José Ramírez homers and drives in a pair, Ben Lively goes 5 innings, and Guardians top Cardinals 5-1

ST. LOUIS (AP) — José Ramírez had three hits including his 36th home run, drove in two and stole his 40th base as the Cleveland Guardians beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1 on Friday night to move closer to the AL Central crown.

“When you watch him play, it’s OK, this guy wants to play, he wants to be the best,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said of Ramírez. “Nothing he does will ever surprise me. He’s capable of great things.”

Ramírez has more goals this season.

“It feels good, but obviously it’s going to feel a lot better if I’m able to hit four more homers for the 40/40,” he said through an interpreter.

Ben Lively (13-9) pitched five innings, allowing just one earned run and three hits while striking out two and walking one. It was his third consecutive start of allowing fewer than two runs.

“A couple times in the past, I’ve kind of chilled out a little bit, thinking I’ve got it figured out a little bit, and bad things happened,” Lively said. “You know what you’re doing, (so) keep going. I’ve got plenty of time in the offseason to think about it.”

Erik Sabrowski gave up two hits in 2 1/3 innings for the first save of his professional career.

Andrés Giménez and Lane Thomas added solo home runs for the Guardians. Thomas, who began his career in St. Louis, hit his first homer at Busch Stadium since Sept. 10, 2020.

The Guardians magic number for the division is now one. The Cardinals’ loss and the Arizona Diamondbacks victory over the Milwaukee Brewers officially eliminated St. Louis from postseason contention for the second consecutive season.

Cardinals starter Kyle Gibson (8-8) allowed four runs (three earned) in six innings. He struck out two and walked three, allowing multiple home runs for just the fifth time in 29 starts.

“Felt really good, (but) we’d like to have two pitches back,” Gibson said.

“Especially against this lineup, I feel like (Gibson) actually navigated it well,” Cardinals manager Oli Marmol said. “You’ve got a ton of lefties in there, a lot of guys that make contact, they’re in the air quite a bit, they don’t swing and miss. He gave us a shot.”

Lars Nootbaar had two hits for the Cardinals, including a popup double to shallow left field in the fourth inning to drive in St. Louis’ run. Thomas Saggese had two hits in his first career start at third base. His fourth inning throwing error allowed Bo Naylor to advance to second base on a single and score on an RBI base hit by Daniel Schneemann.

The Guardians, who locked up a playoff spot on Thursday at home, will clinch the AL Central with one more win or one more loss by the Kansas City Royals.

“(Clinching at home) was really fun, and we should enjoy it, but that doesn’t mean the work stops,” Vogt said. “We have to continue to push all the way through to the end.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Marmol said the Cardinals are still evaluating how the team will align its pitching rotation over its final eight games of the regular season. RHP Sonny Gray described pitching through undisclosed “lingering things” following his most recent start on Sept. 18.

Guardians: RHP Alex Cobb (right middle finger blister) is “building up volume” before pitching in a game, Vogt said. OF Steven Kwan (mid-back irritation) is eligible to come off the injured list on Tuesday, and Vogt said the team is “targeting” that day for his activation. “Obviously we don’t know what’s going to happen between now and then, but his progression is going well. He’s feeling better every day,” Vogt said. RHP Carlos Carrasco cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Columbus.

UP NEXT

Miles Mikolas (8-11, 5.49) starts for St. Louis in the second game of the series, opposed by Cleveland LHP Matthew Boyd (2-1, 2.52). Mikolas is trying to avoid becoming the first Cardinals pitcher since Kip Wells in 2007 to pitch at least 150 innings with an ERA of 5.50 or higher.

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

Cleveland Guardians' Andres Gimenez (0) celebrates as he rounds the bases past St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Thomas Saggese after hitting a solo home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol watches from the dugout during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Cleveland Guardians' Lane Thomas, left, grounds out as St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt handles the throw during the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Cleveland Guardians' Lane Thomas arrives home after hitting a solo home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Ben Lively throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Kyle Gibson pauses on the mound after giving up a solo home run to Cleveland Guardians' Jose Ramirez during the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Cleveland Guardians' Jose Ramirez rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Cleveland Guardians' Jose Ramirez rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

NEW YORK (AP) — After the Philadelphia Phillies clinched a third consecutive playoff appearance Friday night, they shook hands on the field and walked back to the dugout as though it were any other regular-season victory.

Moments later, manager Rob Thomson gathered his players in the clubhouse and thanked them during a tempered champagne toast acknowledging their significant achievement.

But no wild party, with grown men spraying booze and guzzling beer and soaking each other in glee.

Not just yet, anyway.

“Pretty calm and relaxed from what it usually turns into,” All-Star third baseman Alec Bohm said with a chuckle.

Qualifying for the postseason is a long way from winning the World Series. Nobody knows that better than the Phillies these days — and they have much bigger goals than simply taking part.

“You look around and you see all the talent, you see all the guys, you see the front office, the moves they make and things like that, you look at it on paper at the beginning of the year, and this team should be in the playoffs,” Bohm said. “So it's good that we've stayed healthy throughout the year and done all the things we need to do to get to this point. Now it's just a matter of, keep going.”

Bryce Harper and the Phillies punched their latest playoff ticket — this one long expected — with a 12-2 blowout of the New York Mets.

Assured at least a National League wild card, Philadelphia can secure its first NL East title since 2011 with one more win this weekend against the second-place Mets at Citi Field.

With the division crown so close, the Phillies kept it mellow Friday night — hoping to let loose soon with a boozy clubhouse bash after locking up first place.

“It'll be a little more rowdy, for sure,” said Bohm, who homered and finished with four hits and four RBIs.

Seeking their third World Series championship, the Phillies overtook Atlanta for the division lead on May 3 and haven't trailed since.

Philadelphia (92-62) has the best record in the major leagues and is on track for a first-round bye in the playoffs. It's the third time the Phillies have reached the postseason three years in a row (1976-78 and 2007-11).

“Not everybody gets the chance to play for the World Series every year, so as much as maybe people in this room feel like this is where we should be, it’s still an accomplishment,” Bohm said.

Harper, Bohm, Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Nick Castellanos have powered the offense, while Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez have anchored the pitching staff on a team largely unchanged from 2023.

Philadelphia won five straight NL East titles from 2007-11, then went 10 years without making the playoffs. A wild-card entry each of the past two postseasons, the Phillies put together consecutive October runs that ended in heartbreak.

They reached the 2022 World Series, losing to Houston in six games, and dropped a seven-game NL Championship Series to Arizona last year after leading the underdog Diamondbacks 2-0 and 3-2.

So this time, the Phillies are looking to go all the way and finally finish the job.

Philadelphia's only World Series championships came in 1980 and 2008.

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

Philadelphia Phillies' Nick Castellanos hits an RBI double during the third inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Philadelphia Phillies' Cristopher Sanchez pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Philadelphia Phillies' Alec Bohm reacts after hitting a three-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Philadelphia Phillies' Alec Bohm hits a three-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Philadelphia Phillies' Alec Bohm is congratulated by Trea Turner, left, after hitting a three-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)