Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Roaring 20: Indians tie AL record with 20th straight win
CLEVELAND » The Cleveland Indians share a record with a team celebrated by Hollywood. “Moneyball” has its sequel. Following a familiar script of scoring first, playing strong defense and riding dominant pitching, the Indians extended their winning streak to 20 games and matched the AL mark held by the 2002 Oakland Athletics, beating the Detroit Tigers 2-0 Tuesday night.
Cleveland’s streak, which began on Aug. 24 in Boston, is tied for the majors’ secondlongest in 82 years — and the Indians show no signs of stopping.
Corey Kluber (16-4) strengthened his Cy Young Award case with a four-hitter as Cleveland joined the 2002 A’s, 1935 Chicago Cubs (21) and 1916 New York Giants (26) as the only teams to win at least 20 in a row.
Francisco Lindor homered leading off the first inning against Matthew Boyd (510), and the crowd of 24,654 stood and roared when Kluber sprinted to the mound for the ninth.
Second baseman Jose Ramirez made a sensational diving stop in short right field to throw out Ian Kinsler for the second out, and after allowing a double to Alex Presley, Kluber sealed win No. 20 — and Cleveland’s seventh shutout during the streak — by getting Miguel Cabrera on an easy grounder to third.
Fireworks exploded overhead and the Indians lined up to celebrate yet another win in this unthinkable streak.
The Giants’ revered 101-year-old streak includes a tie that interrupted 12and 14-game unbeaten runs. However, the Elias Sports Bureau, the official statistical custodian for Major League Baseball, has always regarded the Giants’ stretch as the top mark because tie games were replayed from the start back then.
Cleveland can equal the Cubs’ 21-game run Wednesday afternoon. RED SOX 11, ATHLETICS 1 » Mookie Betts hit two home runs and a two-run triple, and Boston rolled past Oakland.
The Red Sox, winners of five of their last six, pushed their American League East lead back to four games over the Yankees. BLUE JAYS 3, ORIOLES 2 » Richard Urena singled home the winning run in the ninth inning and Toronto rallied to beat Baltimore, handing the slumping Orioles their sixth straight loss.
Facing Orioles closer Zach Britton (2-1), who had recorded the final out of the eighth Kevin Pillar drew a leadoff walk in the ninth and went to third on Teoscar Hernandez’s single. One out later, Pillar scored when Luke Maile singled off the glove of third baseman Manny Machado. RAYS 2, YANKEES 1 » Adeiny Hechavarria hit a tiebreaking home run in the eighth inning off Sonny Gray and Tampa Bay, playing as the home team in a series relocated to Citi Field in New York because of Hurricane Irma, beat the Yankees.
The Rays will fly back to Florida immediately after Wednesday afternoon’s game for firsthand looks at the storm damage. No word yet from MLB if Boston and Tampa Bay will play at Tropicana Field Friday night as scheduled — the Rays expect to host the three-game set, but it could be reconfigured to give them an extra day off to handle personal matters. ROYALS 4, WHITE SOX 3 » Brandon Moss hit a grand slam in the first inning for his third consecutive game with a homer, powering Kansas City over Chicago. BRAVES 8, NATIONALS 0 » Freddie Freeman hit a threerun home run off Gio Gonzalez and Julio Teheran threw seven shutout innings as Atlanta cruised to a victory over Washington.
Gonzalez (14-7) allowed five earned runs on seven hits in five innings and struck out eight. The lefthander did guarantee his $12 million option for next season with his first out of the game as he reached 180 innings this season. BREWERS 5, PIRATES 2 » Eric Thames hit his 29th home run, Domingo Santana went 3 for 4 with two RBIs and Milwaukee beat Pittsburgh.
Gerrit Cole (11-10) took his first loss in 10 road starts since the Braves beat him 5-2 on May 22. He slipped to 8-1 away from PNC Park over that stretch after allowing five runs and seven hits in six innings. He tied his season-high with 10 strikeouts in his fifth start against Milwaukee this season.