Sox tie team mark for wins
105th victory matches record set in 1912; Lin, Travis hit first HRS
Sam Travis and Tzu-wei Lin hit their first major league home runs and the Boston Red Sox tied a team record more than a century old with their 105th win, beating the Cleveland Indians 7-5 Friday night.
The AL East champion Red Sox (105-49), playing without several of their regulars, matched the club mark set in 1912.
Trevor Bauer took a step toward being in Cleveland’s postseason rotation, pitching 11/3 scoreless innings in his first appearance since breaking his right leg on Aug. 11. White Sox 10, Cubs 4: The Cubs played without shortstop Addison Russell after he was accused of domestic violence by his ex-wife, and they were unable to overcome a shaky performance by Jose Quintana. Russell was placed on administrative leave by MLB after a blog post attributed to Melisa Reidy contained detailed allegations of years of physical and emotional abuse. The 24-year-old Russell can challenge the leave before an arbitrator, and the leave can be extended for additional seven-day periods if the union agrees. He continues to be paid his $3.2 million salary. Last year, Reidy posted a photo on her Instagram account with a caption suggesting her husband of about 18 months had been unfaithful to her. In another post, a user — described by Melisa as a close friend — made the accusation that Russell had “hit” his wife. The post was later deleted. Russell denied the allegation and the two divorced.
Rays 11, Blue Jays 3: Austin Meadows drove in three runs, Tommy Pham reached base three times and had two RBIS and Tampa Bay kept it postseason hopes alive. Pham walked twice, tripled and added a sacrifice fly. Tampa Bay has not lost consecutive games since Aug. 17-18 at Boston.
Marlins 1, Reds 0 (10): Pinch-hitter Isaac Galloway smacked a double in the 10th to score Brian Anderson. Royals 4, Tigers 3: Ian Kennedy pitched three-run ball into the eighth, and K.C. stopped a five-game skid. Braves 6, Phillies 5: Atlanta moved to the brink of its first NL East title since 2013, bouncing back from Ronald Acuna Jr.’s defensive blunder with a five-run seventh that carried it past Philadelphia. Ozzie Albies sparked the comeback with a two-run homer and Johan Camargo finished it off with a two-out, two-run single, giving the Braves a chance to celebrate as soon as Saturday with one more victory over the secondplace Phillies. Acuna misjudged Wilson Ramos’ liner to left in the top half of the seventh, turning what should have been an out into a two-run double. Pinch-hitter Jose Bautista tacked on a run-scoring single, giving the Phillies a 4-1 lead.
Astros 11, Angels 3: Yuli Gurriel hit a grand slam and a two-run homer on his way to a career-high seven RBIS, and Houston clinched a playoff berth. Rangers 8, Mariners 3 (7): Adrian Beltre hit a three-run homer and finished with five RBIS for Texas. Cardinals 5, Giants 3: Pinch-hitter Matt Adams had a clutch two-run double in the eighth for St. Louis. Notes: The Rangers fired manager Jeff Banister before the end of what will be the team’s first consecutive losing seasons in 10 years. Bench coach Don Wakamatsu will serve as interim manager for the remainder of the season.