Twins stun Royals, widen wild-card gap
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Twins’ Jorge Polanco drove in the go-ahead runs off ailing Kansas City closer Kelvin Herrera with two outs in the ninth inning, and Minnesota rallied to beat the Royals 4-2 on Thursday night.
Herrera, who has been dealing with a mild forearm strain, inherited a 2-1 lead before giving up a pair of singles and a walk. Brian Dozier hit a tying sacrifice fly, and after Joe Mauer was walked intentionally, Polanco lined a single up the middle for the lead.
Trevor Hildenberger (3-2) earned the win with a scoreless eighth in relief of Twins starter Kyle Gibson, while Matt Belisle handled a perfect ninth to pick up his sixth save.
Herrera (3-3) squandered a solid night from Sam Gaviglio, who was recently claimed off waivers from the Mariners, and the rest of the Kansas City bullpen. Gaviglio allowed only a homer from Robbie Grossman and three other hits in five innings before a trio of relievers got the game to the ninth.
The loss was especially devastating for the roller-coaster Royals given their place in the crowded AL wild-card race. They began the night 2½ games back of the Twins with 24 games to play.
Max Kepler started the Twins’ go-ahead rally with a single. Then, after Eduardo Escobar struck out, Jason Castro singled and Grossman walked to set up Dozier, whose fly ball to the wall tied the game. Polanco followed with the eventual game-winning hit.
INDIANS 11, WHITE SOX 2
In Chicago, the Indians set a franchise record with their 15th consecutive win, beating the White Sox behind another terrific outing for Corey Kluber.
Cleveland also belted five homers while becoming the first major league team with a 15-game winning streak since Oakland won 20 in a row in 2002. Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run drive in the first, Francisco Lindor connected in the second, Erik Gonzalez went deep twice and Greg Allen hit his first major league homer in the seventh.
Kluber (15-4) struck out 13 in seven innings. Yolmer Sanchez and Jose Abreu homered in the first for Chicago, but Kluber allowed only one more hit — a fifth-inning single for Omar Narvaez.
YANKEES 9, ORIOLES 1
In Baltimore, Aaron Judge and Chase Headley hit two-run homers, Starlin Castro and Todd Frazier added solo shots and the Yankees got their first series win at Camden Yards in four years.
Didi Gregorius had three hits and scored twice for the Yankees, who closed within 3 1/2 games of AL East-leading Boston and fortified their grip on the top AL wild card.
Sonny Gray (9-9) gave up one unearned run and six hits in 5⅔ innings. The right-hander is 3-4 since he was acquired by New York in a July 31 trade with Oakland.
NATIONALS 4, PHILLIES 3
In Washington, Trea Turner capped Washington’s three-run sixth inning with a two-run single, and the Nationals earned their fourth straight win.
Adam Lind had two hits and scored a run for Washington, and Michael A. Taylor contributed a terrific catch in center field. Tanner Roark (12-9) allowed three runs and seven hits in six innings.
Jorge Alfaro and Tommy Joseph homered for Philadelphia, and Odubel Herrera extended his hitting streak to 20 games, the longest in the majors this season. Adam Morgan (3-2) got the loss.