Baseball capsules: Corey Kluber joins elite group as Cleveland topples Yankees
Corey Kluber upstaged Sonny Gray’s debut for New York by pitching a three-hitter and leading the host Cleveland Indians to a 5-1 win over the sloppy Yankees on Thursday night.
Kluber (9-3) struck out 11 and Cleveland’s ace threw his third complete game this season as the defending American League champions won the opener of a four-game series with a potential playoff opponent, ending their losing streak at three.
For five innings, Gray (6-6) was nearly as good as Kluber, but New York made three errors in the first behind the right-hander, who was acquired at Monday’s trade deadline from Oakland to help the Yankees return to the postseason.
Yan Gomes broke a 0-for-13 slide by hitting a two-run double to put Cleveland up 4-0.
With his latest dominant performance, Kluber joined Hall of Famers Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and Nolan Ryan as the only pitchers to strike out at least eight in 12 consecutive starts.
Kluber carried a two-hit shutout into the seventh before Gary Sanchez belted his 17th homer.
The Yankees sat struggling slugger Aaron Judge. The major league home run leader is batting .164 (11 of 67) with 29 strikeouts since the All-Star break.
Royals 6, Mariners 4: Brandon Moss hit two home runs and Lorenzo Cain drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning as Kansas City beat Seattle in Kansas City, Missouri.
The Royals rallied from deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 for their 32nd comeback victory. They snapped a three-game losing streak.
Moss homered in the fifth off Yovani Gallardo after Mike Moustakas had walked. That snapped a four-game homer-less skid for the Royals, which matched their longest drought of the season.
Moss also homered in eighth for his 11th career multihomer game.
Emilio Pagan (0-2) took the loss, giving up two runs, one unearned, in the seventh.
Angels 5, Phillies 4: Mike Trout hit an early two-run homer and Los Angeles scored twice in the eighth to edge Philadelphia in Anaheim, California, for its 12th consecutive victory over the Phillies.
Andrelton Simmons keyed the decisive rally with a double and scored the go-ahead run on a high wild pitch by Luis Garcia (1-2).
Yusmeiro Petit (3-0) threw two scoreless innings in relief, and Bud Norris pitched the ninth for his 17th save.
Trout went deep against Jerad Eickhoff in the first, but the Phillies took the lead in the second on a two-run homer from Nick Williams and a two-run single by Freddy Galvis.
Giants 11, Athletics 2: Ty Blach pitched eight strong innings and hit a three-run homer and Jarrett Parker had three hits and three RBIs in his first game back from the disabled list as host San Francisco defeated Oakland.
The win gave the Giants a split of the four-game home-and-home Bay Bridge Series.
Blach (7-7) struck out four and gave up two runs, six hits and one walk. The 26-year-old left-hander threw 104 pitches. He’s pitched at least six innings in six straight starts.
Blach homered off Chris Smith in the fifth. His first career home run cleared the 399-foot sign in center field and extended an 8-1 lead.
The Giants combined for 13 hits as they spoiled the return of Oakland A’s starter Kendall Graveman (2-3).
Diamondbacks 10, Cubs 8: Paul Goldschmidt hit his third long homer of the game to snap a ninth-inning tie, and visiting Arizona pulled out a rain-delayed victory over Chicago.
Goldschmidt drove a 3-2 pitch from Wade Davis (2-1) deep into the right-center bleachers with one out. J.D. Martinez followed with another solo drive off the All-Star closer.
Goldschmidt’s first career three-homer game gave him 25 for the season, and his six RBIs matched a career high.
Brandon Drury also homered for the Diamondbacks, who remained percentage points ahead of Colorado for the top N.L. wild card.
Willson Contreras hit two home runs and had a career-high six RBIs for the Cubs, who lost consecutive games for the first time since the All-Star break. Their N.L. Central lead over Milwaukee slipped to 1 1/2 games.
Jake Barrett (1-0) got two outs in the eighth. Fernando Rodney worked around two walks in the ninth to earn his 24th save in 29 chances.
Jose Quintana was hit hard in his fourth start with the Cubs.
Rangers 4, Twins 1: Joey Gallo hit another massive homer, a three-run shot in the fourth that spurred Texas on to a victory over Minnesota in Minneapolis.
A.J. Griffin (5-2) made his first start in more than two months, giving up one run on two hits over six innings in a resounding return from a muscle strain around his chest. He last started on May 26 and last won on May 9.
Gallo has 29 home runs this season, with four long balls in the last three games. After swinging and missing twice at sliders from Twins starter Adalberto Mejia (4-5), Gallo let one go in the dirt. Then he drove the next one into the front of the second deck above right-center field with two outs to break the tie.
Twins center fielder Byron Buxton just turned around and stared straight up as the ball soared over his head, estimated by Major League Baseball’s Statcast tracking system at a distance of 430 feet and a velocity of 108 mph.
Rays 5, Astros 3: Steven Souza Jr. homered and drove in three runs, Corey Dickerson added three hits and made a dazzling defensive play to preserve the lead, and visiting Tampa Bay beat Houston.
The Rays have won three in a row since dropping the series opener 14-7, and it’s the first time Houston has lost three in a row since June 11-13.
The Astros led by one entering the seventh when Francisco Liriano (6-6) took over for starter Collin McHugh to make his Houston debut after a trade from Toronto on Monday. Liriano retired Adeiny Hechavarria before a single by Dickerson. The left-hander then walked Lucas Duda and was lifted for Chris Devenski.
Red Sox 9, White Sox 5: Rafael Devers hit a three-run homer and Rick Porcello ended a four-game losing streak with his first win since June as host Boston beat Chicago.
Mookie Betts hit a two-run homer and Andrew Benintendi went 3 for 3, scoring twice and driving in a run as the Red Sox won their third straight. Benintendi reached base all five times he batted, getting hit by a pitch and walking once to go along with two doubles and a single.
Hanley Ramirez drove in two runs for Boston.
Nicky Delmonico hit his first career homer, a three-run shot in the third, for the White Sox. Chicago lost its third straight and fell to 3-15 since the All-Star break.
Dodgers 7, Braves 4: Alex Wood allowed one run in six innings to avenge his lone loss of the season, Chris Taylor had three hits, including a two-run homer, and visiting Los Angeles beat Atlanta.
Wood (13-1) evened his record this season against his former Atlanta teammates. He gave up a career-high nine runs, seven earned, in a 12-3 loss to the Braves on July 21. The left-hander returned to his All-Star form in the rematch, permitting seven hits.
Left-hander Tony Cingrani, who joined the Dodgers earlier in the day after he was acquired from the Cincinnati Reds on Monday, gave up a three-run homer to rookie Ozzie Albies in the ninth. It was Albies’ first major league hit.
The Dodgers, whose nine-game winning streak ended with a 5-3 defeat Wednesday night, won two of three in the series. They are 21-3 since July 4, with all three losses coming against the Braves.
Tigers 7, Orioles 5: Justin Upton homered and drove in two runs, and visiting Detroit shook off two rain delays and a triple play in a victory over Baltimore.
Ian Kinsler hit his 45th career leadoff home run for the Tigers, who built a 7-0 lead in the third inning and ended Baltimore’s five-game winning streak.
After enduring nearly five hours of rain delays Wednesday at Yankee Stadium, Detroit ran into more troublesome weather at Camden Yards. The game began 43 minutes late, and only four batters went to the plate before another shower produced a stoppage of 59 minutes.
The final pitch came after midnight, just about five hours beyond the scheduled starting time.
Rockies 5, Mets 4: Nolan Arenado walked with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Colorado a win over New York in Denver.
Charlie Blackmon and Mark Reynolds homered for the Rockies, who maintained a 5 1/2-game lead over Milwaukee for the second N.L. wild card.
Mets reliever Hansel Robles (6-3) began the ninth by hitting Jonathan Lucroy with a pitch. After a sacrifice by Pat Valaika, Blackmon was intentionally walked and DJ LeMahieu loaded the bases with another walk.
Robles got Arenado down 0-2 but the All-Star third baseman worked the count full. Robles sent his last pitch to the backstop behind home plate, bringing in Lucroy with the winning run.
Greg Holland (2-1) pitched the ninth for Colorado. Holland had missed two games after cutting his right index finger in his kitchen.
Yoenis Cespedes homered for the Mets.
Brewers 2, Cardinals 1: Keon Broxton drove in the go-ahead run and saved one with a leaping catch, Matt Garza made a strong start in his return from the disabled list, and host Milwaukee edged St. Louis.
Broxton, who robbed Jose Martinez of a homer in the second inning, gave the Brewers a 2-1 lead with a single in the fifth off reliever Brett Cecil (1-4).
Garza (5-5), making his first start since July 21 because of a right leg strain, allowed one run and four hits in 5 2/3 innings to give Milwaukee its first home series win over St. Louis since July 2012. The Brewers won for just the fifth time in their last 17 games.
Corey Knebel worked the ninth and struck out Greg Garcia with two on for his 20th save in 25 opportunities.
Jesus Aguilar homered for Milwaukee.
Reds 6, Pirates 0: Chad Kuhl permitted four hits in seven efficient innings, Starling Marte went 3 for 4 and scored three times, and host Pittsburgh had little trouble with Cincinnati.
Kuhl (4-7) struck out six and walked two as the Pirates beat the last-place Reds for only the second time in 10 tries this season. David Freese went 3 for 4 with two RBIs for Pittsburgh. Andrew McCutchen also drove in a pair of runs. John Jaso’s pinch-hit single in the seventh ended a 0-for-34 skid.
Cincinnati rookie Sal Romano (2-3) was knocked around early, allowing four runs and eight hits in six innings.
The Reds managed just four singles against Kuhl and two relievers as their three-game winning streak was snapped. Billy Hamilton was ejected in the fifth after arguing a called third strike with umpire Todd Tichenor.