Perez breaks Bench’s HR record for catchers
Salvador Perez hit his 46th home run, breaking Johnny Bench’s record for most by a catcher in a season to highlight the opener, then the Kansas City Royals completed a doubleheader sweep by beating the Cleveland Indians 4-2 Monday night.
Perez hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning of a 7-2 win, topping Bench’s total from 1970 for the highest total by a player who spent at least 75% of his team’s games at catcher.
Perez also moved into a tie for the major league lead in homers with Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Perez leads the majors with 115 RBI.
In the second game, Perez hit an early double before striking out against Anthony Gose, a former outfielder who returned to the majors after a five-year absence as a hard-throwing reliever.
Gose pitched 1 2/3 innings, allowing one run and one hit with one walk and one strikeout. Of his 39 pitches, seven reached 100 mph.
Orioles 2, Phillies — Bryce Harper gave the 96 mph fastball a deep ride that had a few thousand straggling fans that paid for $1 hot dogs and a pennant race standing in euphoria.
Harper’s ball landed 401 feet away in Baltimore center fielder Cedric Mullins’s glove, the final out of a futile effort for the Phillies against the worst team in baseball.
John Means struck out six and stymied Harper and a Phillies team in an eleventh-hour playoff push to lead the Baltimore Orioles to a win.
American League
Yankees 4, Rangers 3 — Gary Sánchez rebounded from poor defensive play with a go-ahead home run, four pitchers combined for scoreless relief and the New York Yankees gained in the AL wild-card race with a victory over the Texas Rangers.
Sánchez put the Yankees ahead in the second inning against rookie A.J. Alexy (2-1) with his 22nd home run.
Rays 6, Blue Jays 4 — Shane Baz pitched two-hit ball for five innings to win his major league debut and the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays cut Toronto’s lead in the wild-card chase, holding off the Blue Jays.
Tampa Bay holds a seven-game advantage over second-place Boston with 11 games remaining.
The Blue Jays, who scored twice in the ninth inning and left the bases loaded, had their edge over the New York Yankees for the second AL wildcard spot drop to a half-game.
National League
Marlins 8, Nationals 7 — Jazz Chisholm Jr. homered twice before scoring from third on a wild pitch in the 10th inning and the Miami Marlins beat the
Washington Nationals.
After Dylan Floro (6-6) pitched a scoreless top of the 10th, Chisholm took his place at second to start the bottom of the inning as Miami’s automatic runner.
Washington reliever Sam Clay (0-5) intentionally walked Jesús Sánchez to face Lewis Brinson. Chisholm stole third during the at-bat and raced home after Clay’s breaking pitch bounced away from catcher Keibert Ruiz.
Cardinals 5, Brewers 2 — Jon Lester notched his 200th career win, Nolan Arenado hit a two-run homer and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers for their ninth consecutive win.
The Cardinals have won nine straight for the first time since 2004 to solidify their grip on the second NL wild card. They entered the night three agmes ahead of Cincinnati and Philadelphia for the final postseason spot.
The longest winning streak in franchise history is 14 games, set in 1935.
Milwaukee’s magic number over the Cardinals to clinch the division title remained at three.
Lester (7-6) is the third active pitcher with 200 wins, joining Houston teammates Justin Verlander (226) and Zack Greinke (219). He’s the 30th lefthander in major-league history to reach the mark.