LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Andres Gimenez singled to drive in Jose Ramirez from second base Thursday and give Cleveland a 3-2 victory over Minnesota to clinch a Major League Baseball (MLB) playoff spot.
Gimenez’s 10th-inning hit to right field prompted a celebration as the Guardians ran onto the field after becoming the third team to book a berth in the 2024 MLB post-season.
The Milwaukee Brewers clinched the National League Central division title on Wednesday while the New York Yankees clinched an American League (AL) playoff berth along with Cleveland.
The Guardians, guided by first-year manager Stephen Vogt, can clinch the AL Central division title as early as Saturday in St. Louis.
Cleveland took a 1-0 lead on Kyle Manzardo’s solo home run in the first inning but Manuel Margot’s two-run double lifted the Twins into the lead until Brayan Rocchio’s sacrifice fly out scored Josh Naylor from third to lift the Guardians level, setting up the extra-inning triumph.
Cleveland has not won a World Series title since 1948, losing the best-of-seven final to the then-New York Giants in 1954, Atlanta in 1995, the then-Florida Marlins in 1997 and the Chicago Cubs in 2016.
The team, which missed the playoffs in two of the past three seasons, changed its nickname from Indians starting with the 2022 season over controversy about it reflected upon Native Americans.