Indians catch Twins; Mets stun Nationals
MINNEAPOLIS — Shane Bieber pitched into the eighth inning and José Ramírez had three hits as the Cleveland Indians pulled into a tie in the American League Central with a 6-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night.
Cleveland trailed Minnesota by 11½ games on June 3 before putting together a 41-16 run, the best record in the majors since June 4. The Twins are 30-27 in those games and their division lead finally slipped away with their first four-game losing streak of the season.
Bieber (12-4), the All-Star MVP, allowed a pair of home runs but struck out 12 batters in seven innings. The right-hander owns a 1.69 ERA with 36 strikeouts in 36 innings over his last four starts, pitching at least seven innings in each outing.
Earlier Friday, Minnesota designated hitter Nelson Cruz was placed on the 10-day injured list because of a ruptured tendon in his left wrist. He was injured on a swing Thursday night.
METS 7, NATIONALS 6: In New York, Todd Frazier clobbered a tying, three-run homer and Michael Conforto then lined a game-ending single as New York stormed back in the ninth inning to stun Washington for its seventh straight win.
Trailing 6-3, the Mets rallied against closer Sean Doolittle to win for the 14th time in 15 games. The Nationals hold the top spot in the NL wild-card race, with the Mets 1½ games behind them.
ATHLETICS 7, WHITE SOX 0: In Chicago, Mike Fiers tossed seven sparkling innings to extend his career-best win streak to nine consecutive decisions in helping Oakland beat Chicago.
Fiers (11-3) allowed three hits, struck out a season-high eight and walked none. The righthander also hit two batters, but improved to 9-0 with a 2.12 ERA in 17 starts dating to his no-hitter May 7 against Cincinnati.
BLUE JAYS 8, YANKEES 2: In Toronto, Teoscar Hernandez homered twice, Danny Jansen hit a three-run drive and Randal Grichuk added a two-run shot as the Blue Jays ended New York’s nine-game winning streak.
Blue Jays rookie Bo Bichette went hitless for the first time in his 12-game career, ending a major league record streak that saw him hit at least one double in nine consecutive games.
BRAVES 8, MARLINS 4: In Miami, Ronald Acuña Jr. hit a pair of two-run homers for Atlanta and Julio Teheran (7-7) extended his scoreless streak against Miami this season to 24 innings before allowing a run in the seventh.
Acuña homered for the fourth game in a row in the fifth inning, and homered again in the ninth to increase his season total to 32.
ASTROS 3, ORIOLES 2: In Baltimore, Wade Miley (11-4) pitched impressively against his former team and Jose Altuve hit a pivotal RBI triple in the seventh inning, leading Houston to its seventh straight victory.
Alex Bregman drove in a run and scored for the Astros, who have won 17 of 20.
REDS 5, CUBS 2: In Cincinnati, Trevor Bauer fanned 11 batters in his Reds home debut and Aristides Aquino homered as Cincinnati beat Chicago.
Cincinnati got Bauer (10-8) from the Indians as part of a three-team deal last week. He allowed three hits in seven innings.
RED SOX 16, ANGELS 4: In Boston, J.D. Martinez homered twice and just missed hitting a third out of Fenway Park, powering the Red Sox to the win.
Mookie Betts, Rafael Devers and Mitch Moreland also homered for Boston, giving the Angels their eighth straight loss.
CARDINALS 6, PIRATES 2: In St. Louis, Paul Goldschmidt hit a tie-breaking single in the eighth inning and Marcell Ozuna followed with a two-run homer, lifting St. Louis to the victory.
Goldschmidt’s single went under the glove of Pirates shortstop Kevin Newman, scoring Dexter Fowler to break a 2-all tie.
BREWERS 6, RANGERS 5: In Milwaukee, the Brewers’ Eric Thames hit a two-out homer in the bottom of the ninth to give Milwaukee a victory over Texas.
PADRES 7, ROCKIES 1: In San Diego, Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a two-run double to extend his hitting streak to a career-best 13 games and fellow rookie Cal Quantrill pitched seven strong innings to lead San Diego to a victory against Colorado.
Yet another rookie, Josh Naylor, had a pinch-hit, three-run homer. PHILLIES 9, GIANTS 6: In San Francisco, Bryce Harper hit a go-ahead three run homer in the seventh inning to help Philadelphia beat San Francisco.
He also went deep in the fifth for the Phillies, who also got a three-run triple from Corey Dickerson, who recently was acquired from Pittsburgh. RAYS 5, MARINERS 3: In Seattle, the Rays broke a 2-2 tie in the ninth on a bases-loaded walk followed by an error and an RBI fielder’s choice in beating Seattle. TIGERS 5, ROYALS 2: In Detroit, Edwin Jackson pitched neatly into the seventh inning as Detroit beat Kansas City.