White Sox bullpen covers 8 2/3 innings in win

HOUSTON—Chris Volstad and Chicago’s bullpen covered 8 2/3 innings after starter Carson Fulmer left with a blister, and the White Sox beat the Houston Astros 3-1 on Thursday night.

Volstad (1-0) got his first win since 2012 with the Chicago Cubs. He allowed a run over 4 1/3 innings, and six relievers kept Houston scoreless from there. Juan Minaya worked around two walks in the ninth for his fifth save.

Tim Anderson homered to extend his hitting streak to a career-best 12 games, and Kevan Smith added two hits for Chicago.

The victory snaps a six-game winning streak for the Astros, who clinched the AL West on Sunday but are still making a push for the league’s best record.

Chicago built a 2-0 lead against Dallas Keuchel (13-5) by the third inning. Brian McCann got Houston within 1 on a solo homer in the bottom of the inning.

Anderson launched a towering shot to center to begin the eighth inning. He has two homers, three doubles and six RBIs during this streak.

Fulmer walked two before leaving because of the blister on his right index finger. Volstad took over and allowed three hits while striking out two. It was the longest relief outing of his career and lowered his ERA to 1.08. Volstad had mostly pitched in Triple-A since making 21 starts with the Cubs in 2012.

Avisail Garcia and Smith hit consecutive singles with one out in the second before a two-out single by Willy Garcia loaded the bases. The White Sox took a 1-0 lead when Rymer Liriano walked, but Keuchel struck out the next two batters to limit the damage.

Indians 4, Angels 1

ANAHEIM, Calif.— Shortstop Francisco Lindor homered to lead the Indians to a 4-1 victory and three-game sweep of Los Angeles, Cleveland’s 27th win in its last 28 games.

The record for most victories with only one loss is 29, set by the 1884 Providence Grays.

After hitting a two-run homer Wednesday night, Lindor came back with a game-winning, three-run homer in the fifth Thursday afternoon off Parker Bridwell (8-3) to break up a 1-1 game. It was his 32nd home run.

The victory was Cleveland’s 11th straight over the Angels, who have lost four of their last five overall in a struggling effort to overtake the Minnesota Twins for the final AL wild-card berth.

The Indians started right-hander Danny Salazar on Thursday, largely in an effort to see if he can be a viable postseason reliever. He went 2 2/3 innings, allowing the one run, two hits and three walks.

The victory went to Zack McAllister (2-2) who threw 1 1/3 innings of relief. Tyler Olson threw a scoreless ninth for his first career save.

Cardinals 8, Reds 5

CINCINNATI—Dexter Fowler delivered again, getting three hits and driving in two runs as St. Louis overcame Scott Schebler’s two home runs to beat Cincinnati to complete a three-game sweep.

The Cardinals began the day 2 ½ games behind Colorado for the second NL wildcard spot and five games behind the Central-leading Chicago Cubs.

Fowler went 7 for 13 with two home runs and six RBIs in the series. Yadier Molina drove in two runs as the Cardinals completed their first sweep in Cincinnati since 2010.

Carlos Martinez (12-11) lasted 6 1/3 innings on a muggy night with a gametime temperature of 85 degrees, allowing four runs and nine hits.

Homer Bailey (5-9) became the third consecutive Reds starter to be lifted without getting through five innings.

Dodgers 5, Phillies 4

PHILADELPHIA—Pinch-hitter Andre Ethier and Curtis Granderson homered as Los Angeles clinched a tie for the NL West title, ending a four-game losing streak by beating Philadelphia.

The Dodgers can win their fifth straight division crown Friday night with either a victory at home over San Francisco or a loss by second-place Arizona to Miami.

Los Angeles avoided a four-game sweep by the last-place Phillies, winning for just the sixth time in 26 games.

Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner sustained a bruised right thumb when he was hit by a pitch from Mark Leiter Jr. in the first and exited the game. Turner is hitting a team-leading .321 with 21 homers and 70 RBIs.

Ethier tied it with a home run in the seventh off reliever Ricardo Pinto (1-2) that made it 4-all. Chris Taylor followed with a triple and scored the go-ahead run on a grounder by Austin Barnes.

Rookie Walker Buehler (1-0) pitched a hitless inning to win his first major league decision. Kenley Jansen got four outs for his 39th save.

Phillies rookie Rhys Hoskins hit a tworun double and Nick Williams homered.

Braves 3, Nationals 2

ATLANTA—R.A. Dickey frustrated Washington with his knuckleball for eight innings, Ozzie Albies had three hits and Atlanta beat Nationals.

After Ryan Zimmerman’s leadoff homer in the second inning, the 42-year-old Dickey gave up only one hit—a two-out single by Trea Turner in the third—over the next five innings. Turner was picked off first base.

Dickey (10-10) gave up two runs, four hits and no walks. He made a strong case that the Braves should pick up his $8 million club option for 2018.

Zimmerman lined his homer into the left-field seats, tying the game at 1. He set a career high with his 34th homer, his fourth off Dickey this season.

Arodys Vizcaino struck out the side in a perfect ninth for his 12th save in 15 chances.

The Braves scored two runs in the fourth off Tanner Roark (13-10).

Royals 1, Blue Jays 0

TORONTO—Jason Vargas and four relievers combined on a two-hitter, Melky Cabrera had three hits and the game’s only RBI, and Kansas City beat Toronto.

Vargas (17-10) struck out seven in 6 1/3 innings to win his third straight start. None of the three batters he walked advanced beyond first base.