AMERICAN LEAGUE
INDIANS 13, TIGERS 4
DETROIT -- Needing a home run for the cycle, Jake Bauers had a conversation with teammate Shane Bieber before heading to the plate in the eighth inning.
"I told him, 'I don't know, man. I think I'm just going to try and stay left-center, hit a base hit where the shortstop should be,' " Bauers said. "He's like, 'Dude, you've got to try and hit a homer.' "
Bauers connected for a two-run shot that easily cleared the wall in right field, becoming the first Cleveland player to hit for the cycle since 2016, as the Indians, who scored eight runs in the fourth inning, routed the Detroit Tigers 13-4 on Friday night.
Bauers hit an infield single and a triple in the fourth inning. He also hit a double in the second. His cycle came one night after Shohei Ohtani accomplished the same feat for the Los Angeles Angels.
The last Cleveland player to hit for the cycle was Rajai Davis, at Toronto on July 2, 2016.
Leonys Martin's three-run home run highlighted Cleveland's eight-run fourth. The Indians sent 13 men to the plate the inning, turning a 3-2 deficit into a 10-3 advantage. The first six batters of the inning reached base.
Adam Plutko (3-1) allowed 2 earned runs and 5 hits in 6 innings for Cleveland, walking 1 and striking out 6.
Ryan Carpenter (1-4) threw 92 pitches but only lasted three-plus innings. He allowed 6 earned runs, 8 hits and 4 walks.
Bauers, 23, came into the game hitting just .209, and he had a chat with Manager Terry Francona before the game.
"I have a responsibility to try to help, but he's responsible for what happened, and I'm proud of him," Francona said. "We talked for a long time, but he's the one that did it."
Bauers opened the scoring with an RBI double in the second. The Indians led 2-0 before Miguel Cabrera and Brandon Dixon answered with back-to-back solo shots for the Tigers.
RAYS 9, ANGELS 4 Tommy Pham hit two RBI singles as host Tampa Bay suddenly broke loose, overcoming a subpar start by Blake Snell and rallying past Los Angeles. Held to one hit through five innings and trailing 4-0, the Rays scored five times in sixth and added four more runs in seventh. Pham singled home runs in both bursts. Snell, who is 4-5 this season, lasted just 3 1/3 innings, giving up 4 runs, 5 hits and 4 walks during a 79-pitch outing. The Rays are 7-7 in games started by the AL Cy Young Award winner.
RED SOX 13, ORIOLES 2 J.D. Martinez hit two of Boston's season-high six home runs, and the visiting Red Sox staged another impressive power display at the expense of Baltimore's beleaguered pitching staff in a rout.
TWINS 2, ROYALS 0 Mitch Garver's two-run home run in the eighth inning snapped a scoreless tie, and Kyle Gibson gave up two hits in eight innings in host Minnesota's victory over Kansas City.
WHITE SOX 10, YANKEES 2 Lucas Giolito pitched into the seventh for his ninth consecutive victory, Eloy Jimenez hit two three-run home runs and host Chicago defeated New York.
ASTROS 15, BLUE JAYS 2 Robinson Chirinos hit his first grand slam and finished with a career-high six RBI, Gerrit Cole struck out 10 and host Houston routed Toronto.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
CARDINALS 5-9, METS 4-5 Dexter Fowler hit a go-ahead, three-run home run moments after Paul DeJong's tying shot in the eighth inning, and visiting St. Louis beat the New York to sweep an odd double feature Friday night. Hours earlier, DeJong helped the Cardinals complete a rally that started the previous night, grounding an RBI single against Edwin Diaz in the 10th inning. The series opener Thursday was suspended following 8 1/2 innings, right after Harrison Bader drove in the tying run with a two-out double off Diaz in the rain. It took St. Louis 18 minutes to complete the victory.
NATIONALS 7, DIAMONDBACKS 2 Max Scherzer struck out 10 in 7 innings, Anthony Rendon and Howie Kendrick homered and host Washington defeated Arizona.
PIRATES 11, MARLINS 0 Steven Brault scattered eight hits over six innings, and visiting Pittsburgh stopped a seven-game slide by routing Miami.
BRAVES 9, PHILLIES 8 Brian McCann capped host Atlanta's three-run ninth inning with a two-run single off Hector Neris, and the Braves beat visiting Philadelphia for their eighth consecutive victory. Atlanta improved to 23-9 since May 10 and opened a 2 1/2-game lead over Philadelphia in the National League East. It was the first game between the division rivals since the Phillies swept three games from the Braves in late March.
INTERLEAGUE
RANGERS 7, REDS 1 Roughned Odor hit his fourth career grand slam, Delino DeShields singled and drove in a run and visiting Texas went with its bullpen from start to finish -- even got an interleague hit from a pitcher, too -- while beating the Cincinnati. The Rangers went with a bullpen day, using reliever Jesse Chavez as a starter for the fourth time this season.
Sports on 06/15/2019