Indians shut out Rays 3-0
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Jay Bruce drove in his first two runs for the Cleveland Indians and Mike Clevinger struck out nine in seven innings Saturday night in a 3-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Bruce, acquired in a trade from the New York Mets on Wednesday night, drove in the first run with a two-out fly ball that dropped for a double between left fielder Corey Dickerson and third baseman Trevor Plouffe in the first inning.
After leading off the third with a double, Francisco Lindor scored on Chris Archer's two-out wild pitch to make it 2-0.
Bruce drove in another run with a single in the fifth after Jose Ramirez's leadoff double.
Clevinger (6-4) won for the first time in four starts since the All-Star break, giving up four hits and one walk in seven innings.
Cody Allen pitched the ninth for his 20th save, the fourth straight season he has reached that number.
It was 10th time the Rays were shut out this season, most in the majors.
Archer (8-7) gave up three runs and seven hits while striking out eight in 5 1/3 innings, ending his streak of 15 straight starts in which he pitched at least six innings.
Tigers 12, Twins 11
DETROIT — Justin Upton hit a two-run homer off Matt Belisle in the ninth inning, giving Detroit a win over the Minnesota Twins after the Tigers wasted a five-run lead and then overcame a five-run deficit.
Detroit had been 0-54 this year when trailing after eight innings and had lost six of seven but rallied to stop the Twins' six-game winning streak.
After James McCann hit a grand slam in a five-run first inning against Jose Berrios, the Twins tied the score 5-5 in the third, then scored twice in the fourth, once in the fifth and three times in the sixth for an 11-6 lead.
Upton hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh, and McCann hit into a run-scoring forceout in the eighth and scored on Jose Iglesias' home run against Trevor Hildenberger that cut Detroit's gap to 11-10.
Shane Greene (3-2) escaped a bases-loaded jam when he struck out Miguel Sano on a slider. Mikie Mahtook singled against Belisle (0-2) starting the bottom half and Upton drove a high fastball into the left-field seats.
Tigers starter Jordan Zimmermann allowed seven runs and eight hits in 3 1/3 innings, while Berrios gave up six runs and six hits in 3 1/3 innings.
Joe Mauer's three-run double and Eddie Rosario's two-run homer, a 445-foot drive over the out-of-town scoreboard in right-centerfield, tied the score in the third.
Byron Buxton homered leading off the fourth, sprinting around the bases at top speed until third-base coach Gene Glynn informed him the ball was in the seats.
Interleague Blue Jays 7, Pirates 2
TORONTO — Walking off the mound to a standing ovation from a crowd that included his parents and sister, Chris Rowley started to become aware of the magnitude of his achievement.
Rowley became the first West Point graduate to reach the major leagues, pitching one-run ball over 5 1/3 innings to win his debut Saturday and lead the Toronto Blue Jays over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
A 26-year-old right-hander, Rowley is a 2013 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy. Bypassed in the amateur draft, he signed with Toronto and went 4-0 with the Gulf Coast Blue Jays that year. A first lieutenant, Rowley missed the 2014 and 2015 minor league seasons while on active service, which included a stint in Bulgaria.
Following 30 months in the U.S. Army, he received an exception to the remainder of his service in January 2016 but remains on Individual Ready Reserve. He went 10-3 last year at Class A Dunedin, started this season 3-2 with a 1.73 ERA at Double-A New Hampshire, then was promoted to Triple-A Buffalo in mid-June and went 3-4 with a 2.82 ERA in five starts and 12 relief appearances.