early this season to steamroll the rest of the Central. Their lead over second place Cleveland is 13 1/2 games, the largest in the majors. In late August, the Tigers began to heat up, winning 10 of 13 to finish the month. September began with a loss to Kansas City, but then the Tigers won 12 straight, including taking three from Cleveland and six from the White Sox during that stretch. Their loss to Oakland on Thursday was just their second during September.

Valverde: 45 Saves

During their 12-game win streak, Fister and Justin Verlander each recorded three wins. Fister, who was acquired from Seattle just prior to the July 31 trading deadline with a record of 3-12, reeled off six wins against just one loss in nine starts for the Tigers.

In Friday's clincher, after putting the Tigers in a 1-0 hole after surrendering a solo home run to Josh Willingham, Fister gave up a single to Endy Chavez, but then proceeded to set down 17 straight batters. The A's didn't get a hit until David DeJesus stroked a two-out single in the 7th. Jose Valverde allowed the only other A's hit - a leadoff single by Coco Crisp - in the ninth, but stranded him there, getting the final three outs in order for his league-leading 45th save.

Fister did not allow a walk and struck out five, registering his fifth straight victory.

In the battle for the wild card, Boston topped Tampa Bay, 4-3, to inch away to a four game lead over the Rays. The Sox and Rays play two more at Fenway Park this weekend. The Yankees lost to Toronto, 5-4, which slimmed their lead to 3 1/2 over Boston in the division.

In the West, the Angels lost to Baltimore and the Rangers fell to Seattle. keeping the Texas lead at 3 1/2 games.

National League

David Wright

In a game that may turn out to be significant in terms of standings and pennant races, the Mets - after being criticized for "mailing it in" as a six game losing streak culminated in a 10-1 loss to the Nationals Thursday night, banged out 20 hits to down the Atlanta Braves, 12-2 with David Wright continuing a strong second half, belting two home runs and driving in five runs in a 3-for-6 night at the plate.

The win has no significance for the Mets, well out of the pennant race since the All Star break, but tightened up the wild card scenario as the Braves desperately try to hold off the charging Cardinals and Giants, recently the league's two hottest teams.

While the Braves were being pummeled, the Cardinals took down the Phillies, 4-2, in 11 innings and the Giants clobbered Colorado, 9-1, shrinking Atlanta's wild card lead to 3 1/2 over St. Louis and 5 over San Francisco. The Cardinals, winners of eight of their last 10, remain mired 5 1/2 behind the Brewers in the Central division. Milwaukee won, 6-3, at Cincinnati to maintain their edge.

In the West, Arizona suffered a 2-0 setback at San Diego, which allowed the Giants to creep to within six games of the Diamondbacks. The Giants have won six straight.

Indians rule AL Central; Mets mash Cubs

American League Cleveland 5 Minnesota 2 - The Indians finally put together a pair of wins - the first time since July 19 & 20 at Texas that they've won two straight - and took over first place in the AL Central. After a 5-0 win over Texas on Thursday, the Indians put their ace, C.C. Sabathia, (right) on the mound, and he responded with six solid innings, allowing just two earned runs against Twins' starter Johan Santana (11-9). Sabathia (14-6) became the first pitcher in the American league to get to 14 wins, tying the Cubs' Carlos Zambrano for the most in the majors. The Indians have been dogging Detroit for nearly a month, most recently going through a frustrating 3-8 stretch while the Tigers were desperately trying to fumble away first place, losing 11 of 15 since ending a 4-game win streak on August 19. Kansas City 1 NY Yankees 7 - The Yankees, on the verge of completing what may be the softest part of their entire 2007 schedule, have taken 10 of 15 over Tampa Bay, Baltimore, KC and the White Sox, and with two games left in their series with the Royals, seem to have made some headway. With Boston losing last night, the Yanks are 7 back in the AL East and now trail Detroit by 2 1/2 in the wild card race. Seattle is also involved, 1/2-game behind the Tigers. After Sunday, it gets a lot more interesting in the Yankees' quest for a playoff spot, with August filled with games against Toronto, Baltimore, Detroit, Cleveland and the LA Angels. The month culminates with a 3-game series in the Bronx with Boston on August 28, 29 and 30. The upcoming stretch may well determine the post-season fate of the Bronx Bombers. Boston 4 Seattle 7 - The Mariners continue to confound their critics, remaining a contender in both the AL West and wild card races. With a lineup consisting of no-name players beyond Ichiro and Adrian Beltre, Seattle manages to get timely hitting and pitching, like on Friday, when #9 hitter, Yuniesky Betancourt delivered a 3-run homer in the 4th and broke a 4-all tie in the 6th with a key ground-out RBI. The Mariners are 2 1/2 behind the Angels and just 1/2-game behind Detroit in the wild card. Other AL Scores Chi White Sox 7 Detroit 4 Texas 4 Toronto 6 Baltimore 3 Tampa Bay 1 LA Angels 4 Oakland 8 National League Cincinnati 13 Pittsburgh 4 - Adam Dunn (right) socked his 29th homer and Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 26th, as all 8 position players for the Reds had at least 2 hits. NY Mets 6 Chi Cubs 2 - The Mets are determined to make a mess of any other team's hopes of making the playoffs. On Friday, they knocked the Cubs out of first place, and, by virtue of losses by Philly and Atlanta, improved their NL East lead to 5 games. Orlando Hernandez gave the Mets 6 2/3 innings of solid mound work, allowing 2 earned runs, and the bullpen blanked the Cubs the rest of the way, preventing Carlos Zambrano from becoming the first 15-game winner in the majors. Arizona 1 LA Dodgers 0 - The Diamondbacks upped their lead to 1 1/2 games, behind the 3-hit, 8-inning performance of Doug Davis (8-10), who outdueled LA starter Chad Billingsley (7-2). Jose Valverde delivered a perfect ninth, fanning 2 of the 3 batters he faced, for his 32nd save. The Dodgers fell to third place, 2 back, as the Padres beat San Fran. Colorado stayed in the race with a win at Florida. The Rockies are 3 1/2 off the pace. Other NL Scores St. Louis 2 Washington 3 Houston 8 Florida 2 Colorado 9 Atlanta 2 Philadelphia 1 Milwaukee 2 San Francisco 3 San Diego 4, 10 innings