Indians’ Bieber continues overpowering start
Ties MLB record with 27 K’s in first 2 starts
MINNEAPOLIS — Cleveland’s Shane Bieber tied the major league record for strikeouts in a pitcher’s first two starts of the season, punching out 13 Minnesota Twins over eight innings in the Indians’ 2-0 victory on Thursday night.
Bieber (2-0) fanned 14 over six scoreless innings on Friday against Kansas City. His 27 strikeouts in the two games matched the record set by Karl Spooner of the Brooklyn Dodgers in September 1954 during the first two starts of his short career.
DODGERS 6, DIAMONDBACKS 3: In Phoenix, A.J. Pollock hit a two-run homer, and Corey Seager and Max Muncy added solo shots as Los Angeles beat Arizona for its third straight win.
YANKEES 8, ORIOLES 6: In Baltimore, Aaron Judge hit a threerun homer in the ninth inning after New York blew an early five-run lead to beat Baltimore to sweep an impromptu two-game series.
ROYALS 5, TIGERS 3: In Detroit, Trevor Rosenthal pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save since 2017 as Kansas City beat Detroit, overcoming Miguel Cabrera’s first multihomer game since 2016.
RED SOX 4, METS 2: In New York, Christian Vázquez hit two more homers and Martín Pérez gave Boston’s patchwork rotation a much-needed lift as Red Sox defeated New York.
BRAVES 2, RAYS 1: In Atlanta, Max Fried retired Tampa Bay’s first 14 batters and combined with three relievers on a four-hitter as Atlanta beat the Rays. Dansby Swanson had a run-scoring single in Atlanta’s two-run second inning.
NATIONALS 6, BLUE JAYS 4: In Washington, Michael A. Taylor’s second homer of the season helped the “visiting” Nationals knock around struggling HyunJin Ryu and beat the home-awayfrom-home Toronto Blue Jays before both teams head into a coronavirus-caused “mini AllStar break,” as Washington manager Dave Martinez called it.
MARINERS 8, ANGELS 5: In Anaheim, José Marmolejos and Shed Long Jr. homered as Seattle beat LA. Notes
COVID-19 UPDATE: Major League Baseball has postponed this weekend’s scheduled series between Toronto and Philadelphia because of concerns about the coronavirus after two Phillies staffers tested positive.
“Major League Baseball will coordinate with health experts and the Major League Baseball Players Association in planning for the Phillies’ resumption of play, and will provide further scheduling updates as necessary,” the league said in a statement Thursday.
Earlier Thursday, word emerged that another player with the Miami Marlins — who recently played at Philadelphia — tested positive for COVID-19, bringing their total outbreak to 17 players, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The Marlins also will be idle through Sunday.
ANGELS: Last year’s American League MVP, Mike Trout, was placed on the paternity list before the Los Angeles Angels’ game against the Seattle Mariners on Thursday night.
NEW RULE: Doubleheaders will now become a pair of seveninning games, baseball’s latest radical rule change during a season reshaped by the coronavirus pandemic.