Spangenberg, Brewers roll
Stay hot, push for playoffs
Cory Spangenberg drove in three runs, including a tiebreaking, two-run triple in the fourth inning, and the Brewers beat the San Diego Padres, 5-1, last night in Milwaukee to keep up a playoff push with their 10th win in their past 11 games.
Milwaukee began the night one game behind the Chicago Cubs for the NL’s second wild card and three games back of St. Louis, the NL Central leader.
San Diego got just two hits and dropped to 68-82, tying the franchise record with its ninth consecutive losing season. The Padres also finished under .500 from 196977, the first nine years of the expansion franchise.
Manny Machado of the Padres was booed loudly before every plate appearance and was cheered when he struck out in the sixth and ninth innings. While playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Brewers during last year’s NL Championship Series, Machado stepped on first baseman Jesús Aguilar’s foot, prompting the benches to empty.
Padres starter Garret Richards (0-1) allowed three runs and five hits in 3⅔ innings in his first major league appearance since Tommy John surgery in July 2018. The 31-year-old righthander struck out five and walked none, throwing 42 of 61 pitches for strikes.
Spangenberg had an RBI single in the second and followed Eric Hosmer’s tying double in the fourth with a triple in the bottom half for a 3-1 lead.
American League
Tigers 5, Orioles 2 — Jordy Mercer hit a two-run homer in the first inning, and host Detroit beat Baltimore to split a four-game series between the teams with the worst records in the major leagues.
After the first series in American League history between teams in 50 or more games below .500, Detroit (45-104) has a 3½-game “lead” on Baltimore (49-101) for the top pick in June’s draft, which goes to the club with the lowest winning percentage this season.
Detroit needs to win one of its final six games at Comerica Park to avoid breaking the major league record of 59 home losses, set by the 1939 St. Louis Browns.
Tyler Alexander (1-3), a 24-year-old left-hander forced into the rotation by a doubleheader last week, got his first big league win. Before a crowd announced at 14,142, he allowed one run and four hits in six innings during his first major league start since Aug. 7.
Joe Jiménez retired the first two batters in the ninth before the Orioles loaded the bases on three singles. Trey Mancini, who hit his third homer of the series in the sixth inning, struck out on three pitches.
John Means (10-11) gave up five runs in 5⅔ innings.
Detroit led 2-0 after its first two batters. Victor Reyes tripled over center fielder Austin Hays’ and Mercer hit the next pitch into the Baltimore bullpen in left-center for his ninth homer. Víctor Reyes made it 4-0 with a two-out, two-run double in the fifth inning, and Dawel Lugo hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
Jonathan Villar led off the seventh inning with a triple off José Cisnero and scored on Hays’ single.
Orioles LF Stevie Wilkerson and RF Anthony Santander recorded an assist on the same play in the fifth inning. Reyes overran second on his two-run double, hoping to draw a throw that would ensure a second run scored. Wilkerson’s throw was on target, but Reyes stayed in the rundown long enough that Santander took part in a 7-6-3-5-9-3-4 putout.
Elsewhere in baseball — Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez had a heart procedure and did not travel with the team for its series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals . ...
Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo will wear a walking boot for the next five to seven days after an MRI showed he had a moderate lateral right ankle sprain.