Indians blast Tigers for 19th victory in a row
Dodgers skid at 11, longest since move to LA • Yankees close to within three games of Red Sox
The Cleveland Indians’ incredible winning streak reached 19 games on Monday night. And this one looked easy.
The Indians put together a five-run second inning that opened up a sizable lead as Carlos Carrasco shut down the Detroit Tigers in an 11-0 home win at Progressive Field.
The Indians’ 19-game winning streak stands among the best in baseball history. The only longer streak in the expansion era (since 1961) belongs to the 2002 Oakland A’s, who won 20 in a row. The Indians had a chance to tie that record on Tuesday night, when they had ace Corey Kluber on the mound.
As for the modern era (since 1901), the Indians’ 19-game winning streak is tied for the third longest (without a tie) with the 1947 New York Yankees and 1906 Chicago White Sox. After the 2002 A’s, the 1935 Chicago White Sox hold the record for the longest winning streak in history without a tie at 21 games. The 1916 New York Giants had a 26-game streak, but that included a tie.
Regardless, the Indians have one of the five best winning streaks in history. Within those 19 games, they have posted a run differential of plus-100, winning games by an average of 5.26 runs, and have trailed at the end of only four innings.
Monday night’s, No. 19, was one of the most seamless in the streak. Facing Tigers starter Myles Jaye in the second inning, Yan Gomes put the Indians on top 1-0 with an RBI single up the middle. It marked the 18th time in the last 19 games that the Indians scored first. Greg Allen then drew a walk to load the bases for Francisco Lindor, who drilled a bases-clearing triple to the gap in right-center field to make it 4-0. Jose Ramirez later added a sacrifice fly to score Lindor, and the rout was on.
The lead was never in doubt. Carlos Carrasco continued the Indians’ historic pace for starting pitchers, delivering six scoreless innings and striking out nine. Indians starting pitchers have been nearly untouchable, posting a 1.84 ERA during the winning streak. For an offense averaging 6.95 runs per game, few have been nail biters.
Two innings later, Jose Ramirez belted a two-run home run down the rightfield line. It was the 26th home run of his season, as he continues his bid to be an MVP finalist.
Though, for the second straight night, the Indians had a player exit the game. This time it was Ramirez, who had a pitch hit off his bat and then his left forearm. He was taken out for precautionary reasons. It was not the same wrist that forced his exit from the lineup for a few days earlier this month.
Still, even without a timetable set for his return, it hard to be upset with anything right now in Cleveland.
(Akron Beacon Journal/TNS)
Giants 8, Dodgers 6
Hunter Pence’s third hit of the game broke a sixth-inning, and Buster Posey doubled home a run in the seventh, helping San Francisco extend Los Angeles’s losing streak to 11 games, the longest skid since the club moved to LA in 1957.
After the game was delayed twice for a total of 3 hours, 32 minutes because of rain, the Giants blew a 4-0 lead before overcoming a 5-4 deficit by scoring four of the game’s final five runs in a contest that ended at 2:10 a.m. local time.
Denard Span homered into the San Francisco Bay, and Jarrett Parker added a solo shot as the last-place Giants evened the season series with Los Angeles 7-7.
Yankees 5, Rays 1
Todd Frazier’s three-run homer capped New York’s five-run fourth inning, and the Yankees beat Tampa Bay in a game relocated to Citi Field because of Hurricane Irma’s impact on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
With their third consecutive win, the Yankees extended their lead over the Minnesota Twins to four games in the race for the first American League wild card and closed to within three games of the Boston Red Sox atop the AL East. The Rays have lost four of five to fall four games behind the Twins in the chase for the second wild card.
Tampa Bay’s Adeiny Hechavarria went 3-for-4 with an RBI triple in the second inning. He finished a homer shy of the cycle.
Rockies 5, Diamondbacks 4
Nolan Arenado hit a tie-breaking, three-run homer in the eighth inning and drove in four runs in Colorado’s 5-4 victory over Arizona.
Arenado’s 33rd homer run gave the Rockies a 5-2 lead en route to their fifth win in a row. The third baseman had four RBIs, and DJ LeMahieu had three hits and an RBI.
Tyler Anderson (4-5) gave up one hit in four innings of scoreless relief. He replaced Kyle Freeland, who was removed after being struck by a J.D. Martinez line drive in the fourth inning. Freeland was diagnosed with a left shoulder contusion.
Blue Jays 4, Orioles 3
Ryan Goins hit a homer and drove in two runs, Marco Estrada pitched five effective innings, and Toronto defeated Baltimore.
Mark Trumbo homered for the Orioles, who have lost five in a row, while the Blue Jays have won three straight.
Estrada (8-8) allowed four hits, no walks and two runs. Baltimore starter Ubaldo Jimenez (5-10) gave up six hits, two walks and three runs while striking out five in five innings.
Rangers 5, Mariners 3
Nomar Mazara and Shin-Soo Choo each had two-run doubles for Texas, which snapped a two-game losing streak.
Delino DeShields, who was 2-for-4 with two runs scored, also had a solo home run to help make a winner out of Cole Hamels (10-3). The left-hander pitched six innings of three-run ball.
Mitch Haniger was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle, going 3-for-4 for Seattle, which lost for the fifth time in seven games. Haniger hit his 12th home run.
White Sox 11, Royals 3
Adam Engel had three hits, including a three-run homer, and Jose Abreu ended a home run shy of his second cycle in three games as Chicago rolled past Kansas City.
Abreu, who went 4-for-5, singled in his first two at-bats, tripled in the sixth and doubled in the seventh
Kansas City dropped three games behind the idle Minnesota Twins for the second AL wild-card spot.