Indians’ epic winning streak snapped at 22
BoSox score seven in 15th inning to beat rays • D'backs road run hits 8 games • Severino propels Yankees
The Cleveland Indians’ 22-game winning streak came to an end on Friday when they were beaten 4-3 by the Kansas City Royals.
One night after securing the longest winning run in Major League Baseball in more than a century, the Indians finally ran out of steam in front of a sellout home crowd in Cleveland.
Only the 1916 New York Giants (26) had a longer run of success, though their remarkable stretch, which is recognized by the MLB as the longest in major league history, included a tie.
Despite falling short of the all-time record, the streak vaulted the Indians to the best record in the American League, 91-57.
With less than three weeks until the postseason, Cleveland is now set for another tilt at the World Series after losing the decisive seventh game to the Chicago Cubs in extra innings last year.
Cleveland manager Terry Francona said he hoped the streak, during which the Indians outscored their opponents by 105 runs, was just a taste of things to come.
“Where do we go from here? It’s up,” he said. “It was a lot of fun. Common sense said you’re going to lose a game.
“I don’t think anything’s over. To me, this is kind of a jumping off point. We need to move on because there’s a game tomorrow and we need to be ready.”
Dominican slugger Jose Ramirez was in hot form throughout the streak. In the 19 games he played he had a .413 batting average and smashed nine home runs, including one on Friday.
Cleveland shortstop Francisco Lindor had saved the day on Thursday with a double in the bottom of the ninth but could not produce a similar feat on Friday, striking out to end the game.
Starting pitcher Trevor Bauer took the loss after giving up nine hits and four runs in 51/3 innings.
“He wasn’t quite as crisp as he had been,” said Francona.
Red Sox 13, Rays 6 (15)
Deven Marrero had a two-run double as part of a seven-run outburst in the top of the 15th inning as Boston earned the win against Tampa Bay.
Boston maintained a three-game lead over the New York Yankees in the American League East Division. The Red Sox magic number to reach the postseason dropped to seven.
Tampa Bay has lost three of its past four games and remains 5½ games behind the Minnesota Twins for the second AL wild card.
Diamondbacks 3, Giants 2
A.J. Pollock stroked a go-ahead, tworun double in the seventh inning, allowing Arizona to rally past San Francisco in the opener of a three-game series.
Left-hander Robbie Ray ran his personal winning streak to five games with 10 strikeouts in seven innings, helping the Diamondbacks retain a five-game lead over the Colorado Rockies in the National League wild-card race.
Arizona won its eighth straight on the road despite playing without hot-hitting J.D. Martinez, who was a late scratch with a stiff neck.
Yankees 8, Orioles 2
Luis Severino tied a career high by pitching eight innings while Didi Gregorius homered and drove in four runs, leading New York to a victory over Baltimore.
Severino (13-6) allowed two runs on three hits and little else while improving to 8-2 in 12 starts since the All-Star break. He struck out seven and walked one while throwing 95 pitches.
It was the third time Severino completed eight innings. He also did it April 18 vs the Chicago White Sox and May 24 against the Kansas City Royals.
Dodgers 7, Nationals 0
Alex Wood allowed just three hits in six scoreless innings and was backed by three early home runs as Los Angeles crushed Washington in a showdown of first-place teams with the two best records in the National League.
The Dodgers, who had lost eight of their previous 10 outings, entered with a magic number of seven to clinch the NL West. The Nationals have lost three of four since clinching the NL East title last Sunday.
Blue Jays 4, Twins 3
Josh Donaldson and Kevin Pillar each hit solo homers, and J.A. Happ pitched into the seventh inning to propel Toronto to a win against Minnesota.
Donaldson had three hits and two RBIs as Toronto came out on top in another close game. The Blue Jays have played 17 one-run contests in their last 31 games, going 8-9 in that span.
Happ (9-10) surrendered three runs on seven hits. He walked five in 61/3 innings. Three relievers combined for 22/3 hitless innings and Roberto Osuna recorded his 36th save in 46 chances.
Braves 3, Mets 2
The Braves beat New York in Atlanta for just the sixth time in the past 22 games, as the bullpen preserved the victory for left-hander Sean Newcomb after the rookie took a hard-luck home loss to the same team in his major league debut.
Nick Markakis and Rio Ruiz each had two hits and Ozzie Albies extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a double as the Braves won for the seventh time in their last nine games.
Newcomb (3-8) allowed six hits and two runs in 51/3 innings. He struck out eight, including five in a row during the fourth and fifth innings, and walked one while throwing 81 pitches.
Cubs 8, Cardinals 2
Kris Bryant went 3-for-4, including his 27th home run of the season, to help lead Chicago to a victory over St. Louis in the opener of a critical three-game series.
The victory was the fourth straight as Chicago extended its NL Central lead to four games over the Cardinals with 15 games to play. St. Louis dropped its second in three games.
Winning pitcher Carl Edwards Jr. (4-4) worked a scoreless sixth inning for the victory in place of right-handed starter John Lackey, who was ejected in the fifth after arguing home plate calls.
Rockies 6, Padres 1
Colorado turned to Tyler Chatwood somewhat by default on Sept. 5 to be the No. 5 starter, and he has been getting better and better. He made his third start of the month and muffled San Diego.
Chatwood, who is eligible for free agency after the season, worked 52/3 innings and held the Padres scoreless until Wil Myers belted his career-high tying 28th homer to end Chatwood’s 94-pitch outing.
The homer also halted Chatwood’s scoreless streak at 13 innings since he returned to the rotation this month after not starting since August 2. In his three starts, Chatwood is 2-0 with a 0.66 ERA.
Brewers 10, Marlins 2
Three home runs – including a grand slam from Neil Walker – sparked an eightrun rally in the eighth inning as Milwaukee erupted late for a victory over Miami.
Playing in front of a crowd of 19,369 after the series was shifted to Milwaukee from Miami because of Hurricane Irma, the Marlins got 42/3 innings out of Jose Urena.
The Brewers received yet another effective effort from the bullpen as they used seven relievers to cover eight innings behind Jeremy Jeffress, who went two innings in his first start as a big leaguer.