ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Angels clinched the AL West title Wednesday night, getting seven dominant innings of one-hit ball from C.J. Wilson in a 5-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
C.J. Cron hit a three-run homer for the major league-leading Angels (95-57), who wrapped up their first division crown since 2009 when Oakland lost to Texas about an hour after Los Angeles' game ended.
Howie Kendrick sparked the Angels' five-run rally in the seventh by scoring from first base when Chris Denorfia misplayed David Freese's single to right for an error.
Los Angeles' surge broke up a pitchers' duel between Wilson and Seattle rookie James Paxton, who traded zeros until the seventh (see full recap).
Wainwright, Cards blank Brewers
ST. LOUIS -- Adam Wainwright is rounding back into the shape the St. Louis Cardinals have become accustomed to from their ace.
Wainwright posted his 19th win, pitching a shutout Wednesday night as the Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 2-0, to hold their 2 1/2-game edge in the NL Central.
It was his fourth consecutive win after a dreadful August during which he lost four of six starts and had a 5.17 ERA.
"For a long while I wasn't very good," he said. "It was good to be back making pitches when I need to."
Wainwright (19-9) worked around seven hits and tied for the major league lead in wins and shutouts.
St. Louis has won four of five and kept its advantage over second-place Pittsburgh. Milwaukee dropped 2 1/2 games behind the Pirates for the second NL wild-card spot (see full recap).
Royals beat up Sale, White Sox
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Perhaps the Royals are rousing from their offensive slumber at just the right time.
Lorenzo Cain hit a three-run homer, Nori Aoki kept up his tear at the plate and Kansas City roughed up Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale in a 6-2 victory Wednesday night that allowed the Royals to creep within a half-game of first-place Detroit in the AL Central.
The same bunch of Tigers that arrive for a three-game set starting Friday night.
Alcides Escobar also homered for a Royals lineup that had been scuffling for weeks, and Aoki went 3 for 4 to finish with 11 hits in the series. Yordano Ventura (13-10) allowed three hits and two walks over seven innings, the lone run off him coming on a sacrifice fly.
"We've got our minds right and we're going to go out and win some ballgames," Cain said.
Meanwhile, Sale (12-4) was cuffed for a season-high five earned runs on nine hits over five innings. It was arguably the three-time All-Star's worst start since Aug. 23, 2013, when he gave up eight runs over seven innings in a loss to the Rangers (see full recap).
Price loses as Tigers fall to Twins
MINNEAPOLIS -- David Price was hit hard in a disappointing outing and the Minnesota Twins beat Detroit, 8-4, Wednesday night to tighten the AL Central race ahead of the Tigers' big weekend series in Kansas City.
Danny Santana tripled, doubled and drove in two runs for the Twins. Kyle Gibson (12-11) recovered from a rough start to pitch last-place Minnesota to its second straight win over the division leaders.
The Tigers ended the night with a half-game lead over the second-place Royals, who beat the Chicago White Sox, 6-2.
Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera went 4 for 5 with a pair of doubles but was thrown out after a costly mistake on the bases in the seventh.
With the Twins up 6-4 and Torii Hunter on first, Cabrera doubled to advance Hunter to third. Victor Martinez grounded to first base and Cabrera - apparently expecting Hunter to break for the plate -- was caught off second and tagged out for an inning-ending double play (see full recap).
Red-hot Bucs romp Red Sox
PITTSBURGH -- There used to be a time -- any year really between 1993 and 2012 -- when reaching 81 wins would be cause for celebration for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Not anymore. These days the certainty of a non-losing season is nothing more than a speed bump on Pittsburgh's resilient quest for a playoff berth.
Gregory Polanco, Neil Walker and Ike Davis all homered and the Pirates beat the Boston Red Sox, 9-1, on Wednesday night to maintain their grip on the second National League wild-card spot.
Polanco and Walker hit solo shots off Boston starter Clay Buchholz (8-9) and Davis drilled a three-run blast to center off reliever Steven Wright. The Pirates have won 10 of 12 and improved to a season-high 11 games over .500 (81-70). Pittsburgh moved 2.5 games clear of Milwaukee in its race for a second straight postseason bid after the Brewers fell to St. Louis.
"We got some good pitches to hit and didn't miss them," manager Clint Hurdle said. "Fun to watch those guys work in the box" (see full recap).
Braves beat Nats' B-team, snap 5-game skid
ATLANTA -- The Braves ended their five-game losing streak but gained no ground in their longshot chase for the playoffs.
Three runs scored when Christian Bethancourt's sixth-inning single bounced off first baseman Tyler Moore's glove and into right field, lifting Atlanta to a 3-1 win over a Washington Nationals' lineup of backups on Wednesday night.
The Braves remained 5 1/2 games behind Pittsburgh for the second NL wild card with 10 games remaining. Losses in 11 of 14 games before Wednesday night left Atlanta in need of a lot of help.
"For us, every game is Game 7," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said.
Steven Souza Jr. hit his first career homer for the Nationals. Washington manager Matt Williams gave his regulars a day off one day after the Nationals clinched the NL East title.
Alex Wood (11-10) allowed one run on five hits with eight strikeouts in six innings. Craig Kimbrel pitched a perfect ninth for his 44th save, his first since Sept. 6 (see full recap).