Make it 17: Indians beat Orioles for 17th in a row
CLEVELAND » The crowd of 30,459 stood and cheered as Cody Allen fanned Trey Mancini for the final out.
Make it 17 in a row for the Cleveland Indians.
Francisco Lindor homered and Allen finished off another impressive performance for Cleveland’s bullpen, helping the Indians beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-2 on Saturday for their 17th straight victory.
“It’s one of those crazy things where you’re just playing good baseball,” said Allen, who earned his 25th save. “We’re not really thinking about it as much as you guys are.”
Cleveland’s franchise-record streak is the longest in the majors since Oakland won 20 straight in 2002. The longest streak in baseball history belongs to the New York Giants, who had a 26-game run in 1916, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Giants’ streak included a tie, which doesn’t count as a game in baseball.
Jay Bruce’s fourth-inning single put the Indians ahead to stay, and Josh Tomlin (9-9) pitched into the sixth to win his fifth consecutive decision.
“It’s kind of weird, but it’s also a lot of fun,” Tomlin said. WHITE SOX 13, GIANTS 1 » Jose Abreu became the first White Sox player to hit for the cycle in 17 years.
Abreu hit his 29th homer in the first off Jeff Samardzija (9-13) and doubled in the third. He struck out in the fifth, singled in the seventh against Josh Osich and hit a tworun triple in the eighth versus Roberto Gomez.
YANKEES 3, RANGERS 1 » Aroldis Chapman earned his first save since being removed as closer, finishing a one-hitter for the Yankees.
RED SOX 9, RAYS 0 » Red Sox ace Chris Sale struck out eight over six innings, and Dustin Pedroia hit a two-run homer in the first.
CARDINALS 4, PIRATES 3 » Yadier Molina and Matt Carpenter homered, and the Cardinals beat the Pirates to gain ground in the NL Central.
St. Louis pulled within three games of division-leading Chicago with its sixth victory in seven games.
ROYALS 5, TWINS 2 » Eric Hosmer went 3 for 3, helping Kansas City rally for the win.
BREWERS 15, CUBS 2» Hernan Perez homered and drove in five runs, powering the Brewers to the runaway win.
Chase Anderson (9-3) pitched five scoreless innings as Milwaukee pulled within three games of NL Central-leading Chicago. Anderson also helped himself with two hits and two RBIs hours after the Brewers announced Jimmy Nelson has a shoulder injury that will sideline the righthander for the rest of the season.
BRAVES 6, MARLINS 5 » Ender Inciarte’s bases-loaded walk from Kyle Barraclough with two outs in the ninth inning lifted Atlanta to the victory.
Giancarlo Stanton hit his 54th homer for Miami.
ATHLETICS 11, ASTROS 1» Houston’s bullpen forced in five runs with bases-loaded walks and the team tied a franchise record with 13 free passes in the opener of a doubleheader.