MLB capsules: Cleveland Indians run win streak to A.L. record 21
Making history almost every time they take the field, the Cleveland Indians won their 21st straight game on Wednesday, 5-3 over the visiting Detroit Tigers, to set an American League record and join only two other teams in the past 101 years to win that many in a row.
Jay Bruce hit a three-run homer off Buck Farmer (4-3), and Mike Clevinger (10-5) won his consecutive straight start as the Indians matched the 1935 Chicago Cubs for the second-longest winning streak since 1900. The run has put Cleveland within five wins of catching the 1916 New York Giants, who won 26 straight without a loss but whose century-old mark includes a tie.
Roberto Perez added a homer in the seventh and four Cleveland relievers finished. Cody Allen got his 27th save, giving the Indians the league’s longest streak since the A.L. was founded in 1901.
During the streak, which began with a 13-6 win over Boston ace Chris Sale on Aug. 23, the Indians have outscored their opponents 139-35 and trailed in only four of 189 innings. Cleveland starters are 19-0 with a 1.70 ERA, and the Indians have totaled more homers (40) than runs allowed.
Cleveland opens a four-game series Thursday night at home against Kansas City, which was outscored 20-0 during its three-day visit last month.
Yankees 3, Rays 2: In New York, a disappointed Jaime Garcia didn’t even look at manager Joe Girardi when the pitcher was removed one out shy of qualifying for his first win with the Yankees, and New York edged Tampa Bay to take two of three games in a series moved from Florida to Citi Field because of Hurricane Irma.
Making his first appearance since Aug. 30, Garcia allowed only Kevin Kiermaier’s solo homer in 4 2/3 innings. Chad Green (5-0) struck out three of his four batters and Aroldis Chapman got four outs for his 18th save in 22 chances. Chapman fanned four and earned his first save of more than three outs since Game 5 of last year’s World Series for the Chicago Cubs. The Yankees won their fourth straight series.
A pro-Yankees crowd of 13,159 raised the total for the series to 49,510. Tickets were $25 each day.
Tampa Bay was heading back home after the game and returns to Tropicana Field for a five-game homestand starting Friday against Boston.
Chris Archer (9-10) dropped to 0-3 in his last four starts, giving up three runs in four-plus innings. He needed 92 pitches to get 12 outs.
New York took a 3-0 lead in the second, when Todd Frazier hit an RBI single and Brett Gardner had a two-run single.
White Sox 5, Royals 3: In Kansas City, Missouri, Jose Abreu hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the ninth inning, and Chicago won a series in Kansas City for the first time since 2015.
Tim Anderson singled, went to second on a wild pitch by Scott Alexander (4-4) and stole third before scoring on Abreu’s fly ball. Avisail Garcia added an RBI single to make it 5-3.
Juan Minaya (3-2) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win. Last-place Chicago took two of three at Kauffman Stadium, winning its first road series since June 16-18 and damaging the Royals’ wild-card hopes.
Adam Engel hit a two-run double for Chicago, which has won four of five. White Sox starter Lucas Giolito gave up only Salvador Perez’s solo homer in 6 1/3 innings.
Orioles 2, Blue Jays 1: In Toronto, Adam Jones had two hits and an RBI, Kevin Gausman pitched seven strong innings and Baltimore beat Toronto in Toronto, snapping a six-game losing streak.
Kendrys Morales had three hits for the Blue Jays, whose four-game winning streak was halted.
Gausman (11-10) allowed one run and six hits, improving to 3-0 with a 1.51 ERA in six starts against the Blue Jays this season, as the Orioles won for the first time since Sept. 5 against the Yankees.
The Orioles began the day 4 1/2 games behind Minnesota for the second A.L. wild card spot. Baltimore has scored two runs or fewer in six of its past seven.
Darren O’Day pitched the eighth and Zach Britton finished for his 14th save in 16 chances. Britton gave up two runs in the ninth inning Tuesday as the Orioles lost 3-2.
Athletics 7, Red Sox 3: In Boston, Matt Olson hit a two-run homer, Jed Lowrie drove in two runs and Oakland beat Boston in Boston for its sixth win in seven games.
The loss sliced Boston’s division lead to three games over the second-place New York Yankees.
Oakland, which owns the majors’ worst road record (22-48), snapped an eight-game losing streak away from home. The A’s had dropped their last seven at Fenway Park.
Dustin Pedroia had three singles for Boston to extend his hitting streak against the A’s to 26 games. The Red Sox had won five of six.
Jharel Cotton (8-10) picked up the win, allowing three runs in five innings. He entered 1-7 with an 8.00 ERA in night games.
Five relievers held Boston scoreless the rest of the way.
Doug Fister (5-8) was tagged for six runs and six hits in four innings. He was 3-1 with a 1.50 ERA in his previous four starts.
Mariners 8, Rangers 1: In Arlington, Texas, Mike Zunino homered twice, Jean Segura also went deep and Seattle beat Texas to jump over the Rangers in the wild-card chase and hand Martin Perez his first loss in eight starts.
Zunino broke a scoreless tie with one out in the fifth with his 22nd homer, a rare shot into the second-level club deck in left field. It was only the 23rd homer to reach that section in the ballpark that is in its 24th season.
His second solo homer, to right-center in the seventh for his third multihomer game this season, capped a five-run outburst by the Mariners that inning.
Mike Leake struck out five and allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings to win his third consecutive start for the Mariners since they acquired him from St. Louis on Aug. 30. The right-hander was 7-12 in 26 starts for the Cardinals this season.
Angels 9, Astros 0: In Anaheim, California, Los Angeles scored five runs in the first inning and then rode left-hander Tyler Skaggs’ finest start of the season to beat Houston.
The victory kept the Angels two games behind the Minnesota Twins for the second A.L. wild-card berth, while the Astros’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot remained at five.
Skaggs (2-5) threw seven innings, holding Houston to three hits. He struck out five and walked one.
Skaggs missed 85 games with an oblique injury and had gone 0-4 with a 5.61 ERA in his first seven games since returning from the disabled list. It was his first victory since April 22.
Spot starter Mike Fiers (8-10) was charged with eight runs and 10 hits.
Phillies 8, Marlins 1: In Philadelphia, rookie Rhys Hoskins continued his record home run pace, connecting on his 17th in just his 33rd major league game, as Philadelphia rolled past Miami.
Hoskins, who was called up to the Phillies on Aug. 10, is the fastest player in major league history to get to 17 career homers. The record was 42 games by Wally Berger, an outfielder for the Boston Braves in 1930.
The latest home run came in the fifth inning, when Hopkins hit a fastball from Dan Straily into the left field bleachers for a two-run homer that gave the Phillies some breathing room.
Aaron Nola kept the Marlins off balance, mixing a slow change-up with a fastball to strike out a career-high 11 in seven innings. Nola’s only mistake of the night was a solo home run allowed to Miami’s Christian Yelich in the third inning.
Nola and reliever Adam Morgan managed to keep Giancarlo Stanton, the Marlins slugger who has not homered since hitting his major league-leading 54th last Saturday in Atlanta, to an 0-for-3 night with one walk.
Braves 8, Nationals 2: In Washington, Dansby Swanson smacked a bases-loaded, two-run single off Washington ace Max Scherzer in the seventh inning, Matt Kemp hit a grand slam two batters later and Atlanta breezed to a victory.
Atlanta scored six runs in the seventh, and five were charged to Scherzer (14-6), who walked the bases loaded and was allowed to remain in the game despite having thrown 114 pitches. Swanson then hit a 1-0 pitch to left to make it 4-2.
The Nationals intentionally walked Freddie Freeman before manager Dusty Baker went to the bullpen. Kemp then drilled Brandon Kintzler’s first offering to left for his seventh career grand slam and first since 2011.
Washington has dropped back-to-back games since clinching the N.L. East on Sunday.
Scherzer, who had not lost since June 21 and had won six decisions in a row, allowed seven runs over six-plus innings – the most he has yielded since giving up seven to the Chicago Cubs on May 6, 2016.
Atlanta rookie Luiz Gohara (1-1) needed only 71 pitches to complete six innings and secure his first major league victory.
Reds 6, Cardinals 0: In St. Louis, rookie Tyler Mahle threw five innings, Eugenio Suarez hit a grand slam and Cincinnati beat St. Louis.
Jesse Winker added a home run and Joey Votto had two hits and drove in a run for the Reds, who had lost four of their last five games.
The Cardinals had won four straight and eight of nine.
Mahle (1-2) tossed allowed four hits, striking out four and walking three in earning his first major league win. The right-hander, who was making his fourth career start, threw 100 pitches and was able to strand eight runners.
Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty (0-1), also a rookie right-hander, allowed three runs and four hits over 4 1/3 innings. He struck out three and walked two.
Brewers 8, Pirates 2: In Milwaukee, Eric Thames hit his team-high 30th homer , Chase Anderson pitched effectively on three days’ rest and Milwaukee beat Pittsburgh.
Center fielder Brett Phillips added two hits and three RBIs, and also threw out a runner at the plate for the Brewers. They have won five of their last six games as they try to keep pace with the N.L. Central-leading Chicago Cubs.
Milwaukee got to Tyler Glasnow (2-7) for five runs, four hits and six walks over 2 2/3 innings in the right-hander’s first start since returning from the minors Sunday.
Cubs 17, Mets 5: In Chicago, Javier Baez homered and had four hits, Albert Almora Jr. also went deep and drove in six runs, and Chicago routed New York.
The Cubs matched a season high for runs after pouring on 12 over their final three at-bats. They have outscored the Mets 25-8 the past two games.
It’s just what the N.L. Central leaders needed after managing only three runs in a weekend sweep by Milwaukee that tightened the division race. Chicago remained 2 1/2 games ahead of the Brewers and moved three up on St. Louis.
Kris Bryant had three hits and scored four runs. Ben Zobrist also scored four times.
Diamondbacks 8, Rockies 2: In Phoenix, A.J. Pollock homered and drove in four runs to back another strong outing by Patrick Corbin, and Arizona beat Colorado to expand its lead in the wild-card race.
Paul Goldschmidt had two hits for Arizona, including the 1,000th of his career. Pollock launched a three-run homer in the seventh inning and finished with three hits.
The win gave the Diamondbacks a four-game edge over the Rockies for the top National League wild card. Arizona lost four of its previous five, including the first two games of this series against Colorado.
Corbin (14-12) held the Rockies to one run and four hits over 6 2/3 innings, striking out seven with two walks. The left-hander is 6-1 in his last seven starts since Aug. 12.
Dodgers 4, Giants 1: In San Francisco, Yu Darvish and two relievers combined on a five-hitter, Cody Bellinger hit his 37th home run and Los Angeles won back-to-back games for the first time in nearly three weeks, beating San Francisco.
The win lowered the Dodgers’ magic number to seven for clinching the N.L. West crown. Los Angeles secured at least a wild-card berth in the playoffs Tuesday night with a victory that ended its 11-game losing streak, the club’s longest since moving to the West Coast in 1958.
Darvish, acquired from Texas at the July trade deadline, was 2-3 with a 5.34 ERA in six previous starts with Los Angeles but was crisp in his first career outing against San Francisco. The All-Star right-hander pitched three-hit ball over seven innings, struck out five and allowed only three runners while facing one more than the minimum.
Twins 3, Padres 1 (10): In Minneapolis, Eddie Rosario hit a two-run home run with two outs in the 10th inning, lifting Minnesota over San Diego to maintain their cushion for the second A.L. wild card spot.
After Joe Mauer hit a one-out single off Phil Maton (3-1), Rosario sent a 2-0 pitch soaring into the right-field seats that stayed just inside the foul pole. He raced around the bases to find a mob of teammates waiting for him at the plate in celebration of the team’s fourth walk-off win this season, dumping a bucket of ice on his head after he hit his 23rd homer.
Matt Belisle (2-2) retired all five batters he faced for the Twins, who improved to 15-5 all-time against the Padres.