Indians sweep Twins, lead division by two games
MINNEAPOLIS — There’s still a lot of baseball left to play this season, but it’s hard to overlook what the Cleveland Indians did over the weekend.
Edwin Encarnacion homered twice, Trevor Bauer pitched seven strong innings and Jose Ramirez had his sixth straight multihit game on Sunday as the Indians completed a four-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins with a 5-2 victory.
Cleveland came into the series trailing the Twins by two games in the AL Central. The sweep vaulted the Indians two games ahead and gave the defending AL champions sole possession of first place for the first time since May 10.
“I don’t want to say we bullied them, but we kind of imposed our will on them, and that’s something we’ve been talking about as a team,” Bauer said. “Playing the game the right way with energy and focus and intensity — that was really good to see.”
Bauer (6-5) allowed two runs and four hits with two walks and eight strikeouts. He retired 15 consecutive Twins during one stretch.
“I thought today was far and away his best outing,” Cleveland manager Terry Francona said. “He just filled up the strike zone with a bunch of quality pitches. We were thrilled with the way he was throwing the ball.”
CUBS 7, PIRATES 1: In Pittsburgh, John Lackey and three relievers combined on a three-hitter, and Anthony Rizzo homered among his three hits to lead the Cubs.
Since manager Joe Maddon moved Rizzo to the leadoff spot last Tuesday, he’s hitting .409 with three home runs and two doubles in five games.
“It’s crazy,” Rizzo said. “It’s weird. It’s funny. But it’s great. If we win ballgames, I’ll be the leadoff hitter for the rest of my career. It’s all about winning. I’ll just say it’s different.”
METS 5, NATIONALS 1: In New York, Jacob deGrom hit his first major league home run and shut down a bruising Washington lineup on three singles for eight dominant innings, as the Mets prevented a four-game sweep.
DODGERS 8, REDS 7: In Cincinnati, Logan Forsythe and Justin Turner homered, Kenta Maeda pitched five strong innings and drove in two runs and Kike Hernandez made a spectacular game-saving catch as the Dodgers held on.
DIAMONDBACKS 5, PHILLIES 4 (10): In Philadelphia, Rey Fuentes hit his first major league home run in the 10th inning, lifting Arizona over Philadelphia.
BRAVES 5, MARLINS 4: In Atlanta, Brandon Phillips’ single drove in Johan Camargo from third base in the ninth inning to give the Braves a win over Miami.
BREWERS 2, PADRES 1: In Milwaukee, Jimmy Nelson struck out 10 in his first career complete game and the Brewers got home runs from Hernan Perez and Manny Pina to edge San Diego. RED SOX 6, ASTROS 5: In Houston, Xander Bogaerts went deep twice for the first multihomer game of his career and had four RBIs to lead Boston. Bogaerts had just two homers entering Sunday’s game. He ended an 0-for-14 skid when he connected off Joe Musgrove (4-6) in the first inning.
ATHLETICS 4, YANKEES 3: In Oakland, Calif., Khris Davis hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the third that held up to back rookie Jharel Cotton’s first victory since May 4, and the Athletics completed a sweep.
ORIOLES 8, CARDINALS 5: In Baltimore, Ubaldo Jimenez was stellar in his first start since May 22, Mark Trumbo homered for the second consecutive day and the Orioles beat St. Louis. MARINERS 7, RANGERS 3: In Arlington, Texas, Kyle Seager drove in three runs with three doubles, Christian Bergman pitched effectively into the sixth inning and Seattle beat Texas. BLUE JAYS 7, WHITE SOX 3: In Toronto, Kendrys Morales and Russell Martin both homered to help the Blue Jays snap Chicago’s three-game winning streak.
RAYS 9, TIGERS 1: In Detroit, Logan Morrison homered twice and Steven Souza Jr. hit his first career grand slam as Tampa Bay beat the Tigers to split a four-game series.
ROYALS 7, ANGELS 3: In Anaheim, Calif., Jason Vargas earned his 10th win, most in the majors, and Salvador Perez hit a threerun homer as Kansas City beat the Angels. Vargas (10-3) gave up three runs and eight hits in six innings.