Hey 19! Tribe streak rolls on
The Cleveland Indians are ripping off victories like few teams before them. And, they’re not finished. With their latest lopsided win, the Indians extended the majors’ longest winning streak in 15 years to 19 games on Monday night by blowing out the visiting Detroit Tigers, 11-0, to move closer to a record that has stood for 101 years.
Francisco Lindor tripled home three runs off rookie Myles Jaye (0-1) in the second inning, and the Indians, who haven’t lost since Aug. 23, prolonged the third-best winning streak since 1947. Lindor is batting. 338 during the streak.
Cleveland is the sixth team to win at least 19 straight, and the streak is the longest since the 2002 A’s won 20 in a row. The Indians can match those A’s tonight, and their chances of getting No. 20 are strong with AL Cy Young contender Corey Kluber starting. At this point, it hardly matters who’s on the mound. The defending AL champions are outscoring opponents 132-32 during a stretch that includes six shutouts.
Cleveland joined the 1906 Chicago White Sox (19), the 1947 Yankees (19), the 2002 A’s (20), the 1935 Chicago Cubs (21) and the 1916 New York Giants (26) as the only teams to reel off 19 consecutive wins. The Giants’ record run is in the books as the major-league mark, although it did include a tie, which does not count as an official game in baseball, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Cleveland has trailed in only four of 171 innings, scored first in 18 of 19 games and has hit 38 homers.
l Ryan Goins hit a solo home run, Marco Estrada won his third straight decision and the host Blue Jays beat the slumping Orioles, 4-3.
Darwin Barney had two hits and an RBI as the Blue Jays won their third straight and handed the Orioles their fifth consecutive defeat.
Mark Trumbo hit a solo homer for Baltimore, which entered three games back in the AL wild-card race. The Orioles have scored eight total runs in their past five games.
SLOANE MOVES UP
Garbine Muguruza made her debut at No. 1 on Monday, joining U.S. Open champion Rafael Nadal in making Spain the first country since the United States 14 years ago to top the WTA and ATP rankings.
Andre Agassi and Serena Williams were both No. 1 in 2003.
The woman who won the year’s last Grand Slam tournament, Sloane Stephens, jumped to No.17 from No. 83 by beating Madison Keys, 6-3, 6-0, in the U.S. Open final on Saturday, continuing her quick rise after having surgery on her left foot in January and going 11 months between tour appearances. Stephens was outside the top 900 at the start of August.
Muguruza, the Wimbledon champion in July, rose two spots from No. 3 on Monday after getting to the fourth round at Flushing Meadows for the first time.