Indians maintain eye-catching winning run
The Cleveland Indians stretched their franchise-record winning streak to 18 games, beating the Baltimore Orioles 3-2 in major league baseball yesterday, on the back of 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.
The crowd roared in the ninth inning as Cody Allen recorded his 26th save. He struck out the first two hitters and retired Trey Mancini to end the game.
Perez broke a 1-all 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 August 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. The New York Yankees won 19 in a row in 1947, which the Indians can match today against Detroit.