Tigers turn back Red Sox, end Boston’s winning streak
Bryant hits a pair of home runs for Cubs
DETROIT — Second baseman Ian Kinsler caught a line drive by Mookie Betts for the final out with runners on second and third, and the Detroit Tigers held off the Red Sox 4-3 Thursday, snapping Boston’s six-game winning streak.
Andrew Romine drew a bases-loaded walk to cap a three-run Detroit rally in the eighth.
Boston threatened in the ninth against Francisco Rodriguez. Kinsler was well positioned and needed to move only slightly to his right to make the play on Betts’ liner.
Rodriguez got his 34th save in 37 chances. CUBS 9, BREWERS 6: In Chicago, Kris Bryant homered twice, doubled and drove in five runs while going 5 for 5 and the Cubs overcame a career-high seven walks by Jake Arrieta to beat Milwaukee for a four-game sweep.
Bryant tied Colorado’s Nolan Arenado for the NL lead with 30 home runs. The Cubs won for the 18th time in 21 games and improved the best record in the majors to 77-43.
Chicago led 5-0 when Arrieta (15-5) issued a pair of twoout walks in the fourth. Kirk Nieuwenhuis followed with a three-run homer.
Hernan Perez hit a solo homer in the sixth off Arrieta, who allowed four runs and three hits in 5⅔ innings.
Aroldis Chapman worked the ninth for his seventh save with the Cubs. ORIOLES 13, ASTROS 5: In Baltimore, J.J. Hardy and Chris Davis each hit two of Baltimore’s six home runs, Hyun Soo Kim had a careerhigh four hits and the Orioles beat rookie Joe Musgrove and Houston.
Alex Bregman and A.J. Reed homered for the Astros.
PHILLIES 5, DODGERS 4: In Philadelphia, Maikel Franco hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the seventh inning and Philadelphia held off Los
Angeles.
Ryan Howard also homered to help the Phillies avoid a three-game series sweep.
ROYALS 8, TWINS 1: In Kansas City, Mo., Alex Gordon hit a grand slam, Dillon Gee pitched seven strong innings and Kansas City beat Minnesota.
The defending champion Royals have won five straight and eight of nine to move above .500 for the first time since July 22. Starting pitchers have a 1.61 ERA in the five-game winning streak, allowing 23 hits and six earned runs in 33⅔ innings, while striking out 27. INDIANS 5, WHITE SOX 4: In Cleveland, Indians manager Terry Francona put up a pinch-hitter in the middle of an at-bat and the strategy paid off when Tyler Naquin lofted a game-ending sacrifice fly in the ninth inning that lifted the Indians past Chicago.
The AL Central-leading Indians scored a single run in each of the last five innings to overtake Chicago. Cleveland improved to 6-2 on an 11-game
homestand.
REDS 5, MARLINS 4: In Cincinnati, Ramon Cabrera hit a three-run homer, Dan Straily continued his second-half surge and Cincinnati beat Miami for its eighth victory in 10 series since the All-Star break.
Straily (9-6) improved to 5-0 with a 2.68 ERA over his last six starts. He opened with five shutout innings before giving up Marcell Ozuna’s two-run homer in the sixth. NATIONALS 8, BRAVES 2: In Atlanta, rookie Reynaldo Lopez struck out 11, Jayson Werth reached safely in his 46th straight game and Washington pulled away from Atlanta.
Lopez set a career high for strikeouts and allowed one earned run and four hits in seven innings.
Notes
RED SOX: Outfielder/catcher Blake Swihart underwent successful surgery on his left ankle Monday and will miss the rest of the season. The Cleveland High alum is expected to be ready for spring training in 2017.
OWNERS MEETING: Limiting pitching changes, restricting defensive shifts, altering the strike zone and installing pitch clocks are among the ideas Major League Baseball may consider as it undertakes a multiyear review of the game that could include the sport’s most radical changes in decades.
Baseball owners were given a lengthy presentation Thursday during their quarterly meeting of how the sport has changed in the past 40 to 50 years.
“Sometimes baseball fans think about what should happen with the game sort of with an artificial construct, that the choice is between preserving ‘The Game,’ as it came down originally from the mountain, and making some changes to that game,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said. “The point of the conversation today was that the game has changed dramatically. It’s changed organically.”