Cubs Clinch Division Crown With Loss By Cardinals

By ESPN

Wrigley Field was dark and empty when a loud cheer reverberated throughout the neighborhood surrounding the iconic ballpark.

While the Chicago Cubs decided to delay their party, their long-downtrodden fans were ready to celebrate.

Chicago wasted its first chance to clinch the NL Central title when pinch-hitter Scooter Gennett delivered a tiebreaking, two-run double in the seventh inning Thursday night, leading the Milwaukee Brewers to a 5-4 victory. But St. Louis' 6-2 loss at San Francisco completed the Cubs' season-long dominance of the division.

It appeared manager Joe Maddon and his players were long gone when the West Coast game wrapped up. But the final out in San Francisco touched off a celebration in Chicago that included honking horns and chanting in the streets.

"This is just the first step," Maddon said before the Cardinals lost. "I mean, we have much larger baseball fish to fry in our skillet."

The Cubs (93-53) were hoping to begin a 10-game homestand with a boozy celebration of their first division title since 2008. But Keon Broxton homered and Orlando Arcia drove in two runs for Milwaukee, making Chicago wait a little while longer.

Now the party shifts to Friday, right after the Cubs' afternoon start against the Brewers. It might be a bit anticlimactic for Maddon and Co., but they took all the drama out of the division race long ago.

Led by a stellar pitching staff and MVP contenders Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, Chicago got off to a sizzling 25-6 start. After stumbling into the All-Star break, the Cubs pulled away with a 22-6 August that turned the NL Central race into a mere formality.

But the division title is not how this group of Cubs will be judged, not this year. After running roughshod over the rest of the majors for most of the season, they are trying to end the franchise's famous championship drought that goes all the way back to when the Cubs beat the Tigers in the 1908 World Series.

"We've got a lot ahead of us. We really do," president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said before the loss to Milwaukee. "It kind of all boils down to how you perform in October."

It's only the fourth time the Cubs have reached the postseason in consecutive seasons. They got in as a wild card last year and made it to the NL Championship Series before they were swept by the New York Mets.

Giants 6, Cardinals 2

Bruce Bochy gave his guys an afternoon off from batting practice and a late report time to the ballpark. His players got a chance to rest up a bit and refresh themselves with a mental break from the September grind.

It went so well, the Giants' manager is going with the same plan Friday.

"I think it was a really good call by Boch," outfielder Hunter Pence said. "He had a big impact on refueling us."

And then, Johnny Cueto went out and inspired his teammates with a timely gem.

The fist-pumping pitcher tossed a five-hitter and retired his final 17 batters, and San Francisco gained ground in the playoff race with a 6-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night.

"Every game that I pitch or will pitch from now on, I'm going to treat it like a playoff game," Cueto said.

The Cardinals' loss clinched the NL Central title for the Chicago Cubs.

Pence hit a two-run homer, Cueto (16-5) had a go-ahead sacrifice fly and Angel Pagan followed with an RBI single.

Denard Span added a two-run single in the seventh for San Francisco, and Buster Posey had four hits.

White Sox 2, Indians 1

Chicago White Sox slugger Jose Abreu hit another home run Thursday. And not just any homer.

Abreu continued his second-half surge with two more hits and Carlos Sanchez drove in the winning run in the ninth inning in the White Sox's 2-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians.

Before the game, Abreu met with a young cancer patient and said he would try to hit a home run for the boy. He lived up to the promise on his second at-bat, a blast over the left-field fence that tied it.

"You feel for the people," Abreu said through an interpreter. "It was very emotional for me, too, because if I couldn't hit the homer, I would feel bad because I couldn't accomplish what I promised to him. This is something I feel proud of, because these are the moments that you make people feel happy."

Abreu needs six homers and five RBI to join Albert Pujols as only major leaguers with 30 homers and 100 RBI in each of their first three seasons.

"He's getting close," manager Robin Ventura said. "He started out a bit slow, but when you look at the end of the year, he's probably going to have numbers that are as impressive as anybody's the league."

Thursday, September 14 Scoreboard

Minnesota 5, Detroit 1

Chicago White Sox 2,  Cleveland 1

Tampa Bay 7, Baltimore 6

Pittsburgh 15, Philadelphia 2

Boston 7, New York Yankees 5

Oakland 14, Kansas City 5

Milwaukee 5, Chicago Cubs 4

Arizona 7, Los Angeles Dodgers 3

Toronto 7, Los Angeles  Angels 2

San Francisco 6, St. Louis 2

Friday,  September 16 Schedule (All Times Central)

Milwaukee at Chicago Cubs, 1:20 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Baltaimore, 6:05 p.m.

Miami at Philadelphia, 6:05 p.m.

New York Yankees at Boston, 6:10 p.m.

Detroit at Cleveland, 6:10 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 6:10 p.m.

Minnesot at New York Mets, 6:10 p.m.

Washington at Atlanta, 6:35 p.m.

Oakland at Texas, 7:05 p.m.

Chicago White Sox at Kansas City, 7:15 p.m.

San Diego at Colorado, 7:04 p.m.

Los Angeles Dodgers at Arizona, 8:40 p.m.

Toronto at Los Angeles Angels, 9:05 p.m.

Houston at Seattle, 9:10 p.m.

St. Louis at San Francisco, 9:15 p.m.

Saturday, September 17 Schedule (All Times Central)

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 11:10 a.m.

New York Yankees at Boston, 12:05 p.m.

Washington at Atlanta, 12:05 p.m.

Milwaukee at Chicago Cubs, 3:05 p.m.

Detroit at Cleveland, 3:10 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 5:10 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Baltimore, 6:05 p.m.

Miami at Philadelphia, 6:05 p.m.

Minnesota at New York Mets, 6:10 p.m.

Chicago White Sox at Kansas City, 6:15 p.m.

Oakland at Texas, 7:05 p.m.

San Diego at Colorado, 7:10 p.m.

Los Angeles Dodgers at Arizona, 7:10 p.m.

Toronto at Los Angeles Angels, 8:05 p.m.

St. Louis at San Francisco, 8:05 p.m.

Houston at Seattle, 8:10 p.m.

Sunday, September 18 Schedule (All Times Central)

Detroit at Cleveland, 12:10 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 12:10 p.m.

Minnesota at New York Mets, 12:10 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Baltimore, 12:35 p.m.

Washington at Atlanta, 12:35 p.m.

Miami at Philadelphia, 12:35 p.m.

Chicago White Sox at Kansas City, 1:15 p.m.

Milwaukee at Chicago Cubs, 1:20 p.m.

Oakland at Texas, 2:05 p.m.

Toronto at Los Angeles Angels, 2:35 p.m.

St. Louis at San Francisco, 3:05 p.m.

Houston at Seattle, 3:10 p.m.

San  Diego at Colorado, 3:10 p.m.

Los Angeles Dodgers at Arizona, 3:10 p.m.

New York Yankees at Boston, 7 p.m.