MLB playoffs standings 2014: Royals still alive in AL Central after avoiding sweep

The Kansas City Royals avoided a sweep at home by topping the Detroit Tigers, 5-2, at Kauffman Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The much-needed win keeps Kansas City within 1½ games of the Tigers for first place in the AL Central entering the final week of the regular season.

Jeremy Guthrie pitched well for the Royals on Sunday, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits over 5⅓ innings. The bullpen trio of Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland came in after him and dominated, combining to pitch 3⅔ shutout innings with one hit allowed, zero walks and five strikeouts.

The Tigers' pitching staff didn't fare nearly as well, with starter Rick Porcello lasting just 3⅓ innings before being chased. He allowed four runs and nine hits, including a two-run triple to Norichika Aoki, and that was enough damage to get the loss.

• Masahiro Tanaka looked good in his first start since early July, pitching 5⅓ innings of one-run ball as the Yankees topped the Blue Jays, 5-2. New York's expensive ace struck out four and walked zero, providing a quality effort despite the months of rust.
• John Danks pitched a no-hitter into the sixth inning against Tampa Bay, but the end result wasn't a low-scoring affair when the Chicago White Sox won, 10-5. Avisail Garcia hit two homers for Chicago, including a 468-foot bomb in the sixth inning.
• The St. Louis Cardinals clinched their playoff spot with Milwaukee's loss on Sunday. Now St. Louis just needs to finish off the NL Central.
• Atlanta got mathematically eliminated from the postseason on Sunday with a 10-2 loss to the New York Mets. The Braves have been long-shots for a while but now the news is official after a disappointing year for Jason Heyward and company.