Naquin helps Indians into 1st
ST. LOUIS — Tyler Naquin hit a go-ahead double in the 12th inning, then Yadier Molina made a baserunning blunder and got trapped for the final out Saturday to give the Indians a 2-1 win over the Cardinals.
A day after getting 20 hits in a rout, the Indians totaled just five in winning their fourth in a row to move into first place by themselves in a tightlypacked AL Central with the White Sox and Twins on their heels.
Naquin doubled off Alex Reyes (1-1) to drive in pinch runner Mike Freeman, who started the inning at second base. That was the Indians’ only hit after the eighth inning.
Molina, who grounded into an inning-ending double play in the 11th with runners on first and second, began the 12th at second base as the automatic runner under MLB’s extra-inning rule.
The slow-footed Molina moved to third on a wild pitch by Brad Hand, and stayed there when Dexter Fowler grounded out.
Matt Carpenter
followed with a grounder that first baseman Carlos Santana fielded near the bag. He touched the base for an out, then bobbled the ball for a moment.
Molina was partly down the line toward home, and Santana cut across the diamond with the ball. Molina put up his hands, appearing to indicate he thought Carpenter’s grounder was foul, and was easily tagged out in a rundown to complete a double play.
The Cardinals had the bases loaded with two outs in the tenth inning, but Nick Wittgren (2-0) escaped the jam.
Former major league star Alex Rodriguez and fiancee Jennifer Lopez have backed out of the bidding to purchase the team amid reports that the Wilpon family is finalizing a deal with billionaire hedge fund manager Steve Cohen. Rodriguez announced Friday night that despite “a fully funded offer at a record price,” their group was pulling its offer. CNBC reported Friday night that Cohen had entered final negotiations and was expected to finalize a deal with the team in the coming days.
Clint Frazier scored the winning run on Dellin Betances’ wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning, and the Yankees averted their longest losing streak in a quarter-century with a 2-1 victory over the crosstown Mets. J.A. Happ pitched brilliantly into the eighth at Yankee Stadium and Luke Voit homered early for the injury-ravaged Bronx Bombers, who stopped a seven-game slide that followed six straight wins. They h ave n ’t dropped eight in a row since August 1995.
Rhys Hoskins had three hits, including a three-run homer, and Zach Eflin pitched seven strong innings to lead the Phillies to their fifth straight victory, 4-1 over the Braves. Bryce Harper doubled and drove in a run for the Phillies, who last won five in row in August 2018. Eflin (2-1) allowed one run on four hits with eight strikeouts and no walks.
Miguel Cabrera hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth, lifting the Tigers to a 4-2 victory in the nightcap and a doubleheader sweep of the Twins, who have lost four straight to drop into third place in the AL Central.
Maikel Franco and Ryan McBroom homered during a five-run seventh, and the Royals cooled off the White Sox with a 9-6 victory. Edwin Encarnacion homered and Tim Anderson had four hits for the White Sox, who had won 10 of 11.
Yu Darvish scattered seven hits over six innings while striking out eight to win his sixth straight decision, Anthony Rizzo homered twice as the Cubs snapped a threegame skid with a 3-0 win over the Reds in the first game of a doubleheader.
The Padres acquire closer Trevor Rosenthal from the Royals to help their beleaguered bullpen. The Padres are parting with OF Edward Olivares and a player to be named to get the 30-yearold right-hander, who is a free agent after this season. ... The Nationals signed former longtime Red Sox utility player Brock Holt. Holt, 32, played for the Red Sox for seven years before signing a one-year, $3.25million with the Brewers as a free agent in February. Holt was released by the Brewers this week after hitting just .100 with nine strikeouts in 30 at-bats over 16 games. ... LHP Ryan Yarbrough, a former Old Dominion star, became the Rays’ 11th pitcher since the start of summer camp to be sidelined with an injury when he went on the injured list because of left groin tightness. C Mike Zunino also went on the IL with a strained left oblique strain.