Indians beat Orioles for 18th win in a row

The Cleveland Indians stretched their franchiserecord winning streak to 18 games, beating the Baltimore Orioles 3-2 Sunday night behind homers from Francisco Lindor and Roberto Perez.

Cleveland’s streak is the longest in the majors since Oakland won 20 straight in 2002. The best run in baseball history belongs to the New York Giants, who had a 26-game streak in 1916, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Giants’ streak included a tie, which doesn’t count as a game in baseball.

This latest win came with a drawback: Indians centre fielder Bradley Zimmer broke a bone in his left hand. Bradley slid into first base trying to beat out a ground ball and got his hand stepped on. Manager Terry Francona said Zimmer will see a hand specialist this week.

The crowd of 21,259 roared in the ninth inning as Cody Allen recorded his 26th save. He struck out the first two hitters and retired Trey Mancini on a line drive to right field to end the game.

Perez snapped a 1-1 tie in the sixth with a leadoff homer. Lindor then broke two bats while running the count to 3-2 before homering to right. Cleveland’s All-Star shortstop, using a bat tossed to him by teammate Abraham Almonte, looked at the dugout and smiled as his 29th homer of the season sailed into the seats.

Cleveland hasn’t lost since Aug. 23 and has outscored its opponents 121-32 in the streak. Cleveland has trailed in only four of 162 innings during the stretch.

The Indians are a game ahead of Houston for the league’s best record and reduced their magic number to clinch the AL Central to seven. Cleveland trailed Houston by 14 games on July 22.