Walk-off baulk sees Cleveland Indians sweep Detroit Tigers


The Indians had the bases loaded and none out at the bottom of the 13th inning, as they sought a clean sweep of their American League Central division rivals – when Detroit pitcher Al Alburquerque handed it to the hosts in Cleveland 11-10 without another pitch thrown.

Alburquerque baulked – the pitcher is not allowed to begin his action and then stop so as to not deceive the batter or base runners – and punishment of this misstep is a walk.

Consequently, the Indians – with bases loaded – were automatic winners after Alburquerque’s mistake sent Asdrubal Cabrera across home plate, sparking wild scenes at Cleveland’s Progressive Field despite the ball still being in the pitcher’s hand.

The Tigers’ losing streak is three games, however they maintain a five-game buffer at the top of the division, while the Indians are clear bottom – 7.5 games behind Detroit.

Also lasting 13 innings was the New York Yankees’ clash with the Chicago Cubs, one the former edged 4-2.

The St Louis Cardinals walked off against the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2 after 12 innings, when Matt Holliday scored off a throwing error by Arizona’s Chris Owings.

The Toronto Blue Jays closed within a game of a clean sweep of the Boston Red Sox, courtesy of a 6-4 victory at Fenway Park.

The Blue Jays tie the Yankees for the lead in the American League’s East division.

The Baltimore Orioles fell to a 9-8 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates to leave them 0.5 games off the pace in the AL East, while the Red Sox are four games behind after a sixth straight defeat.

The Tampa Bay Rays are below Boston after losing their fourth straight contest, going down 3-2 to the Oakland Athletics.

The Athletics top the AL West division with a 30-16 record after five consecutive wins.

The Los Angeles Angels are Oakland’s closest rival, and had a 2-1 win over strugglers the Houston Astros.

The Seattle Mariners lost out 4-3 to the Texas Rangers, in another all AL-West battle.

The Minnesota Twins are the Tigers’ closest rivals in AL’s Central division, after shutting out the San Diego Padres 2-0.

The Kansas City Royals were 3-1 winners over the Chicago White Sox.

The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Atlanta Braves 6-1 in a battle of two divisional leaders in the National League.

Central table-toppers Milwaukee improved to a 28-19 record, while the Braves – 1.5 games clear top of the East division – fall to a 25-20 ledger.

The Cincinnati Reds edged the Washington Nationals 2-1, while the Miami Marlins thrashed the Philadelphia Phillies 14-5.

The Los Angeles Dodgers trumped the New York Mets 4-3, while NL West leaders the San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies 5-1 to move three games clear.

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