Dominant Kluber 1st in AL to win 10
DETROIT — Corey Kluber’s dominance shows no sign of ending as the right-hander became the first AL pitcher to reach 10 wins when the Indians trounced the Tigers 9-2 on Sunday.
Kluber allowed two runs on five hits in eight innings and extended his MLB-leading total to 992⁄ innings pitched. The two-time AL Cy Young Award winner struck out eight with no walks. He has 46 strikeouts and zero walks in his last six starts.
“He goes out and throws strikes,” Indians manager Terry
Giants: Brandon Crawford went 4-for-4 with a two-run homer and the Giants dealt Max Scherzer his first loss in more than two months, beating the Nationals 2-0. Since May 1, Crawford is hitting an MLB-best .439. Scherzer (10-2) had won nine straight decisions. He allowed two runs on four hits while striking out nine in seven innings.
Astros: George Springer scored the tiebreaking run on a balk in the ninth after homering on the first pitch of the game in an 8-7 win over the Rangers. The Astros won their fifth straight despite Dallas Keuchel blowing a 6-0 lead. The lefty matched a career worst by allowing 13 hits in just 41⁄ innings. Francona said. “He works ahead, and when teams get contact, it isn’t off the barrel.”
The victory improved Kluber (10-2) to 5-0 with a 0.76 ERA in five starts against AL Central rivals.
“Winning your division is the easiest way to get into the playoffs, so there’s a little more riding on these games,” Kluber said. “I’m pretty sure I had some three-ball counts, but my focus in that situation is to execute a pitch. You don’t want to just throw a ball down the middle, because that’s when you give up damage.”
Melky Cabrera and Erik Gon-
Mets: Todd Frazier hit a tworun homer and Seth Lugo threw six innings of two-hit ball in a 2-0 shutout of the Yankees that ended an eight-game skid. Lugo struck out eight, and Robert Gsellman and Anthony Swarzak finished the three-hitter.
Mariners: RF Mitch Haniger threw out Johnny Field at the plate to end the game for a 5-4 victory over the Rays that gave the Mariners their 17th win in 22 games. James Paxton (6-1) struck out 10 in seven innings.
Padres: Clayton Richard lost his no-hit bid with two outs in the seventh inning of a 3-1 win over the Marlins. Miguel Rojas grounded a clean single up the middle to spoil Richard’s effort. zalez drove in three runs each for the Indians, who expanded their division lead to five games over the Tigers.
Leonys Martin drove in two runs for the Tigers, who lost a home series for the first time since April 13. The Tigers were playing their 18th game in 17 days.
“I think it’s safe to say that everyone in this clubhouse is going to enjoy getting away from here for a day, because we’re worn out,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “We went 10-8, which isn’t bad, but we played so many close games that we could have been even better.”
Blue Jays: Curtis Granderson had four hits and a career-high six RBIs as the Jays routed the Orioles 13-3 for a four-game sweep. Teoscar Hernandez hit a two-run homer as the Jays finished with a season-high 19 hits.
Dodgers: Max Muncy homered in his third straight game, Logan Forsythe and Kike Hernandez also connected and the Dodgers beat the Braves 7-2. The Dodgers have won seven of nine.
Diamondbacks: Paul Goldschmidt doubled, tripled and drove in two runs to finish off a dominant series in an 8-3 victory over the Rockies. Goldschmidt went 8-for-13 with four home runs and nine RBIs in the threegame sweep.