Kerry Carpenter, Zach McKinstry and Matt Vierling hit two-run homers and the host Detroit Tigers slugged their way to an 11-6 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday.

The game was called after 8 1/3 innings due to inclement weather and poor field conditions.

Carpenter, McKinstry and Vierling drove in three runs apiece. Gleyber Torres had two hits, including a homer, and scored twice.

Detroit starter Jack Flaherty was charged with five runs in four-plus innings. He allowed three hits and four walks and hit three batters. He also struck out six.

Brant Hunter (1-0) picked up the win, tossing one inning of scoreless relief.

Jordan Walker hit a grand slam and drove in five for the Cardinals. Starter Dustin May (0-2) gave up seven runs and seven hits in 3 1/3 innings. May walked two and whiffed four.

Detroit took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Colt Keith led off with a single that deflected off May. After a strikeout, Torres singled to center. When Victor Scott II mishandled the ball, Keith scored and Torres moved to second. Carpenter then hit his opposite-field shot.

St. Louis pushed across a run in the third. Ivan Herrera led off with a double and scored on Walker’s two-out single to left.

Detroit got that run back in the bottom of the frame. Kevin McGonigle singled, advanced on a wild pitch and groundout and scored on Carpenter’s sacrifice fly.

McKinstry’s homer, preceded by Dillon Dingler getting hit by a pitch, made it 6-1 in the fourth. The Tigers added another run in the inning when Parker Meadows’ fly ball fell in for a triple. He scored on Vierling’s sacrifice fly.

Flaherty hit JJ Wetherholt with a pitch and walked Herrera, leading to St. Louis’ five-run fifth. Alec Burleson doubled to drive in Wetherholt. After Nolan Gorman walked, Flaherty was removed in favor of Drew Anderson. Walker crushed Anderson’s second offering an estimated 459 feet over the left-center field wall to cut Detroit’s lead to 7-6.

After two-out walks to Riley Greene and Dingler in the bottom of the fifth, McKinstry followed with a run-scoring single.

Torres homered off Matt Svanson leading off the seventh. Vierling homered in the eighth off Chris Roycroft.

–Field Level Media

The Cleveland Cavaliers accomplished their first goal of the season by clinching a playoff berth during their three-game Western Conference road trip.

Next up for Donovan Mitchell, James Harden and the Cavaliers is locking up homecourt advantage in the opening round. They host the Indiana Pacers, who will be without All-Star forward Pascal Siakam and five other core players Sunday.

Cleveland (48-29) is comfortably sitting in fourth place in the East, 3 1/2 games ahead of the fifth-place Atlanta Hawks with five to play. The Cavaliers’ magic number for finishing fourth and gaining home court is two.

“Obviously, we want more, but yeah, we celebrate getting into the playoffs,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said. “You never underestimate the importance of making it because we’ve all been on the outside at some point.

“It’s hard to be in that group who makes it. We’re happy to be one of them again this season.”

The Cavaliers qualified for the playoffs for the fourth year in a row with a 118-111 win at the Golden State Warriors on Thursday. It matches the third-longest postseason streak in franchise history.

Mitchell scored 25 points and Harden had 19 points and five assists, but Max Strus was the difference with eight of his 24 points in the final 7:07 as Cleveland ended the contest on a 24-13 run.

The Warriors trailed by seven in the fourth, then went up 98-94 on Gui Santos’ hoop. The rally was fueled by Cleveland’s Dennis Schroder being called for a flagrant foul on LJ Cryer, prompting a response from Draymond Green that earned him a technical.

“We shouldn’t be happy about this one, but I guess we’ll take it,” said Strus, who made a pair of 3-pointers in his late outburst. “We’ve got to get better on defense than we showed. We can’t be happy with that, but we’re happy to be going home.”

Center Jarrett Allen had 16 points and 13 rebounds in his third game back from right knee tendinitis that sidelined him for 3 1/2 weeks, but Atkinson said his workload will be lessened down the stretch.

One year after eliminating the Cavaliers in the East semifinals, injury-ravaged Indiana (18-59) is playing out the string as part of a three-team battle for the worst record in the league with the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards.

“That’s the NBA,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “We’ll have to see what it looks like for Sunday and get back the best we can.”

A glimpse of how Indiana’s entire season has gone played out Friday, when Siakam bruised his lower back and twisted his left ankle in the fourth quarter of a 129-108 blowout loss at the Charlotte Hornets.

Siakam, who was already battling through right knee soreness, scored a game-high 30 points and had seven rebounds before falling to the floor while giving extra effort. The injuries could end his strong season with a 24.0 scoring average.

“I can’t say enough great things about him,” Carlisle said. “He’s a great player and a great competitor, and he’s proven over the last 2 1/2 years to be a great leader. And he’s a hard worker about the right things.”

The Pacers also will be without Aaron Nesmith (cervical strain), Andrew Nembhard (lumbar soreness), T.J. McConnell (right hamstring soreness) and Ivica Zubac (rib fracture), who is out for the season. Tyrese Haliburton (right Achilles tear) has missed the entire season.

“Unfortunately, we’re in worse shape than we were going into the (Hornets) game,” said Carlisle, who added Ben Sheppard and his freshly bruised hip to the list. “We could be getting even thinner here.”

–Field Level Media

After missing long stretches of the season, Oklahoma City Thunder star guard Jalen Williams is finally settling into a rhythm.

That’s exactly what the Thunder hoped for from the All-Star guard as the regular season comes to a close.

Williams and the Thunder host the Utah Jazz on Sunday, as one of the top teams in the Western Conference battles against the team tied for last.

“I feel like I haven’t played all year. I got pretty fresh legs right now, which will serve me well,” Williams said. “I feel like we only have a certain amount of games left, so I’ll probably go into these playoffs pretty fresh, God willing.”

While Williams scored just 10 points in Oklahoma City’s 139-96 blowout of the Lakers on Thursday, it might’ve been his most complete game this season, as he finished with nine rebounds, eight assists, and two steals.

“I’ve always kind of tried to play that way, with a high motor,” Williams said. “I feel like that’s when I’m my best.”

Though Oklahoma City has the NBA’s best record, they’re still in a tight race with San Antonio for the top spot overall with just five games remaining.

It’s much different than a year ago when the Thunder had the top seed long wrapped up by the close of the regular season.

Oklahoma City (61-16) has won four consecutive games and 16 of its last 17.

“Our biggest thing as a team is we actually do not care if you’re bored watching us, to be completely honest with you,” Williams said after Thursday’s win. “That goes for me on down. We’re trying to win basketball games at the end of the day, just like everybody else. That’s our superpower. You’re not getting bored with the process. We don’t take wins like this for granted. If you don’t come and bring it, you can lose to anybody in the NBA.”

That was tested a bit the last time the Thunder and Jazz met, Jan. 7 in Oklahoma City, when Utah took the Thunder to overtime before Oklahoma City escaped with a 129-125 victory.

The other two matchups between the teams this season — both in Salt Lake City — have been blowout victories for the Thunder.

The Jazz (21-57) come into the game on an eight-game losing streak and have gone 3-19 since the All-Star break.

While Oklahoma City has returned to health recently — though Luguentz Dort left Thursday’s win after crashing hard to the floor — Utah has dealt with a rash of injuries.

The Jazz’s top three scorers — Lauri Markkanen, Keyonte George, and Jaren Jackson Jr. — have missed extended time recently, opening the door for more playing time for young players like Brice Sensabaugh, Kyle Filipowski, and Cody Williams.

Utah coach Will Hardy said he’s encouraged by the performance of that young trio, especially in the confines of the Jazz’s system.

“It’s not opportunity that is based around, like, ‘Hey man, do your thing,’ … It’s still within the team construct,” Hardy said. “And so, the thought process there is that it can translate (in the future).”

–Field Level Media