Red Sox beat Tigers 4-3, clinching AL Central title for Guardians

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Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Jose De Leon smiles as he is greeted by teammates in the dugout after being removed in the top of the seventh inning during a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Jim Davis)

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Jose De Leon reacts after recording the final out of the top of the sixth inning during a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Jim Davis) — Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Jose De Leon smiles as he is greeted by teammates in the dugout after being removed in the top of the seventh inning during a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Jim Davis)

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5:55 PM on Sunday, September 28

By JIMMY GOLEN

BOSTON (AP) — José De León pitched a career-high 6 2/3 innings in his first outing in two years, and Masataka Yoshida and David Hamilton homered on Sunday to give the Boston Red Sox a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers that clinched the AL Central title for the Cleveland Guardians.

After each team wrapped up a playoff berth during the series — the Red Sox on Friday and the Tigers on Saturday — they both sent out lineups for the regular-season finale that allowed some regulars to rest and others to get work if they needed it.

De León, called up from Triple-A so the Red Sox could line up their starters for the wild-card round, allowed three runs on eight hits and three walks. He struck out eight. Greg Weissert pitched the ninth for his fourth save.

The Tigers scratched ace Tarik Skubal after clinching a postseason spot on Saturday, even though they still could have won the division and the home-field advantage in the wild-card round that goes with it. Detroit needed to win Sunday and hope Cleveland lost to Texas; neither happened.

Chris Paddack (5-12) allowed four runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out five in 4 1/3 innings. The Tigers took a 3-1 lead in the fourth on Javier Báez's three-run homer, but Boston answered in the bottom half with Hamilton’s two-run shot and Jarren Duran’s RBI double.

Key moment

De León was emotional when he left the field to a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd and his teammates. The 33-year-old righty, who has pitched in 57 games for six teams over seven seasons, spent the rest of this year in the minors, where he had a 6.93 ERA. He had not pitched in the majors since having his second Tommy John surgery in 2023.

Key stat

Ceddanne Rafaela got his 20th stolen base of the season in the first inning, giving Boston four players (also Trevor Story, 31; Duran, 24; Hamilton, 22) with at least 20 for the first time since 1912.

Up next

The Red Sox will face the Yankees in New York in the best-of-three wild-card series starting Tuesday. The Tigers will head to Cleveland for their series.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB