VENTURA’S GEM, CAIN’S RBI SINGLE LAND ROYALS NINTH STRAIGHT WIN
miami» Yordano Ventura escaped two threats while pitching six innings, and the Royals extended their winning streak to nine games by beating the Marlins 1-0 on Tuesday night.
Ventura (9-9), who reached 101 mph on the scoreboard radar gun, allowed six hits and one walk while striking out six. Royals starters have an ERA of 1.69 during the winning streak, Kansas City’s longest since June 2014.
Three relievers closed out the win and extended the bullpen’s streak of 32 consecutive shutout innings since Aug. 10. Kelvin Herrera pitched a perfect ninth for his eighth save.
The Marlins went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Miami loaded the bases with two outs in the third, but Marcell Ozuna flied out to end the inning. Ventura pitched around a leadoff double by Ozuna in the sixth.
The Royals scored the lone run in the sixth when Paulo Orlando led off with a single, stole second and came home on Lorenzo Cain’s single.
Andrew Cashner (4-10) had his best outing in five starts for the Marlins but fell to 0-3 since joining them on July 30. He allowed one run in six innings.
The Marlins played their 15th consecutive game decided by three runs or less, a club record. They are 7-8 during the stretch.
TUESDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
Ivan Nova took a shutout into the ninth inning and finished with a six-hitter while Gregory Polanco hit two home runs to lead the Pirates to a 7-1 victory over the Astros. Nova (10-6) struck out six, walked one and threw 69 of his 98 pitches for strikes while improving to 3-0 in four starts since being acquired from the Yankees in an Aug. 1 trade. … Kevin Gausman scattered six hits over six shutout innings, Adam Jones went 4-for-5 and the Orioles breezed past the Nationals 8-1. Gausman (5-10) walked two, struck out two and permitted only one runner past second base. He’s 5-1 at home and 0-9 on the road. … Russell Martin had three hits and two RBIs, R.A. Dickey pitched 6M innings for his first home win since July 10 and the Blue Jays beat the Angels 7-2. Martin had an RBI single in the first, drove in a run with a bases-loaded walk in the third, singled and scored in the fifth, and doubled over the head of center fielder Mike Trout in the seventh. … Clay Buchholz pitched into the seventh inning, David Ortiz had a run-scoring single and the Red Sox beat the Rays 2-1. Buchholz (5-9) allowed one run, five hits, two walks and struck out nine in 6L innings. In his last five starts at Tropicana Field, the right-hander has given up two earned runs over 33L innings. … Dan Straily extended his surge since the allstar break by pitching six innings and Joey Votto drove in a pair of runs to lead the Reds over the Rangers 3-0. Straily (10-6) hasn’t allowed more than two runs in any of his eight starts since the break, going 6-0. He gave up three singles and two walks. … Jose Abreu homered for a third straight game, Carlos Rodon threw 6M scoreless innings and the White Sox beat the slumping Phillies 9-1. … Cameron Maybin drove in three runs, including a go-ahead two-run single in the sixth inning, to spark the Tigers over the Twins 8-3. … Wilmer Flores and Justin Ruggiano homered as the Mets beat the Cardinals 7-4. Jose Reyes reached four base times and scored three runs.