CLEVELAND — George Valera hit a two-run homer in the third inning, Jose Ramírez had a two-run double in the seventh and the Cleveland Guardians became the first major league team to overcome a deficit of 15½ games and take the lead in either division or league play, beating the Detroit Tigers 5-1 on Wednesday night.

Cleveland (86-72) has a one-game lead over Detroit (85-73) with four games to play. The Guardians also have the tiebreaker by taking the season series.

The 1914 Boston Braves were 15 games back in the National League on July 4 and rallied to win by 10½ games according to Elias Sports Bureau. Since baseball went to division play in 1969, the biggest deficit overcome was 14 games by the 1978 New York Yankees to win the AL East.

Tanner Bibee (12-11) won his third straight start and allowed only one run in six innings, extending the streak of Guardians starters allowing two or fewer runs to 19 games. They are the first since the 2019 Tampa Bay Rays to go at least 19 games.

Detroit has dropped eight straight and is out of first place for the first time since April 22, when the Guardians led by a half-game. Jack Flaherty (8-15) took the loss.

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the third when Parker Meadows‘ sacrifice fly drove in Dillon Dingler.

Brayan Rocchio led off the Cleveland third with a double and then scored when Valera’s drive appeared short of the wall in center before it was deflected off the glove of Meadows.

Ramírez broke it open in the eighth with a two-run double to right field that deflected off the glove of Detroit second baseman Gleyber Torres. He became the second player in Cleveland franchise history to reach 3,000 total bases. The other was Earl Averill with 3,201 from 1929 through ’41.

PHILADELPHIA — Edmundo Sosa hit three of Philadelphia’s team-record eight home runs, Kyle Schwarber had two to pad his National League lead and the Phillies wrapped up a first-round bye with an 11-1 victory over the Miami Marlins on Wednesday night.

Assured one of the top two seeds in the NL, the East champion Phillies (93-65) will open the postseason at home Oct. 4 in a best-of-five division series.

Schwarber hit Nos. 55 and 56, and also doubled and singled. He trails Seattle’s Cal Raleigh by three for the major league homer lead after Raleigh hit his 59th in the first inning of the Mariners’ game against Colorado.

Philadelphia hit seven homers against Atlanta on Aug. 28, with Schwarber getting four of them.

Sosa was activated before the game after being out since Sept. 16 because of a groin injury. Bryson Stott, Alec Bohm and Otto Kemp also homered.

Jesus Luzardo (15-7) struck out 10 in seven innings against his former team. He allowed three hits and one run.

Marlins starter Ryan Weathers (2-2) lasted 4⅔ innings, allowing five earned runs on six hits — three of them homers. Valente Bellozo allowed four homers in the seventh.

PHOENIX — The Los Angeles Dodgers activated rookie Roki Sasaki from the 60-day injured list Wednesday, and the right-hander is expected to throw out of the bullpen over the final five games of the regular season to see if he can earn a postseason role.

Manager Dave Roberts confirmed the move, saying right-hander Kirby Yates will head to the injured list because of a lingering hamstring issue. The move is retroactive to Sept. 21.

Roberts said he doesn’t have a specific role for Sasaki, but wanted him to take advantage of his opportunities.

“Giving everything he has for an inning or two at a time,” Roberts said. “That’s kind of what I see. Let the performance play out. Just go after guys and be on the attack.”

Sasaki, 23, is 1-1 with a 4.72 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 34⅓ innings over eight big league appearances this season, all starts. He has also spent time at Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he was 0-2 with a 6.10 ERA over seven appearances, including five starts.

The defending World Series champion Dodgers are searching for bullpen help as the postseason approaches. Tanner Scott blew a save in Tuesday’s 5-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Sasaki agreed in January to a minor league contract with a $6.5 million signing bonus as an international amateur free agent under Major League Baseball’s rules, leaving the Pacific League’s Chiba Lotte Marines under the posting system.

His debut season in the big leagues has been mostly disappointing, but the Dodgers hope he can still have a role in October.

Sasaki is one of three Japanese players on the Dodgers’ roster along with two-way star Shohei Ohtani and right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto.