MLB roundup: Indians' Kluber strikes out 18 in win
CLEVELAND -- Corey Kluber struck out 18 batters in eight innings, tying the Indians' record for a nine-inning game, as Cleveland beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-0 on Wednesday night at Progressive Field.
Kluber had a no-hitter until Jhonny Peralta singled with two outs in the seventh. It was the only hit off the Cleveland right-hander.
Kluber, who did not walk a batter, was bidding to become the first Indians pitcher to pitch a no-hitter since Lenny Barker's perfect game on May 15, 1981. Kluber's 18 strikeouts tied the Indians' record for a nine-inning game set by Bob Feller on Oct. 2, 1938, against the Detroit Tigers. With Kluber's pitch count at 113, Cody Allen entered and pitched a perfect ninth for his fifth save. Kluber and Allen combined to strike out 19.
The Indians took a 2-0 lead in the first inning after John Lackey walked the first two batters he faced -- Jason Kipnis and Carlos Santana. Kipnis later scored on a single by Brandon Moss, and David Murphy singled to score Santana.
Reds 5, Braves 1
CINCINNATI -- Raisel Iglesias took a no-hitter into the sixth inning en route to his first major league victory and Marlon Byrd and Todd Frazier homered for Cincinnati.
Iglesias didn't allow a hit until Eric Young Jr.'s bloop single leading off the sixth. The 25-year-old Cuban gave up one run and two hits with three walks and five strikeouts in eight innings in his second career start.
Joey Votto singled to drive home Zack Cozart in the first inning and Byrd hit his seventh home run of the season. Frazier's 12th home run sailed 432 feet and gave the Reds a 4-0 lead.
Red Sox 2, A's 0
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Wade Miley threw 6 2/3 shutout innings and Boston handed Oakland's Sonny Gray his first loss of the season.
Miley allowed five hits but walked four and repeatedly pitched out of jams as he snapped a three-game losing streak. Gray gave up one run and three hits, struck out nine and didn't walk a batter in seven innings.
Daniel Nava went 2-for-3 with an RBI and scored a run for the Red Sox. Hanley Ramirez had two hits in four at-bats and scored a run.
Nationals 9, Diamondbacks 6
PHOENIX -- Michael Taylor hit a grand slam with one out in the ninth inning and Washington won its fifth straight series.
Jayson Werth hit a three-run homer and Tyler Moore also homered for the Nationals, who have won six of seven and 12 of 15.
Arizona's Yasmany Tomas broke a tie at 5 with a single in the eighth. Paul Goldschmidt had three hits and finished a home run short of the 14th "natural cycle" in major league history -- the hits in order from single to homer.
Phillies 3, Pirates 2
PHILADELPHIA -- Cole Hamels pitched seven strong innings and Jeff Francoeur threw out the potential tying run at the plate to end the game as Philadelphia ended a four-game losing streak.
Hamels allowed two runs and five hits while striking out nine. Ken Giles worked a scoreless eighth for the Phillies and Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth for his seventh save this season and his 113th for Philadelphia.
Andrew McCutchen drove in both runs for the Pirates with a fifth-inning single, but Pittsburgh saw a four-game winning streak end.
Rays 3, Yankees 2
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- For the second night in a row, Tampa Bay beat first-place New York, getting clutch outs to strand 10 Yankees on base.
The game shifted on two plays at the plate -- Asdrubal Cabrera made a smart read on a bloop single to score the winning run from second base in the second inning, and Mark Teixeira was thrown out by Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier for the final out the fifth.
Orioles 6, Blue Jays 1
BALTIMORE -- Caleb Joseph sparked a five-run second inning with a two-run double and Baltimore's Miguel Gonzalez shut down Toronto for 7 2/3 innings.
Joseph's double down the left field line off Toronto starter Aaron Sanchez gave the Orioles a 2-0 lead and that proved more than enough for Gonzalez. The right-hander gave up one unearned run and three hits.
In the five-run second, the Orioles also got RBI doubles from Manny Machado and Alejandro de Aza, plus a run-scoring infield single from Jimmy Paredes. Rookie Rey Navarro hit his first major league home run in the eighth.
Rangers 5, Royals 2
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Shin-Soo Choo and Prince Fielder each had a home run and two RBIs to lift Texas over Kansas City.
Choo was 2-for-4 with a home run to lead off the game and Fielder's two-run homer in the second inning provided a cushion for Yovani Gallardo, who snapped his four-game losing streak. Gallardo (3-5) gave up two runs, six hits and a walk and struck out two in seven innings.
Twins 6, Tigers 2
DETROIT -- Joe Mauer tripled with the bases loaded to highlight a five-run third inning that carried Minnesota to its 10th win in 13 games.
The Twins, who scored just one unearned run in its first three games of the season in Comerica Park, could tie the Tigers for second place in the American League Central with a victory in Thursday's series finale.
Cubs 2, Mets 1
CHICAGO -- Jeurys Familia walked in pinch-runner Matt Szczur in the ninth inning and Chicago rallied past New York.
Entering in a tie game with the bases loaded and none out in the bottom of the ninth, Familia struck out Jorge Soler but then walked Chris Coghlan on five pitches to force in the winning run.
The victory was the Cubs third straight in a four-game series that ends Thursday. The National League-East leading Mets have dropped three in a row.
Marlins 5, Dodgers 4
LOS ANGELES -- Giancarlo Stanton drove in three runs, including two with a seventh-inning single, to lead a three-run Miami rally.
Dee Gordon went 4-for-5, hit two doubles and scored two runs as he raised his average to .426, the best in the major leagues.
White Sox 4, Brewers 2
MILWAUKEE -- First-inning home runs from Avisail Garcia and Adam LaRoche gave Jose Quintana all the run support he'd need and Chicago won its first road series of the season.
Quintana came in with a 2.37 ERA in his last three starts but hadn't won since April 14 thanks to an offense that produced just 1.42 runs per game. He struck out a season-high 10 and giving up four hits and a walk in seven innings.
Astros 4, Giants 3
HOUSTON -- George Springer, back in the lineup for the first time in a week, bashed a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to complete Houston's rally.
Activated earlier from the seven-day concussion disabled list, Springer drilled a 3-2 fastball from Jeremy Affeldt out to left-center field for his fifth homer of the year and the Astros' third of the game. Luis Valbuena hit his eighth home run leading off the sixth, mimicking the leadoff homer that Jason Castro smacked in the fifth.
Angels 2, Rockies 1 (11 innings)
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Albert Pujols' sacrifice fly to left field scored Taylor Featherston with the winning run in the 11th inning, lifting Los Angeles past Colorado.
Mike Trout was walked intentionally with runners at first and third to load the bases for Pujols with no outs.
Trout finished 0-for-4, but he saved two runs in extra innings on defense. In the 10th, he leaped at the wall and robbed Troy Tulowitzki of a home run. In the 11th, he made a running catch of a blooper and threw out a runner trying to tag up and score. The runner was first called safe, but the ruling was reversed after a replay challenge.
Padres 4, Mariners 2
SEATTLE -- James Shields bounced back from two rough outings to lead San Diego past Seattle.
Shields (5-0) struck out nine batters while allowing just one earned run over six innings, ending the Mariners' five-game winning streak. It was his best performance this month, despite the six hits and three walks he allowed.
Closer Craig Kimbrel came on in the ninth to earn his 10th save of the season. Will Middlebrooks homered for San Diego, which got two hits from both Will Venable and Cory Spangenberg.
