Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Triston McKenzie throws during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
DETROIT (AP) — Indians starter Triston McKenzie retired the first 23 Detroit batters in order before Harold Castro lined a single to right with two out in the eighth inning and Cleveland beat the Tigers 11-0 Sunday.
“It was a pretty good fastball, but I didn’t get it past him,” McKenize said. “So it wasn’t good enough.”
The 24-year-old stunned the Comerica Park crowd of 25,684 hoping to see Miguel Cabrera’s 500th homer. Instead, they gave McKenzie a standing ovation after Castro’s hit and another after he finished the inning with his 11th strikeout.
“I started thinking about it in the third inning, I knew I was perfect through the first time through the order, but I didn’t change my routine,” he said. “If I had to sum today up in one word, it would be ‘comfortable.’ I got into my groove right away and just kept going.”
McKenzie (2-5) came within four outs of breaking baseball’s longest no-hit drought. Cleveland hasn’t had one since Len Barker’s perfect game on May 15, 1981, against the Toronto Blue Jays.
“We knew in the first inning that he was really on his game,” Detroit’s Jonathan Schoop said. “By the fourth or fifth inning, we were hoping someone was going to get a hit, and Harold saved us with a big swing.”
McKenzie, who has bounced between the Indians and Triple-A this season, pitched eight innings for the first time in his major league career.
“I was keeping an eye on him, but he was cruising,” Indians interim manager DeMarlo Hale said. “You don’t get a chance to throw one of those very often.”
Drew Hutchison (0-1) allowed six runs while only getting five outs in his first major league game since a five-game stretch in the Texas Rangers rotation in Aug. 2018.
Hutchison went 1-1 with an 8.86 ERA, and had pitched for four Triple-A teams and another in the American Association before getting the call from Detroit.
“I was excited to be back in the majors, but nothing that affected my performance,” he said. “All I can do is wipe this out of my memory and move forward.”
Cleveland took control of the game with a six-run second inning.
With runners on first and third and no outs, Owen Miller hit a grounder to second baseman Schoop. Instead of going for a double play, Schoop threw home to get Bradley Zimmer, but catcher Grayson Greiner dropped the throw, allowing the run to score.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said he would have rather seen Schoop take the double play, but the second baseman went with his instincts.
“I’m an aggressive player and I saw I had a chance to get the guy at the plate,” he said. “It was a good throw, but I might have rushed it a little. That’s just something that happens in baseball.”
Andres Gimenez walked to load the bases and Austin Hedges made it 3-0 with a double to right. Hutchison walked Myles Straw to re-load the bases, but Amed Rosario hit into a run-scoring double play. Jose Ramirez homered to right, giving the Indians a 6-0 lead.
A walk to Franmil Reyes ended Hutchison’s return to the majors, and the Indians scored five more in the third, highlighted by Rosario’s bases-loaded triple and an RBI double by Ramirez.
“I was really happy with how we put together those two innings,” Hale said. “Jose did hit the homer, but the other nine runs all came on balls that stayed in the park. We recognized we had a chance to keep the innings going and we took it.”
After that, the game belonged to McKenzie, who struck out the top of the Tigers order in the seventh, including Cabrera to end the inning.
Hale said he was impressed by McKenzie’s relaxed behavior during the game, and the youngster was enjoying the music before going after Jacob Robson, Schoop and Cabrera in the seventh.
“I was really impressed by the ‘God Bless America’ singer, that got me locked in, and then I was just grooving to the music,” he said. “Before the series, we agreed as a pitching staff that we weren’t going to let Miggy get it against us. He’s an incredible hitter, but we didn’t want to go down in history.”
Cabrera struck out twice and hit a shallow flyball in his other at-bat.
NOT THE FIRST TIME
McKenzie’s bid for perfection wasn’t the first involving Detroit and Cleveland at Comerica Park. On June 2, 2010, Armando Galarraga threw the infamous “28-out perfect game” against the Indians when umpire Jim Joyce wrongly called Jason Donald safe at first with two out in the ninth.
RUNNING IT BACK
Hinch said that, despite Hutchison’s struggles, he will remain in the rotation and is scheduled to face the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday.
“He gave up a bloop single to start the game, then got the next three guys,” Hinch said. “The second was a mess, but we didn’t really give him much help. He’s here to start games.”
PADRES 8, DIAMONDBACKS 2
PHOENIX (AP) — Fernando Tatis Jr. homered twice and drove in four runs in his return from the injured list, and the San Diego Padres beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-2 on Sunday.
The 22-year-old Tatis had four hits, helping the Padres snap a four-game losing streak. Playing right field for the first time in his professional career and batting leadoff, Tatis posted his fifth multihomer game this season and No. 8 for his career.
Jake Cronenworth’s two-run homer in the fifth lifted San Diego to a 4-1 lead. Reiss Knehr (1-0) got the win.
Zac Gallen (1-7) started for the Diamondbacks and surrendered four runs over five innings.
Arizona’s Josh Rojas hit a solo homer in the fifth. It was his 11th of the season.
YANKEES 5, WHITE SOX 3
CHICAGO (AP) — Rougned Odor hit a two-run homer and Nestor Cortes pitched six solid innings, leading the Yankees to the victory.
Luke Voit also hit a two-run homer in the ninth for New York, which went 5-1 in the season series against Chicago.
Cortes (1-1) allowed one run and seven hits in his first win since Aug. 6, 2019, versus Baltimore. Wandy Peralta got two outs for his fourth save.
Andrew Vaughn hit his 14th homer for the AL Central-leading White Sox, who have dropped four of five. Lucas Giolito (9-9) lasted just four innings.
RED SOX 6, ORIOLES 2
BOSTON (AP) — Eduardo Rodriguez pitched six effective innings, J.D. Martinez hit a three-run homer and the Red Sox sent the Orioles to their 11th straight loss.
Boston has won four of five games after losing 10 of 12 and falling out of first place in the AL East.
The Orioles have been outscored 104-34 during their second-longest skid this season. They had a 14-game losing streak in May.
Baltimore’s Cedric Mullins went 0 for 5, halting his 20-game hitting streak.
Rodriguez (9-6) allowed an unearned run and three singles. In his last 12 appearances against Baltimore, he is 9-0 with a 1.81 ERA.
Baltimore’s Keegan Akin (0-7) allowed three runs in four innings.
CARDINALS 7, ROYALS 2
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Nolan Arenado homered for the third straight game, and St. Louis completed an in-state sweep of Kansas City.
In the second inning, Arenado and Tyler O’Neill hit back-to-back homers for the second time in three games. The two-run shot for Arenado was No. 25 on the year, and O’Neill’s shot was his 20th.
J.A. Happ (7-6) tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings for St. Louis. He allowed five hits, struck out two and walked two.
Salvador Perez hit his 30th homer for Kansas City. Kris Bubic (3-6) was tagged for seven runs in 1 1/3 innings.
BRAVES 6, NATIONALS 5
WASHINGTON (AP) — Dansby Swanson homered for the third straight game, and the Braves beat the Nationals to sweep the series.
Swanson hit a two-run drive to center to increase the Braves’ lead to 3-0 in the third. It was his 24th of the season, a total that includes two from Saturday and another Friday for four of Atlanta’s 11 homers in the three-game set.
The Braves have won a franchise-best eight straight games in Washington and 10 of 12 overall. They pulled a game ahead of Philadelphia for the NL East lead.
Jesse Chavez (3-2) got the win, and Will Smith worked a scoreless ninth to earn his 25th save.
The Nationals have lost a season-high seven straight. Paolo Espino (3-4) allowed five runs in four innings.
REDS 7, PHILLIES 4
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jonathan India homered and scored three times, leading Cincinnati to the victory.
India drove Aaron Nola’s third pitch deep to left-center for his 15th homer. The rookie also singled and scored on Shogo Akiyama’s two-run double in the third and singled and scored again on Tyler Naquin’s bases-loaded walk in the fifth.
Tyler Stephenson added a two-run homer for Cincinnati, which took two of three in the weekend series. Lucas Sims (5-2) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win, and Mychal Givens got four outs for his third save.
Bryce Harper drove in two runs and walked three times for Philadelphia, which lost for the fourth time in six games. Nola (7-7) was charged with four runs and six hits in 4 1/3 innings.
MARLINS 4, CUBS 1
MIAMI (AP) — Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Jesus Aguilar homered, and the Marlins handed the Cubs their 11th straight loss.
The game was tied at 1 before Chisholm connected against Alec Mills (5-5) in the sixth inning. Chisholm also singled and scored on Aguilar’s 22nd homer in the seventh.
Miami right-hander Elieser Hernandez permitted one run and four hits in 5 1/3 innings. Paul Campbell (1-2) got two outs for the win, and Dylan Floro worked the ninth for his fifth save.
Chicago matched its longest slide of the season. It also dropped 11 straight from June 25 to July 6.
Frank Schwindel homered for the Cubs, and Mills pitched 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball.
GIANTS 5, ROCKIES 2
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Tommy La Stella had three hits and two RBIs for San Francisco, and Alex Wood pitched into the seventh inning to win his fifth straight decision.
The Giants (76-42) took three of four from their division rivals heading into a three-game series against the New York Mets.
Wood (10-3) allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings. Jake McGee pitched the ninth for his 25th save.
Connor Joe singled twice for the Rockies. Jon Gray (7-9) yielded three runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.
BLUE JAYS 8, MARINERS 3
SEATTLE (AP) — Teoscar Hernandez, Randal Grichuk, Corey Dickerson and Marcus Semien homered, powering Toronto to the win.
Hernandez and Grichuk each hit their 20th homer as part of Toronto’s three-run second inning against rookie Logan Gilbert (5-4), and the Blue Jays escaped Seattle without losing more ground in the American League wild-card race.
Steven Matz (10-7) pitched five innings of one-run ball, helping the Blue Jays stop a three-game slide.
Kyle Seager hit his 26th homer for Seattle.
ANGELS 3, ASTROS 1
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Reid Detmers pitched six innings of three-hit ball to earn his first major league victory, and the Angels avoided a three-game sweep.
David Fletcher and Jo Adell drove in runs with grounders to back Detmers (1-2), who struck out six and gave up one run while outdueling Lance McCullers Jr. Phil Gosselin homered in the eighth and scored two runs for Los Angeles.
Michael Brantley homered and McCullers (9-4) yielded two runs while pitching into the sixth inning, but the AL West-leading Astros’ four-game winning streak ended.
Raisel Iglesias escaped a jam in the eighth and then struck out Jose Altuve with two Astros in scoring position in the ninth for his 26th save.
TWINS 5, RAYS 4
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jorge Polanco hit a game-ending sacrifice fly in the ninth inning to lift Minnesota to the win.
Max Kepler led off the ninth with a line drive against Matt Wisler (3-5) that sliced away from left fielder Austin Meadows toward the foul line. Kepler reached second, and when the ball skipped under Meadows’ glove for an error, he took an extra base. Two pitches later, Polanco hit a drive that was caught on the right-field warning track, scoring Kepler without a throw.
Mike Zunino and Wander Franco homered for the Rays.
Alex Colome (3-4) pitched a scoreless ninth for the win.
RANGERS 7, ATHLETICS 4
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Rookie DJ Peters connected on a pair of two-run homers for Texas, and Kolby Allard was solid in his first win in two months.
Major league rookie home run leader Adolis Garcia hit his 26th for the last-place Rangers, who took the deciding game of the series against the A’s, who dropped into a tie for the AL wild card lead with Boston.
Allard (3-10) allowed Matt Chapman’s third homer in two games among seven hits in 6 1/3 innings, winning for the first time since throwing five scoreless innings at the Dodgers on June 12.
Rookie Joe Barlow pitched a scoreless ninth for his second career save, finishing both of Texas’ wins in this series.
Oakland’s Sean Manaea (8-8) allowed seven runs in five innings.
