Tribe sweep Twins in DH
José Ramírez homered again, the bullpen combined on a four-hitter and the Indians beat the Texas Rangers 5-1 to sweep a doubleheader yesterday in Cleveland and gear up for a big, four-game series in Minnesota.
Ramírez’ two-run homer helped the Indians win the opener 2-0.
He connected in the second inning of the second game off Lance Lynn (14-7), Franmil Reyes hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh and Carlos Santana, Yasiel Puig and Jason Kipnis drove in runs in the eighth as the Indians improved to 39-16 since June 4 — baseball’s best mark over two months.
Indians manager Terry Francona turned to his relievers in the second game and the reliable group came through with A.J. Cole (3-1) — Cleveland’s third pitcher — getting the win by working 2⅔ scoreless innings. Nick Wittgren got the final five outs for his third save.
Yankees 14, Orioles 2 — Gio Urshela and Kyle Higashioka each hit two home runs, and the Yankees’ long-ball outburst against host Baltimore reached historical proportions in a blowout that extended New York’s winning streak to eight games.
New York has hit 52 homers against the Orioles this season, breaking its own major league mark of 48 against the Kansas City Athletics in 1956.
BlueJays4,Rays3— Reliever Brock Stewart allowed two hits over four scoreless innings in his Toronto debut as the Blue Jays withstood a late Tampa Bay rally to win in a bullpen day in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Blue Jays rookie Bo Bichette set a team record with a double in eight straight games, breaking the mark of seven set by Carlos Delgado in 2000. The 21year-old Bichette also extended his career-opening hitting streak to 10 games.
White Sox 8, Tigers 1 — Ivan Nova (7-9) pitched eight scoreless innings, and visiting Chicago beat Detroit.
Former Tiger James McCann had three RBI, while Tim Anderson reached base five times and scored three runs.
National League
Dodgers 2, Cardinals 1 — Russell Martin drove a tworun, two-out single up the middle for his team’s 10th walkoff win of the season, and host Los Angeles swept St. Louis.
Nationals 4, Giants 1 — Gerardo Parra hit a threerun homer against his former team, Joe Ross pitched six shutout innings of threehit ball and Washington completed a three-game sweep of host San Francisco.
Mets 7, Marlins 2 — Michael Conforto homered twice, Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil hit two-run shots and surging New York beat visiting Miami to complete a fourgame sweep.
Brewers 8, Pirates 3 — Keston Hiura hit two home runs and drove in three runs, powering visiting Milwaukee to a three-game sweep of Pittsburgh.
Interleague
Astros 14, Rockies 3 — Yuli Gurriel drove in a team record-tying eight runs, Gerrit Cole (14-5) won his 10th straight decision and host Houston routed Colorado for its sixth victory in a row.
Cubs 10, Athletics 1 — Ian Happ hit his second career grand slam, José Quintana tossed two-hit ball through seven innings to win his sixth straight decision and host Chicago ripped Oakland.
Braves 11, Twins 7 — In Minneapolis, Ozzie Albies homered twice in his second straight four-hit game, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Freddie Freeman both went deep, and Atlanta again powered its way past Minnesota. Mariners 3, Padres 2 — Mallex Smith doubled leading off the eighth inning and scored when Daniel Vogelbach beat out a potential inning-ending double play, and host Seattle snapped a five-game losing streak with a victory over San Diego.