NEW YORK (AP) - Trevor Bauer and Ryan Merritt shut down the Yankees’ offense, leading the Cleveland Indians to a doubleheader sweep that damaged New York’s chances to win the AL East.
Bauer (14-8) won his career-best seventh straight decision, Jose Ramirez tied his big league high with four hits and the Indians took advantage of Gary Sanchez’s passed ball in a two-run first inning that stood up for a 2-1 win in Wednesday’s opener.
Yandy Diaz hit a two-run single in a four-run first inning against rookie Jordan Montgomery (7-7) in the second game, and Edwin Encarnacion, Yan Gomes and Francisco Lindor added home runs in a 9-4 blowout that completed a three-game series sweep and extended the Indians’ winning streak to seven games.
Defending AL champion Cleveland has won 16 of 20, opening a 7 1/2-game lead over second-place Minnesota in the AL Central and moving a season-high 20 games over .500 at 76-56.
Cody Allen struck out three of four batters for his 22nd save in 25 chances.
Jaime Garcia (1-2) gave up two runs, six hits and three walks in five-plus innings.
Merritt (2-0) began 16 of 22 batters with strikes, allowing one run and five hits in 5 1/3 innings.
ANGELS 10, ATHLETICS 8
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Mike Trout went 4 for 4 with a homer and scored four times in his return to the lineup, Albert Pujols connected twice and Cliff Pennington hit a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning to rally Los Angeles past Oakland.
Pujols drove in four runs and scored three. His two homers moved him into a tie with Jim Thome for seventh place on the career list at 612.
Trout had a triple and two singles for the Angels, who erased a five-run deficit and won their third straight. They remained a game behind Minnesota for the second AL wild card.
Trout snapped an 0-for-17 slump that marked the second-longest hitless skid of his career. He missed the previous two games as a precaution with a stiff neck after crashing into the outfield wall Sunday trying to make a catch.
Matt Olson and Bruce Maxwell homered as the Athletics put up a season-high eight runs in the fourth to build an 8-3 lead. But the Angels scored two in the fifth and five in the seventh, capped by Pennington’s first career slam.
Chris Hatcher (0-2) walked Luis Valbuena to load the bases with two outs before Pennington launched his third home run of the season.
Cam Bedrosian (4-3) worked a scoreless inning and Blake Parker got four outs for his fourth save.
DIAMONDBACKS 6, DODGERS 4
PHOENIX (AP) - Paul Goldschmidt homered for the third straight game, Robbie Ray struck out 10 in 6 2/3 innings and Arizona handed Los Angeles its first four-game losing streak of the season.
Adam Rosales and Chris Herrmann also went deep for the Diamondbacks, who have won six straight and eight of nine to pull three games ahead of Colorado for the top NL wild card. They’ll send Zack Greinke to the mound Thursday looking to become the first team to sweep a series from the Dodgers this year.
Ray allowed four hits and walked two. The left-hander topped 10 strikeouts for the seventh time this season. Fernando Rodney pitched a perfect ninth for his second save in two nights and 34th in 39 tries.
Hyun-Jin Ryu (5-7) lasted just four innings, giving up six runs and eight hits in his first loss since June 5. He had gone 2-0 in six starts since returning from the disabled list.
The Dodgers trailed 6-0 but got a solo homer from Curtis Granderson in the seventh and scored three in the eighth, two on Yasiel Puig’s single.
Los Angeles had been the only team not to lose four straight this season. The Dodgers have dropped consecutive series for the first time since April.
ORIOLES 8, MARINERS 7
BALTIMORE (AP) - Welington Castillo went 4 for 4 with a homer and three RBIs, Jonathan Schoop singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and Baltimore beat Seattle for its season-high seventh straight victory.
Schoop, Mancini and Craig Gentry also homered for the Orioles, who completed their first three-game sweep of Seattle since 2012. In this one, Baltimore fell behind 6-2 in the third inning before coming back.
Mitch Haniger homered and hit two doubles for Seattle, which completed an arduous 12-game East Coast trip with five straight defeats. After winning two of three in Tampa Bay and Atlanta, the Mariners went 1-2 at Yankee Stadium and came up empty against the sizzling Orioles.
After Baltimore went up 7-6 in the sixth on a bases loaded sacrifice fly by Manny Machado, Seattle pulled even in the eighth when Haniger connected off Brad Brach (4-4).
In the bottom half, Castillo singled off Christian Bergman (4-5) and went to second base on a sacrifice bunt before being replaced by pinch-runner Caleb Joseph. Tim Beckham then hit a liner to short, and Joseph was called out on a relay to second. But a replay overturned the call, and Schoop followed an intentional walk to Machado with a single to center off Marc Rzepczynski.
Zach Britton pitched the ninth for his 13th save.
RANGERS 8, ASTROS 1
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Andrew Cashner pitched eight strong innings, Mike Napoli hit a three-run homer and Texas beat Houston in a game relocated to Florida because of Hurricane Harvey.
A crowd of 6,123 - up from 3,485 the previous night for the opener of a three-game series at Tropicana Field - watched Cashner (8-9) limit the AL West leaders to three hits, one after the second inning.
Napoli’s homer off Dallas Keuchel (11-3) capped a six-run fourth inning for the Rangers, who’ve won two straight following a three-game skid.
Houston’s third loss in four games was overshadowed by the announcement earlier Wednesday that the Astros will return to home after Thursday’s finale to face the New York Mets this weekend.
After an unscheduled day off, the Astros will play a doubleheader Saturday and afternoon game Sunday against the Mets.
NATIONALS 4, MARLINS 0
WASHINGTON (AP) - Stephen Strasburg tossed a complete game six-hitter and also homered, Wilmer Difo added a home run and Washington beat Miami to complete a three-game sweep.
Washington, which has won four in a row, extended its lead in the NL East to 15 games over the Marlins. Miami, which had won 13 of 16 prior to arriving in Washington, had not dropped three in a row since July 14-16.
The Marlins had no answer for Strasburg (11-4), who struck out eight. Strasburg threw 110 pitches. It was Strasburg’s second complete game in 179 starts and his first since Aug. 11, 2013, against Philadelphia.
Strasburg is 1-1 with a 0.86 ERA in three starts since returning from a disabled list stint for right elbow nerve impingement.
Miami left-hander Adam Conley (6-6) made it through the first four innings unscathed before Strasburg launched the first pitch of the fifth to right-center for his second home run this season and third of his career.
RED SOX 7, BLUE JAYS 1
TORONTO (AP) - Mitch Moreland had a pinch-hit homer and drove in four runs, Hanley Ramirez added a solo shot and Boston beat Toronto to complete a three-game sweep.
Rick Porcello (9-15) allowed one run in 6 2/3 innings as the AL East-leading Red Sox moved 5 1/2 games ahead of the second-place New York Yankees, who were swept in a doubleheader by Cleveland. New York and Boston begin a four-game series at Yankee Stadium on Thursday.
Ramirez connected for the second straight game as the Red Sox improved to 8-1 in Toronto this season. Boston is 10-3 overall against the Blue Jays with six meetings remaining at Fenway Park in September.
Pinch-hitting for Chris Young against right-hander Tom Koehler (1-7), Moreland hit a second deck drive in the seventh, his 18th. It was the third pinch-hit homer of Moreland’s career.
BREWERS 6, CARDINALS 5
MILWAUKEE (AP) - Domingo Santana and Jonathan Villar homered in the sixth inning, and center fielder Keon Broxton made a leaping catch over the wall for the final out.
Corey Knebel pitched the ninth for his 30th save. Chase Anderson (8-3) gave up two hits - both homers - in six innings, three earned runs, struck out six and walked two to improve to 4-0 in nine starts at Miller Park this season.
Santana hit his 22nd homer of the season and Villar’s was his 10th, giving Milwaukee a franchise-record nine players with at least 10 homers in a season.
Carlos Martinez (10-10) allowed 10 hits, six runs - three earned - and struck out seven in 5 2/3 innings.
CUBS 17, PIRATES 3
CHICAGO (AP) - Kyle Schwarber hit two home runs, Ian Happ and Anthony Rizzo also went deep and Chicago pounded Pittsburgh.
Chicago tied a season high for runs set against Philadelphia on Saturday and banged out 20 hits to match its highest total since May 12, 2014, at St. Louis. The Cubs (72-60) outscored the Pirates 27-5 in a three-game sweep and moved 12 games above .500 for the first time this year. They also remained 3 1/2 games ahead of Milwaukee for the NL Central lead.
Javier Baez became the first Cubs player in seven years to steal home.
Jose Quintana (5-3) held Pittsburgh to three runs in six innings. He retired 14 in a row after giving up two runs in the first and also had an RBI single.
Ivan Nova (11-12) lasted just three innings in his shortest outing of the year.
TWINS 11, WHITE SOX 1
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Jose Berrios pitched seven scoreless innings, Brian Dozier had four hits and Eddie Rosario homered twice as Minnesota defeated Chicago.
Berrios (12-6) tied a career high with 11 strikeouts, including seven of the last nine batters he faced. He walked one and gave up just four hits to win his seventh straight start at Target Field.
The Twins, with a slim lead for the second AL wild card, ran their August record to 19-10 - the most wins in the majors this month.
Mitch Garver and Ehire Adrianza each had three hits for the Twins. Adrianza tripled twice and drove in four runs, while Garver scored three runs and was a home run short of the cycle.
Derek Holland (7-14) gave up five runs in five innings. In six career starts at Target Field, he’s 0-5 with a 7.98 ERA.
METS 2, REDS 0
CINCINNATI (AP) - Rafael Montero took a one-hitter into the ninth inning, and New York held on for a victory that extended its dominance over Cincinnati.
Montero (3-9) allowed only Joey Votto’s single through the first eight innings. The Reds loaded the bases with one out in the ninth on two hits and an intentional walk to Votto. A.J. Ramos fanned Adam Duvall and Scooter Gennett for his 26th save in 28 chances.
Jose Reyes, Wilmer Flores and Kevin Plawecki doubled in the first inning for a 2-0 lead against Homer Bailey (4-7), setting up the Mets’ 12th victory in their last 15 games at Great American Ball Park.
The Mets had won 14 straight against the Reds overall since 2014, a streak snapped by Cincinnati’s 14-4 win Tuesday night.
TIGERS 6, ROCKIES 2
DENVER (AP) - Justin Verlander struck out nine over six commanding innings and aided his own cause by driving in his first career run.
Verlander (10-8) allowed one run and three hits. His only mistake was a curveball that Charlie Blackmon hit for a solo homer in the sixth. Verlander ignited the offense with an RBI single in the second.
Nicholas Castellanos added a solo homer and James McCann sealed the game with a three-run shot in the fifth to help Tigers take two of three from Colorado.
The Rockies finished August with a 12-15 record - their first losing month of the season. They saw their lead for the second NL wild card shrink to three games over Milwaukee.
Chad Bettis (0-2) struggled with his control in his fourth start since returning from treatment for testicular cancer. He allowed five runs in five innings.
RAYS 5, ROYALS 3
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Logan Morrison, Steven Souza Jr. and Adeiny Hechavarria homered to help Tampa Bay beat Kansas City for its latest series victory.
The Rays took two of three from the slumping Royals and have won three consecutive series. The Royals lost 18 of 28 games in August, including six of seven to end the month.
Morrison, born in Kansas City, has four homers, eight RBIs and six runs in the first six games of Tampa Bay’s road trip. He hit his 33rd homer in the fifth against Jason Vargas (14-9). Souza hit his 29th earlier in the inning, snapping a 3-all tie.
Vargas, an All-Star this season, is 2-6 with a 7.20 ERA over his past 10 starts.
Jake Odorizzi (7-7) allowed three runs and four hits over five-plus innings. Alex Colome earned his major league-leading 40th save in 45 chances.
Whit Merrifield hit a three-run homer for the Royals.
PADRES 5, GIANTS 0
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Travis Wood homered and pitched into the fifth inning, Jose Pirela also went deep and San Diego blanked San Francisco.
Wood hit a solo shot in the third and Pirela added one of his own in the sixth as the Padres defeated the Giants for the ninth time in 12 games.
After Pirela’s homer, reliever Kyle Crick’s wild pitch scored Wil Myers, putting the Padres up 3-0. Austin Hedges’ RBI single made it 4-0.
Wood’s pitch count reached 97 through 4 1/3 innings and he was pulled. Craig Stammen (2-2), the first of four San Diego relievers, worked 1 2/3 clean innings for the win. Brad Hand got four outs for his 14th save as the bullpen retired 14 of 16 batters.
Giants lefty Ty Blach (8-11) went 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and five hits.
BRAVES 9, PHILLIES 1, First game
BRAVES 5, PHILLIES 2, Second game
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - David Freitas lined a go-ahead RBI double for his first career hit, Ender Inciarte had three hits and Atlanta beat Philadelphia to complete a doubleheader sweep.
Julio Teheran (9-11) allowed one run and five hits, striking out eight in 6 1/3 innings.
Inciarte was 3 for 5 with one RBI after going 5 for 5 with four RBIs to lead the Braves to a 9-1 victory in the opener.
Philadelphia’s Game 2 starter, Mark Leiter Jr. (2-4), allowed three runs and nine hits in 6 2/3 innings.
Braves starter R.A Dickey (9-8) struck out nine over eight innings in Game 1.
Freddie Freeman hit a two-run homer off Jerad Eickhoff (4-8) in the first.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.