McCullers, Astros complete sweep of Miami
MIAMI — Lance McCullers paid tribute to the late Jose Fernandez and pitched like him, allowing no earned runs for the third start in a row, and the Houston Astros beat the Miami Marlins
3-0 Wednesday afternoon to complete a three-game sweep.
McCullers (4-1) wore cleats with Fernandez’s initials and uniform number. Their friendship began when they were high school pitchers in the Tampa area, before Fernandez became the Marlins’ ace and then died in a boating accident last September.
McCullers limited Miami to three hits in six innings and lowered his ERA to 2.65. He has allowed no earned runs in his past 20 1/3 innings.
Jose Altuve hit his first two triples of the year, doubled twice and had an RBI. George Springer hit a twoout, two-run single in the sixth.
The Astros (29-12) passed the quarter mark in their season with the best record in the majors. Their fourth consecutive win lifted them
17 games above .500 for the first time since 2004.
The Marlins leave town last in the NL East after going 1-8 on their homestand. They were outscored 22-4 in the series.
Jose Urena (1-2), one of the few bright spots in Miami’s battered rotation, lost despite limiting Houston to three runs, one earned, in 5
2/3 innings. He has an ERA of 1.91 in three starts this year.
A sloppy error by Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon led to two unearned runs. He made an errant backhanded throw to second with two out in the sixth, and Springer followed with a single for a
3-0 lead.
Houston scored in the first on doubles by Stringer and Altuve.
Three Astros relievers completed a three-hitter. Ken Giles pitched around a walk in the ninth for his 11th save.
Miami loaded the bases in the first on two hit batters and a walk, but Derek Dietrich grounded out to end the threat.
The Marlins went 10 2/3 innings without a hit over two games until J.T. Riddle singled leading off the fifth. McCullers retired the next three batters.
Rays 7, Indians 4
CLEVELAND — Corey Dickerson hit a three-run homer — his third homer in two days — and Alex Cobb controlled Cleveland over seven innings as the Rays completed their most successful road trip in a year.
Dickerson connected in the second inning off Josh Tomlin (2-5) and Logan Morrison hit a solo shot in the third for Tampa Bay, which went 4-2 on a swing through Boston and Cleveland. It’s the Rays’ first winning trip since last May.
Cobb (4-3) allowed three runs and six hits while throwing 115 pitches on an unseasonably warm day. He retired the last eight batters he faced.
Jesus Sucre also homered for the Rays, who hit 10 in Cleveland, the most in team history for a three-game series.
Indians rookie Bradley Zimmer hit his first career homer in the ninth, and Jason Kipnis almost got one but Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier robbed him with a leaping catch for the final out.
Dodgers 6, Giants 1
SAN FRANCISCO — Clayton Kershaw took a share of the major league lead with his seventh win and earned career victory No. 20 against the rival Giants, helping the Los Angeles Dodgers avoid a sweep.
Kershaw (7-2) struck out five in seven shutout innings and retired the first 10 batters he faced before Justin Ruggiano’s fourth-inning single. The left-hander moved into a tie for most wins with Houston’s Dallas Keuchel.
Yasmani Grandal hit a two-run double in the first and Yasiel Puig singled in a pair of runs in the sixth as the Dodgers jumped on Johnny Cueto (4-3), who lost for the first time at home this season.
Kershaw allowed three hits and didn’t walk a batter for the fourth time in 2017 as the Dodgers snapped their three-game skid and ended the Giants’ season-best fivegame winning streak.
Diamondbacks 5, Mets 4 (11)
PHOENIX — Arizona’s Chris Herrmann homered off Rafael Montero to lead off the 11th inning, sending the New York Mets to their season-high seventh straight loss.
Montero (0-3) relieved to start the 11th, and Hermann worked the count full, fouled off a pitch and connected on a belt-high fastball for his first game-ending home run in the major leagues.
New York went 0-6 in Milwaukee and Arizona, the Mets’ longest winless trip since 1999, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. At 1623, New York dropped seven games under .500 for the first time September 2014.
Tom Wilhelmsen (1-1) walked Matt Reynolds and Lucas Duda with two outs in the 11th before throwing a called third strike past Jose Reyes.