Guardians’ Pilkington gets first major league win

CLEVELAND — Rookie Konnor Pilkington struck out eight in five innings for his first major league win and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Kansas City Royals 4-0 Wednesday to complete a threegame sweep.

Pilkington, making his third career start and sixth appearance, worked out of a basesloaded, one-out jam in the fourth. The lefthander is taking the rotation spot of injured Aaron Civale.

Pilkington was showered with beer by teammates to commemorate the win. He knew the importance of getting out of the fourth inning.

“I know I needed some kind of action, maybe a strikeout, maybe a double-play ball, something like that,” he said. “Cards fell my way and I just kept executing pitches.”

José Ramírez had a run-scoring groundout in the fifth for his major league leading 52nd RBI. Amed Rosario, Andrés Giménez and Richie Palacios also drove in runs for Cleveland.

Kansas City has dropped 11 of 13 and has the worst record in the majors at 16-33.

Brad Keller (1-6) allowed four runs and six hits in six innings.

Four Cleveland pitchers combined for 15 strikeouts. Royals manager Mike Matheny thought Keller gave his team a chance to win but pointed to those strikeouts as a major factor in another difficult day.

“It continues to be tough,” Matheny said. “We’ve had some really hard losses and every one of them now continues to pile on the frustration in that room.”

Pilkington (1-0) struck out his first four hitters. He stranded two in the second and one in the third before dodging major trouble in the fourth.

The inning began when Salvador Perez walked and MJ Melendez singled. Pilkington struck out Hunter Dozier, but Carlos Santana’s sharply hit single to right loaded the bases.

Pitching coach Carl Willis visited Pilkington on the mound to help him regroup. Emmanuel Rivera struck out and Nicky Lopez grounded out to end the inning.

“I don’t want to sound bad or anything but my stuff plays,” said Pilkington, who was acquired from Washington last season for infielder César Hernández. “Trusting my fastball and trusting my changeup and being able to locate those pitches. And then when they start to get on, being able to adjust.”

Pilkington began the season in Cleveland’s bullpen amid expanded rosters. He started in a doubleheader and was sent to Triple-A Columbus and was recalled when Civale was injured on May 20.

The Royals, who have a day off Thursday, completed a stretch of 26 games in 25 days.

Cleveland has had

seven games postponed by inclement weather at Progressive Field this season. Heavy rain fell seconds after Emmanuel Clase recorded the final out Wednesday.

CIVALE UPDATE

Civale (left gluteal soreness) underwent a procedure to aspirate blood from the affected area, which has delayed his return. Cleveland hopes he can pitch off a mound this weekend.

STREAKS

Andrew Benintendi had three hits and has reached base in 23 straight games . ... Cleveland rookie Oscar Gonzalez was 0 for 4 after hitting safely in his first five major league games.

SEE YOU LATER

The Royals don’t return to Cleveland until late September for a stretch of six days. The teams complete the regular season with six games from Sept. 30Oct. 5.

Boston 7, Cincinnati 1

BOSTON (AP) — Garrett Whitlock pitched six strong innings and Jackie Bradley Jr. drove in four runs to help Boston beat Cincinnati.

Whitlock (2-1) allowed five hits and one unearned run before two relievers completed the seven-hitter.

Boston got to Hunter Greene (2-7) in the fourth inning. Greene struck out seven batters in the first three innings before the Red Sox broke through.

Rafael Devers opened the fourth with a double. J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts followed with singles and Alex Verdugo had a runscoring double. Two out laters, Bradley singled home Verdugo ending Greene’s evening. He gave up four runs in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out eight.

Houston 5, Oakland 4

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Justin Verlander took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, Yordan Álvarez cleared the bases with a go-ahead double in the ninth and Houston beat Oakland to complete a threegame sweep.

Elvis Andrus broke up Verlander’s no-hit bid with an RBI double in the seventh inning that tied the game at 1. Christian Bethancourt followed with a two-run homer, his first drive since 2016, to give Oakland a 3-1 lead.

Houston responded with four runs in the ninth off closer Dany Jiménez (2-3), keyed by Álvarez’s three-run double. Aledmys Díaz and Alex Bregman also drove in runs for the Astros, who won their fourth in a row.

Verlander finished with six strikeouts in seven innings, allowing three earned runs on two hits for a no-decision. Reliever Bryan Abreu (3-0) pitched a scoreless eighth inning. Ryan Pressly closed for his 10th save.

N.Y. Mets 5, Washington 0

NEW YORK (AP) — Tomás Nido went 4 for 4 with three RBIs at the bottom of the batting order, and Carlos Carrasco combined with three relievers on New York’s second consecutive shutout to finish a perfect homestand.

Francisco Lindor extended his RBI streak to 10 games, matching Hall of Famer Mike Piazza for the secondlongest in franchise history. New York went 6-0 against NL East rivals Philadelphia and Washington for its first undefeated homestand of six or more games since a 10-0 run in April 2015. Nationals left-hander Evan Lee (0-1) lasted 3 2/3 innings in his big league debut after getting called up from Double-A Harrisburg. He allowed two runs and four hits.

Carrasco (6-1) matched his career high with five walks and pitched out of trouble all afternoon against the last-place Nationals. He needed 95 pitches to get through five innings but stranded eight runners.

Philadelphia 6, San Francisco 5

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kyle Schwarber and Nick Maton homered to help Philadelphia snap a five-game losing streak with a victory over San Francisco.

Phillies star Bryce Harper was a late scratch from the lineup due to right forearm soreness, and second baseman Jean Segura was ruled out for up to three months with a fractured right index finger.

Maton, Segura’s replacement at second base, also had an RBI bunt single as Philadelphia avoided a threegame sweep and won for just the fifth time in 17 games while likely cooling calls for manager Joe Girardi’s job — at least for now.

Philadelphia starter Aaron Nola (3-4) was cruising until allowing five runs in the sixth inning. The Phillies picked him up in the bottom of the frame against reliever Jarlin Garcia (1-2).

St. Louis 5, San Diego 2

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Nolan Arenado hit a two-run homer and drove in three, Dakota Hudson threw seven strong innings and St. Louis beat San Diego to complete a three-game sweep.