Indians blank Tigers, sweep doubleheader
Red Sox rout Yankees to open 5 ½ - game AL lead
>> DETROIT: Mike Clevinger pitched six sharp innings and the Cleveland Indians swept a day-night doubleheader, routing the Detroit Tigers 10-0 on Friday for their ninth straight win.
The AL Central-leading Indians won the opener 3-2 on Francisco Lindor’s tie-breaking single in the ninth inning.
Roberto Perez homered and drove in three runs to back Clevinger (8-5).
Clevinger allowed three hits, struck out six and walked one. Buck Farmer (3-2) took the loss.
The opener was tied at 2 in the ninth when pinch-hitter Jay Bruce tripled with one out off Shane Greene (3-3). Lindor singled through the drawn-in infield.
The Tigers loaded the bases with two out in the ninth inning against closer Cody Allen (2-6), who had allowed the tying run in the eighth. Joe Smith took over and retired Miguel Cabrera on a line drive to Lindor at shortstop for his first save.
In New York, Doug Fister dominated for seven innings and the Boston Red Sox backed him with three home runs to beat the Yankees 4-1 and extend their AL East lead.
Eduardo Nunez, Andrew Benintendi and Hanley Ramirez each homered as the Red Sox opened a 5½-game edge over New York.
Fister (4-7) gave up doubles by Brett Gardner and Aaron Judge to begin the first inning, and little else. He allowed four hits, struck out five and walked one.
Sonny Gray (8-9) gave up all three homers.
In Baltimore, Jonathan Schoop doubled home Manny Machado in the 13th inning as Baltimore outlasted Toronto 1-0.
It was the eighth win in nine games for the Orioles, a surge that’s put them just 2½ games behind the New York Yankees for the top AL wildcard.
Machado led off the 13th with an infield hit off Aaron Loup (2-3) and Schoop followed with a liner to right-center.
Jimmy Yacabonis (1-0) worked the 13th for his first major league victory.
In Chicago, John Lackey pitched seven crisp innings, Javier Baez’s daring baserunning paid off again and the Cubs beat Atlanta 2-0 for their fifth straight win.
Lackey (11-10) allowed three hits, struck out five and walked none while improving to 6-1 with a 3.83 ERA in nine starts since the All-Star break. The 38-year-old righty retired his last 16 batters.
Pedro Strop and Brian Duensing worked the eighth before Wade Davis finished the four-hitter for his 28th save in 28 chances.
Anthony Rizzo added two more hits as NL Central-leading Chicago won for the 11th time in their last 14 games. He batted .355 with seven homers and 30 RBIs in August, powering the Cubs to a 17-12 record and a major leaguebest 191 runs for the month.
In Milwaukee, Jimmy Nelson scattered three singles and struck out 11 over seven innings, and Milwaukee beat Washington 1-0.
Neil Walker, obtained from the New York Mets on Aug 12, homered in the first inning off Tanner Roark (11-9).
Nelson (11-6) tied his career high in strikeouts. Rookie Josh Hader struck out the side in the eighth inning and Corey Knebel struck out the side in the ninth for his 32nd save in 37 chances. Knebel has not allowed a run in his last 19 outings.
In Minneapolis, Mike Moustakas homered for the first time since midAugust, Brandon Moss also went deep and Kansas City held off Minnesota 7-6.
The Twins had won four in a row. They remain one game behind New York for the top AL wild-card spot.
Melky Cabrera tied a seasonhigh with four hits for the Royals, who won for just the second time in eight games.
In Miami, Philadelphia scored two runs in the top of the ninth to rally past Miami 2-1 and hand the Marlins their fifth successive loss.
Philadelphia rallied in the ninth off closer Brad Ziegler (1-3), who had entered the game having pitched 13 consecutive scoreless innings.
The Phillies cashed i n when Jorge Alfaro stroked an RBI single and Andres Blanco hit a run-scoring groundout.
Juan Nicasio (3-5) pitched onethird of an inning to pick up the win.
In Pittsburgh, Adam Duvall drove in two runs to lead Cincinnati over Pittsburgh 7-3.
Asher Wojciechowski (4-3) earned the win in relief after moving to the bullpen from the rotation. He pitched two scoreless innings. He is 2-0 with a 1.74 ERA in 10 relief appearances this season.
Gerrit Cole (11-9) was touched for five earned runs and six hits in six innings after pitching five innings in a 1-0 victory over the Reds in his last start.