Cleveland’s pitchers came within two outs of producing a no-hitter in Houston on Thursday, settling for a 5-1 win against the Astros.
Set up by starter Trevor Bauer, the Indians pitching staff looked like achieving the rare feat until Jed Lowrie hit a home run with one out in the ninth inning.
Elsewhere, Alex Rodriguez hit his first home run since a year-long doping suspension, but it was not enough for the New York Yankees, who were beaten at home by Toronto, while Detroit set a modern American League record for scoreless innings to start a season en route to another comfortable win against Minnesota.
Photo: AFP
Cleveland starter Bauer was replaced after throwing 111 pitches through six innings. He struck out a career-high 11.
Relievers Kyle Crockett and Scott Atchison each pitched a scoreless inning before Nick Hagadone took over. Hagadone struck out the first batter to begin the ninth, but Lowrie then sent a fastball far over the left-centerfield wall for Houston’s only hit.
The Indians have not had a no-hitter since Len Baker threw a perfect game in 1981 against Toronto.
Roberto Perez and Jose Ramirez homered for Cleveland.
In a rainy night in New York, Rodriguez took the headlines, but the Blue Jays took the game, beating the Yankees 6-3.
Rodriguez led off the sixth with a drive into the left-field seats for his 655th career homer and first since 2013. The three-time MVP ranks fifth on the career list.
Toronto’s eccentric rookie pitcher Daniel Norris claimed his first win in the majors, Edwin Encarnacion homered and the Blue Jays got RBI singles from Jose Reyes and Kevin Pillar in a four-run second inning.
Detroit pitchers extended their run of scoreless innings to 24 before letting in a run in the seventh inning as the Tigers beat Minnesota 7-1.
Detroit broke the American League mark of 22 scoreless innings to start a season set by the 1947 Chicago White Sox, STATS said.
The longest such streak in the majors since 1912 is 32 innings by the 1963 St Louis Cardinals.
Tigers’ starter Shane Greene gave up the run that ended the streak, but pitched strong, giving up only one run in eight innings while striking out five.
Minnesota’s 24-inning scoring drought was the franchise’s worst-ever start to a season, outstripping 20 scoreless frames in 1940 when they played as the Washington Senators.
New York Mets pitcher Matt Harvey made a dynamic return from Tommy John elbow surgery, producing nine strikeouts as he steered the visitors to a 6-3 win in Washington.
Harvey pitched six scoreless innings in his first appearance for 20 months and his fastball was working so well that he struck out Bryce Harper three times swinging.
Opposing pitcher Stephen Strasburg allowed six runs in 5-1/3 innings, including four in the third inning when the Mets sent their entire batting order to the plate.
San Francisco’s Justin Maxwell came up with the winning single with two outs in the 12th inning, giving the Giants a 1-0 win and spoiling the home opener for big-spending San Diego.
The lone run was off Nick Vincent (0-1), consisting of an error, an intentional walk and Maxwell’s single.
Brandon Crawford reached first base with one out when backpedaling shortstop Clint Barmes dropped a pop-up. With two outs, Gregor Blanco was intentionally walked before Maxwell singled up the middle off Nick Vincent.
Kansas City’s Edinson Volquez dazzled for eight innings in his Royals debut as the hosts beat the Chicago White Sox 4-1 to complete a season-opening sweep for the reigning American League champions.
Texas’ Choo Shin-soo hit a three-run homer, while Mitch Moreland added a two-run blast as Texas’ dormant bats awoke in a 10-1 win against Oakland.
Cincinnati slugger Joey Votto showed what the team missed during his injury absence late last season as he hit a homer to help the Reds edge Pittsburgh 3-2 and also complete a sweep to open the season.
Boston’s Xander Bogaerts had three hits and three RBIs to lead the Red Sox to a 6-2 win in Philadelphia.
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