Indians fight off Royals, winning streak up to 22 games
The Indians extended their winning streak to 22 games on Thursday, defeating the Royals in thrilling fashion. They tied the game in the bottom of the ninth inning on a Francisco Lindor RBI double and won it in walkoff fashion in the 10th as Jose Ramirez came around to score on a Jay Bruce double. Cleveland sits in sole possession of the second-longest winning streak in major-league history, moving within four games of tying the MLB record of 26 games by the 1916 Giants. Entering Thursday’s game, the Indians were 2-56 in games in which they trailed in the ninth inning or later this season.
The Royals took an early 1-0 lead on Thursday, with Eric Hosmer coming around to score in the second inning. That marked the third time during the Indians’ 22-game winning streak that their opponent scored first (September 9 vs. Baltimore and September 13 vs. Detroit).
Francisco Lindor’s ninth-inning double extended his streak of games with an extra-base hit to eight, the longest current streak in the majors and the longest for an Indians player since Casey Blake had an eight-game streak in May 2007.
Jose Ramirez’s double to lead off the bottom of the 10th inning was his 50th double of the season. Only two other Indians players over the last 80 years have had 50 doubles in a season: Albert Belle in 1995 (52 doubles) and Grady Sizemore in 2006 (53). Ramirez’s double in the 10th was also his 50th consecutive plate appearance without striking out, the longest active streak in the majors.
Judge throws the book at Orioles, Yankees’ offense dominates once again
Aaron Judge hit a pair of three-run home runs in the Yankees’ 13-5 rout of the Orioles on Thursday night. Judge has hit 11 homers against the Orioles this season, tying an all-time single-season record for home runs by a rookie against one team. In 1934, Hal Trosky of the Indians hit 11 against the White Sox.
Judge has scored 27 runs against the Orioles in the 2017 campaign, the most for a rookie versus a particular team in a season since 1939, when Ted Williams scored 28 runs against Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics.
The Yankees have scored at least 12 runs against the Orioles five times this season, with all of those games taking place in the Bronx. The last time a team scored at least 12 runs in five-or-more games against a particular opponent at one venue was in 1958, when the Giants did so in five games at the L.A. Coliseum versus the Dodgers (That was the first season in which these teams played in California). Before 1958, the last time was in 1936, when the Indians had five such games against the Browns (current-day Orioles) at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.
Martinez is finishing the season strong
J.D. Martinez went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and two runs scored in the Diamondbacks’ 7-0 shutout of the Rockies. Martinez has at least one RBI in each of his last seven games, the longest active streak in the majors and tied for the third-longest streak in Diamondbacks history. The only Diamondbacks players with longer streaks were Luis Gonzalez (eight-game streak in June 2002) and Paul Goldschmidt (eight-game streak in June 2013).
Since September 1, Martinez is 23-for-51 (.451) with 10 home runs, 20 RBIs, and 18 runs scored in 12 games. Only four other players had a .450 batting average with that many home runs, RBIs, and runs scored over a 12-game span: Hank Greenberg in September 1940 (.455, 10 HR’s, 27 RBIs, 23 runs), Willie Mays in May 1958 (.500, 11/22/18), Frank Robinson in August 1962 (.452, 11/23/22), and Bryce Harper in May 2015 (.535, 10/23/19).
Cubs crush Mets
Jason Heyward had four RBIs as the Cubs handily defeated the Mets, 14-6, on Thursday night. That was the second straight game in which Chicago scored at least 14 runs, defeating the Mets by a 17-5 score on Wednesday. The only other team to score 14-or-more runs in back-to-back games this season was the Yankees, on June 10 and 11 (16-3 and 14-3 wins over the Orioles). Over the last 70 years, the only other time the Cubs accomplished this feat was in July 2003 (16-2 win over the Marlins and 15-6 victory over the Braves).
White Sox tame the Tigers
The White Sox’s offense was on full display on Thursday, scoring 17 runs on 25 hits in a win over the Tigers. Since the start of the 2014 season, only three other teams had at least 25 hits in a game; the Red Sox and Orioles (each with 26 hits) both did so in August 2015 and the Twins did this earlier this season on June 13 against the Mariners (28 hits). The only other game over the last 60 years in which the White Sox had at least 25 hits was on April 23, 1981 against the Orioles at Comiskey Park (21 singles, two doubles, two triples, one home run).
Of the White Sox’s 25 hits, 21 were singles, including four each from Jose Abreu and Avisail Garcia. Over the last seven seasons (since 2011), only one other team had 21 singles in a game; that was the Twins in their 28-hit game on June 13, 2017.
Avisail Garcia went 5-for-5 with a home run and seven RBIs in the White Sox’s win. Garcia is the third player to go 5-for-5 (or better) with at least seven RBIs in a game this season, joining Anthony Rendon on April 30 versus the Mets (6-for-6, 10 RBIs) and Scooter Gennett on June 6 against the Cardinals (5-for-5 with four homers, 10 RBIs). Since 1920, when RBIs were first tracked officially, this is the first season in which as many as three players had games of this type.
White Sox end long road losing streak when giving up at least five runs
Prior to the White Sox’s 17-7 win over the Tigers in Detroit on Thursday, Chicago had lost each of its last 43 road games in which the team allowed at least five runs, dating back to September 18, 2016. Over the last 25 years, the only other team with such a streak of this length was the Orioles, with a 45-game run from August 2010 to September 2011.
Dream Weaver
Cardinals rookie Luke Weaver allowed one unearned run, struck out six, and did not walk a batter over six innings to earn the win over the Reds on Thursday afternoon. Over his last five starts, Weaver is 5-0 with a 1.15 ERA, 42 strikeouts, and four walks. The last pitcher to go 5-0 with at least 40 strikeouts, four-or-fewer walks, and an ERA that low over a five-start span was Clayton Kershaw in May 2016 (0.64 ERA, 55 strikeouts, two walks). Since earned runs were first tracked officially (since 1912 in NL and 1913 in AL), only one other rookie had such a five-start span: Roy Oswalt in August/September 2001 (0.66 ERA, 48 strikeouts, two walks).
Seager joins Griffey and Martinez on exclusive list
Kyle Seager’s two-run home run in the second inning put the Mariners up for good in their win over the Rangers on Thursday. That was Seager’s 25th home run in 2017, marking the fourth straight season in which he hit at least 25 homers. Only two other players hit 25-or-more homers in four straight seasons with the Mariners: Edgar Martinez (four straight, 1995 to 1998) and Ken Griffey Jr. (four straight, 1996 to 1999).
Hoskins adds two more RBIs
The Phillies scored early and often in their 10-0 victory over the Marlins, and to no one’s surprise, that included a two-run home run from rookie sensation Rhys Hoskins. Hoskins made his major-league debut last month on August 10 and drove in just one run over his first four games in the majors. Since then, he has racked up the RBIs, with 38 in 30 games, including the two he added in Thursday’s win. Only two other players have had that many RBIs over a 30-game span this season: Nolan Arenado (40 RBIs) and Giancarlo Stanton (40 RBIs). The last rookie to do so was the Blue Jays’ Josh Phelps late in the 2002 season (40).
Another day, another walkoff homer
Byron Buxton hit a walkoff home run to beat the Blue Jays on Thursday, one night after Eddie Rosario won a game for the Twins with a walkoff homer. That is the first time since 1970 that the Twins won two consecutive games on walkoff homers. George Mitterwald and Jim Holt turned the trick on August 6 and 7 that season.
Robles makes an impact
Nationals rookie Victor Robles, making his second start in the majors, went 2-for-4 with an RBI triple and two runs scored in his team’s 5-2 win over the Braves. Robles, at 20 years and 118 days old, became the youngest player to hit a triple this season and the youngest Nationals player to do so since Bryce Harper at 19 years old in 2012; Harper hit nine triples before turning 20 years old.
Climbing back up to .500
Drew Pomeranz allowed one run over six innings and earned his 16th win of the season in a 6-2 Red Sox triumph over the Athletics. With the win, Pomeranz improved to a 41-41 won-loss record in seven major-league seasons. That marked the first time that his record stood at .500 or better since April 2012, when he was 2-2 after five starts in the majors. Pomeranz’s record fell to as low as 12 games under .500, most recently in September 2016, when he was 24-36.
Watson’s TD run is longest by a QB making first start
Deshaun Watson’s 49-yard touchdown run late in the first half of the Texans’ 13-9 win over the Bengals was the longest rush for a score in NFL history by a quarterback in his first career start. The previous long was a 40-yard jaunt to the end zone by Tim Tebow for the Broncos at Oakland in December 2010.
Bengals: 0–2 with no TDs
The Bengals were shut out at Paul Brown Stadium by the Ravens on Sunday and they managed only three field goals in Thursday night’s 13–9 loss to the Texans in Cincinnati. They are the first team since the 1939 Eagles to begin a season with two straight home games and not score a touchdown in either game.