Boston Red Sox left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez and right-hander Heath Hembree combined to strike out 11 consecutive batters to establish a major league-record on Sunday in a 3-2, 10-inning victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Chicago Cubs became the first Major League team to clinch a division crown when the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the San Francisco Giants on Thursday night.

The Cubs had a chance to clinch the division with a win, but lost to the Milwaukee Brewers.

"This is just the first step," Joe Maddon said. "I mean, we have much larger baseball fish to fry in our skillet."

It marks the first time the Cubs have won a division title since 2008.

"We've got a lot ahead of us. We really do," Theo Epstein said. "It kind of all boils down to how you perform in October."