The St Louis Cardinals frittered away a chance to clinch the division title on Saturday, losing 5-2 to the Arizona Diamondbacks who got two home runs from slugger Mark Trumbo.
Meanwhile, the Chicago White Sox prevented the Kansas City Royals from moving into a tie for the division lead with a 5-4 win behind the bat of Josh Phegley.
Phegley blasted two home runs to keep the Royals a game adrift of the Detroit Tigers in the American League Central Division.
Kansas City has already secured a spot in the postseason but a victory -- combined with a Tigers' loss to Minnesota on Sunday -- would force a tie for the division title.
Trumbo knocked in four runs for the Diamondbacks who prevented the Cardinals from clinching the National League's Central Division title.
David Peralta went three-for-four with a home run and a pair of RBIs, while Ender Inciarte extended his hitting streak to 15 games in the win. The Diamondbacks three-game losing streak also came to a halt.
St. Louis had an opportunity to clinch the division with a victory because of Pittsburgh's loss earlier in the day.
St. Louis remains a game up on the Pirates for first place with just one game remaining for each team.
If the clubs end in a tie after Sunday, there will be a one-game playoff in St. Louis on Monday to determine the division championship.
The NL Central winner will play the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first round of the Major League Baseball playoffs, while the loser takes on San Francisco in the wild card contest.
Meanwhile in Seattle, Austin Jackson's extra-inning leap of faith kept the Seattle Mariners in the AL wild-card race heading into the final day of the Major League Baseball regular season.
Share
