AMERICAN LEAGUE

Baseball Ex-Hog Keuchel wins again as Astros beat Indians

CLEVELAND — Former Arkansas Razorback Dallas Keuchel pitched another masterpiece and the Houston Astros endured a frightening collision in a 4-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night.

Keuchel pitched a complete game to extend his promising start to the season, even as Jose Altuve and Teoscar Hernandez left after colliding in the eighth inning.

The pair appeared to avoid serious injury and was in Houston’s clubhouse following the game.

“Nasty collision, both guys going 100 percent after the ball,” Manager A.J. Hinch said. “That’s a scary scene. It was an all-around good game, except for the collision.”

Altuve and Hernandez crashed into each other chasing a popup in right field and stayed down for a while. Altuve appeared to get hit near his chin by Hernandez’s arm, but he walked off the field under his own power. Hernandez, called up from the minors before the game, was carted off the field with a left leg contusion.

Hinch said Altuve’s left shoulder got banged up and a decision will be made Wednesday whether he’ll play in the second game of the series.

“He’s gotten checked out by the doctors, he didn’t have a concussion, he was never out,” Hinch said. “We’ll see how he wakes up tomorrow. He’ll probably feel like he was in a car wreck of some sort.”

Hernandez could miss some time, and his injury is another setback for Houston’s outfield. George Springer (strained left hamstring) didn’t start for the second consecutive game but came in after the collision, and Jake Marisnick (concussion) is out.

Keuchel (4-0) gave up home runs to Austin Jackson in the third and Michael Brantley in the ninth. The left-hander, who won the AL Cy Young Award in 2015, held Cleveland to six hits and has a 1.22 ERA.

“Honestly I felt like I was getting behind a lot of guys and that it was a recipe for disaster, especially with that lineup over there,” Keuchel said.

RAYS 2, ORIOLES 0 Substitute starter Austin Pruitt combined with four other Tampa Bay relievers on a two-hitter, and they capitalized on Wade Miley’s wildness in a victory over host Baltimore.

TIGERS 19, MARINERS 9 James McCann (Arkansas Razorbacks), Justin Upton and Alex Avila homered for Detroit — and that was before the host Tigers added nine runs in the fifth inning en route to a rout of Seattle.

TWINS 8, RANGERS 1 Ervin Santana delivered his fourth consecutive outstanding start, Miguel Sano sparked a seven-run fifth inning with a leadoff home run and Minnesota pounded host Texas.

WHITE SOX 10, ROYALS 5 Todd Frazier drove in three runs, Leury Garcia had three hits and host Chicago beat Kansas City in its second consecutive one-sided victory over the Royals.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

CUBS 1, PIRATES 0 Kyle Hendricks rediscovered his 2016 form, limiting host Pittsburgh to four hits over six innings to outduel Gerrit Cole and lead Chicago to a victory.

BREWERS 9, REDS 1 Eric Thames hit his major league-leading 11th home run — his sixth against Cincinnati this season — and host Milwaukee cruised to a victory over the Reds.

DIAMONDBACKS 9, PADRES 3 Paul Goldschmidt drove in three runs to match a team record with his fourth consecutive multi-RBI game, Patrick Corbin struck out nine in seven innings and host Arizona rolled over San Diego.

INTERLEAGUE

BLUE JAYS 6, CARDINALS 5 (11) Chris Coghlan made an acrobatic, run-scoring leap over St. Louis All-Star catcher Yadier Molina, and Marcus Stroman came across with the go-ahead run after pinch hitting in the 11th inning and doubling for his first major league hit in Toronto’s victory over the host Cardinals.

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