Cubs bullpen shines, defeats league-leading Rays 2-1
CHICAGO (AP) – Nico Hoerner homered and the Chicago Cubs made the most of a rare gaffe by Tampa Bay, handing Shane McClanahan his first loss of the season with a 2-1 victory over the Rays on Tuesday night.
The game was tied at 1 when Ian Happ led off the sixth with a shallow fly ball that dropped between Tampa Bay second baseman Brandon Lowe and right fielder Josh Lowe in a miscommunication between the fielders.
That was enough for Chicago, which topped the majors’ best team for the second straight day after entering the series with a four-game losing streak.
Julian Merryweather (1-0), Mark Leiter Jr. and Adbert Alzolay combined for four innings of one-hit ball in relief of Kyle Hendricks. Merryweather earned his first major league win, and Alzolay got six outs for his second save.
McClanahan (8-1) allowed six hits, struck out seven and walked two in 5 2/3 innings. The left-hander was bidding to become the first pitcher in franchise history to begin a season 9-0.
RANGERS 10, TIGERS 6
DETROIT (AP) – Reliever Grant Anderson won in an overpowering major league debut and Texas beat Detroit to improve to 35-19, the best record in franchise history at the one-third mark.
Anderson stuck out seven of the nine batters he faced after taking over for starter Martín Pérez in the fifth inning. He struck out the first four he faced.
Texas second baseman Marcus Semien extended his hitting streak to a career-best 19 games with a fifth-inning single. Jonah Heim drove in four runs, Josh Jung homered and had three runs and Aroldis Garcia had four hits and three runs.
Miguel Cabrera had three hits and drove in two runs for Detroit. Cabrera passed Ken Griffey Jr. for 15th place with 5,272 total bases. Alex Faedo (1-3) took the loss.
ORIOLES 8, GUARDIANS 5
BALTIMORE (AP) – Anthony Santander hit a bases-clearing triple during Baltimore’s fiverun second inning, then added a pair of doubles to lift the Orioles over Cleveland.
Kyle Gibson (7-3) won his third straight start, allowing three runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. Félix Bautista pitched a perfect ninth for his 14th save in 18 chances.
Josh Bell hit an RBI single in the fourth for Cleveland. Santander doubled in the fifth and scored on Henderson’s single, which chased Guardians starter Cal Quantrill (2-4).
Bell hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth, and Andrés Giménez followed with an RBI double. Josh Naylor hit a two-run single in the seventh. REDS 9, RED SOX 8 BOSTON (AP) – Jose
Barrero hit a grand slam to lift Cincinnati to a fourth straight win.
Will Benson had three hits to back Ben Lively (3-2), who pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings. He struck out six for the Reds, who blew it open with a five-run seventh inning.
Raimel Tapia had three of Boston’s 14 hits and drove in a pair of runs. The Red Sox lost their second straight and have dropped six of eight.
Boston scored all eight of its runs in the final three innings, getting five in the ninth but couldn’t quite catch the Reds, who clinched the win when reliever Alexis Diaz struck out Triston Casas for the final out and his 13th save.
Brayan Bello (2-2) threw 33 pitches in the first inning and left after the fourth with the Red Sox down 1-0. Bello allowed one run on five hits, struck out four and walked two.
WHITE SOX 7, ANGELS 3
CHICAGO (AP) – Andrew Vaughn drove in three runs, Romy González homered and Chicago beat Los Angeles.
The White Sox looked as if they were headed toward their fourth straight loss after Los Angeles raced to a 3-1 lead against Lucas Giolito (4-4). But the White Sox turned it around in a big way, scoring five runs in the fourth against Tyler Anderson (2-1).
Vaughn smacked a three-run double to put Chicago on top. González drove him in with a double, stole third and scored when Gio Urshela allowed catcher Chad Wallach’s throw to wind up in left field, stretching it to 6-3.
Luis Robert Jr. and Jake Burger each had three hits, and the White Sox came out on top despite a shaky start by Giolito. The right-hander lasted five innings, giving up three runs and four hits.
CARDINALS 2, ROYALS 1
ST. LOUIS (AP) – Miles Mikolas pitched eight shutout innings, Nolan Arenado hit an RBI double and Nolan Gorman drove in a run with a sacrifice fly as St. Louis split the two-game set between the I-70 rivals.
Mikolas (4-1) matched a career high with 10 strikeouts and allowed three hits. Gionvanny Gallegos replaced Mikolas in the ninth and gave up a double and single to start the inning. Vinnie Pasquantino scored on a fielder’s choice by Bobby Witt Jr., cutting the deficit to a run. Gallegos went on to retire the next two hitters and record his seventh save.
The Cardinals got a run in the sixth with two outs against Carlos Hernández (0-2). Paul Goldschmidt reached first on an infield single. Arenado hit a run-scoring double to left-center.
Zack Greinke started for the Royals but didn’t figure in the decision. He pitched five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk with six strikeouts.