Indians sweep Yanks, who stagger into Red Sox series

NEW YORK — Trevor Bauer and Ryan Merritt shut down the Yankees’ offense, leading the Cleveland Indians to a doubleheader sweep that damaged New York’s chances to win the AL East.

Bauer (14-8) won his careerbest seventh straight decision, Jose Ramirez tied his big league high with four hits and the Indians took advantage of Gary Sanchez’s passed ball in a two-run first inning that stood up for a 2-1 win in Wednesday’s opener.

Yandy Diaz hit a two-run single in a four-run first inning against rookie Jordan Montgomery (7-7) in the second game, and Edwin Encarnacion, Yan Gomes and Francisco Lindor added home runs in a 9-4 blowout that completed a three-game series sweep and extended the Indians’ winning streak to seven games.

ORIOLES 8, MARINERS 7

In Baltimore, Welington Castillo went 4 for 4 with a homer and three RBIs, Jonathan Schoop singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and Baltimore beat Seattle for its season-high seventh straight victory.

Schoop, Mancini and Craig Gentry also homered for the Orioles, who completed their first threegame sweep of Seattle since 2012. In this one, Baltimore fell behind 6-2 in the third inning before coming back.

Mitch Haniger homered and hit two doubles for Seattle, which completed an arduous 12-game East Coast trip with five straight defeats. After winning two of three in Tampa Bay and Atlanta, the Mariners went 1-2 at Yankee Stadium and came up empty against the sizzling Orioles.

RANGERS 8, ASTROS 1

In St. Petersburg, Fla., Andrew Cashner pitched eight strong innings, Mike Napoli hit a three-run homer and Texas beat Houston in a game relocated to Florida because of Hurricane Harvey.

A crowd of 6,123 — up from 3,485 the previous night for the opener of a three-game series at Tropicana Field — watched Cashner (8-9) limit the AL West leaders to three hits, one after the second inning.

Napoli’s homer off Dallas Keuchel (11-3) capped a six-run fourth inning for the Rangers, who’ve won two straight following a three-game skid.

NATIONALS 4, MARLINS 0

In Washington, Stephen Strasburg tossed a complete game sixhitter and also homered, Wilmer Difo added a home run and Washington beat Miami to complete a three-game sweep.

Washington, which has won four in a row, extended its lead in the NL East to 15 games over the Marlins. Miami, which had won 13 of 16 prior to arriving in Washington, had not dropped three in a row since July 14-16.

The Marlins had no answer for Strasburg (11-4), who struck out eight. Strasburg threw 110 pitches. It was Strasburg’s second complete game in 179 starts and his first since Aug. 11, 2013, against Philadelphia.

RED SOX 7, BLUE JAYS 1

In Toronto, Mitch Moreland had a pinch-hit homer and drove in four runs, Hanley Ramirez added a solo blast and Boston beat Toronto to complete a three-game sweep.

Rick Porcello (9-15) allowed one run in 6 ⅔ innings as the AL Eastleading Red Sox moved 5½ games ahead of the second-place New York Yankees, who were swept in a doubleheader by Cleveland. New York and Boston begin a fourgame series at Yankee Stadium on Thursday.

Ramirez connected for the second straight game as the Red Sox improved to 8-1 in Toronto this season. Boston is 10-3 overall against the Blue Jays with six meetings remaining at Fenway Park in September.

BREWERS 6, CARDINALS 5

In Milwaukee, Domingo Santana and Jonathan Villar homered in the sixth inning, and center fielder Keon Broxton made a leaping catch over the wall for the final out.

Corey Knebel pitched the ninth for his 30th save. Chase Anderson (8-3) gave up two hits — both homers — in six innings, three earned runs, struck out six and walked two to improve to 4-0 in nine starts at Miller Park this season.

Santana hit his 22nd homer of the season and Villar’s was his 10th, giving Milwaukee a franchise-record nine players with at least 10 homers in a season.

CUBS 17, PIRATES 3

In Chicago, Kyle Schwarber hit two home runs, Ian Happ and Anthony Rizzo also went deep and Chicago pounded Pittsburgh.

Chicago tied a season high for runs set against Philadelphia on Saturday and banged out 20 hits to match its highest total since May 12, 2014, at St. Louis. The Cubs (72-60) outscored the Pirates 27-5 in a three-game sweep and moved 12 games above .500 for the first time this year. They also remained 3 ½ games ahead of Milwaukee for the NL Central lead.

TWINS 11, WHITE SOX 1

In Minneapolis, Jose Berrios pitched seven scoreless innings, Brian Dozier had four hits and Eddie Rosario homered twice as Minnesota defeated Chicago.

Berrios (12-6) tied a career high with 11 strikeouts, including seven of the last nine batters he faced. He walked one and gave up just four hits to win his seventh straight start at Target Field.

The Twins, with a slim lead for the second AL wild card, ran their August record to 19-10 — the most wins in the majors this month.

METS 2, REDS 0

In Cincinnati, Rafael Montero took a one-hitter into the ninth inning, and New York held on for a victory that extended its dominance over Cincinnati.

Montero (3-9) allowed only Joey Votto’s single through the first eight innings. The Reds loaded the bases with one out in the ninth on two hits and an intentional walk to Votto. A.J. Ramos fanned Adam Duvall and Scooter Gennett for his 26th save in 28 chances.

TIGERS 6, ROCKIES 2

In Denver, Justin Verlander struck out nine over six commanding innings and aided his own cause by driving in his first career run.

Verlander (10-8) allowed one run and three hits. His only mistake was a curveball that Charlie Blackmon hit for a solo homer in the sixth. Verlander ignited the offense with an RBI single in the second.

RAYS 5, ROYALS 3

In Kansas City, Mo., Logan Morrison, Steven Souza Jr. and Adeiny Hechavarria homered to help Tampa Bay beat Kansas City for its latest series victory.

The Rays took two of three from the slumping Royals and have won three consecutive series. The Royals lost 18 of 28 games in August, including six of seven to end the month.

PADRES 5, GIANTS 0

In San Diego, Travis Wood homered and pitched into the fifth inning, Jose Pirela also went deep and San Diego blanked San Francisco.

Wood hit a solo shot in the third and Pirela added one of his own in the sixth as the Padres defeated the Giants for the ninth time in 12 games.

BRAVES 9, PHILLIES 1; BRAVES 5, PHILLIES 2

In Philadelphia, David Freitas lined a go-ahead RBI double for his first career hit, Ender Inciarte had three hits and Atlanta beat Philadelphia to complete a doubleheader sweep.

Julio Teheran (9-11) allowed one run and five hits, striking out eight in 6 ⅓ innings.

Inciarte was 3 for 5 with one RBI after going 5 for 5 with four RBIs to lead the Braves to a 9-1 victory in the opener.