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The Detroit Tigers have defeated the Oakland Athletics 3-0 to reach MLB's American League Championship Series. Detroit's lead-off pitcher Justin Verlander struck out 10 Oakland batters and conceded just two hits as the Tigers capped off a comeback from 2-1 down in the series to wrap up the AL Division Series (ALDS) on Thursday. Joaquin Benoit closed the match for Detroit conceding just one hit in the ninth inning as the Tigers advanced at the Athletics' expense. Oakland had edged ahead in the ALDS when they won game three 6-3 but succumbed to Detroit after the Tigers claimed game four 8-6 and then triumphed on the road at O.co Coliseum on the back of Verlander's performance on the mound. A two-run homer from Miguel Cabrera in the fourth inning and Omar Infante's hit in the sixth, which sent Victor Martinez home, saw the Tigers triumph and sent them into the ALCS against the Boston Red Sox. Detroit's win saw them become the first team since the New York Yank...

The St Louis Cardinals have stretched their lead in MLB's National League (NL) Central with a win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Cardinals lead-off pitcher Michael Wacha notched seven scoreless innings and drove in two runs as St Louis thumped the Pirates 9-2 and moved 1.5 games ahead of second-placed Pittsburgh in the Central standings. St Louis scored two runs in the opening inning at Busch Stadium on Sunday, while they added another three in the second. But it was in the fifth inning that the Cardinals blew the visiting Pirates away with four runs, including two following Wacha's hit straight down the middle, which allowed David Freese and Matt Adams to score. St Louis led 9-0 and although Pittsburgh scored twice in the ninth inning, the Cardinals held on for a third victory in three days over the Pirates. The Cardinals claimed their 83rd victory of the season to secure a 1.5-game gap over Pittsburgh and the Cincinnati Reds, who defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2. The ...

The St Louis Cardinals have stretched their lead in MLB's National League (NL) Central with a win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Cardinals lead-off pitcher Michael Wacha notched seven scoreless innings and drove in two runs as St Louis thumped the Pirates 9-2 and moved 1.5 games ahead of second-placed Pittsburgh in the Central standings. St Louis scored two runs in the opening inning at Busch Stadium on Sunday, while they added another three in the second. But it was in the fifth inning that the Cardinals blew the visiting Pirates away with four runs, including two following Wacha's hit straight down the middle, which allowed David Freese and Matt Adams to score. St Louis led 9-0 and although Pittsburgh scored twice in the ninth inning, the Cardinals held on for a third victory in three days over the Pirates. The Cardinals claimed their 83rd victory of the season to secure a 1.5-game gap over Pittsburgh and the Cincinnati Reds, who defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2. The ...