Strasburg exits after two innings, Giants rout Nats
>> WASHINGTON: Andrew McCutchen and Gorkys Hernandez homered as the San Francisco Giants defeated the Washington Nationals 9-5 on Friday night at Nationals Park.
Washington starter Stephen Strasburg (6-6) left after just two innings. He allowed three runs on five hits, including the McCutchen homer, and this was his shortest outing of the season. The right-hander threw only 35 pitches.
Nationals manager Dave Martinez said after the game that Strasburg had inflammation and tightness in his throwing shoulder and was due to have an MRI yesterday.
Washington wound up allowing 15 hits overall as San Francisco repeatedly came up with offensive chances. The Giants went 6-for-14 with runners in scoring position and stranded six.
Brett Gardner hit a tie-breaking two-run homer in the top of the eighth inning for the New York Yankees, who overcame an injury to starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka in a 4-1 win over the hosts New York Mets at Citi Field.
The Yankees have won three straight and eight of nine. The Mets have lost the first seven games of a nine-game homestand, during which they have scored just eight runs, including three in the last five games.
Tanaka, an .042 career hitter, reached on a one-out error by Mets first baseman Adrian Gonzalez in the sixth inning. He advanced to third and tagged up on an Aaron Judge flyout to medium right field, easily beating Jay Bruce’s off-target throw home for his first big league run. However, he appeared to slow down on his final two steps and was replaced in the bottom of the inning as the result of stiffness in both hamstrings.
Trayce Thompson ripped a goahead RBI single off Boston ace Chris Sale in the seventh inning to help visiting Chicago to a 1-0 victory.
Thompson’s hit aided a strong start from White Sox right-hander Dylan Covey (2-1), who allowed three hits and walked one with seven strikeouts over six-plus innings. Chicago won for the fifth time in eight games after losing six of seven.
Sale (5-4) suffered his t hird straight loss despite striking out 10 and giving up six hits and a walk over eight innings.
Jason Kipnis blasted a tie-breaking, three-run homer in the ninth inning as visiting Cleveland beat Detroit 4-1 for their third win.
Kipnis’ fourth homer of the season came off Detroit closer Shane Greene (2-3). Jose Ramirez drew a one-out walk and Yonder Alonso hit a two-out single, setting up Kipnis’ drive to rightcentre field.
Trevor Bauer (5-4) overpowered the Tigers, holding them to one run on seven hits with one walk and 12 strikeouts.