MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL LAST NIGHT…
Cleveland 8, Tigers 6
Cleveland rookie outfielder Oscar Mercado hit his second home run of the game, a leadoff blast in the seventh inning, and the Indians continued to dominate Detroit with an 8-6 win over the Tigers.
The Indians have won nine of 10 against the Tigers this season, including eight in a row.
Jordy Mercer homered twice for Detroit, including a leadoff shot in the ninth off Brad Hand. Victor Reyes singled, but Hand retired the next three hitters, including Miguel Cabrera and Nicholas Castellanos on strikeouts, for his 25th save in 26 chances.
Mercer, Jeimer Candelario and Christin Stewart homered off Cleveland starter Adam Plutko.
Daniel Norris left in the sixth with a 5-3 lead. Tyler Naquin’s two-run double off Daniel Stumpf tied the game and ended Norris’ bid for his first win since May 12.
Cincinnati 6, Cubs 3
The last-place Cincinnati Reds keep finding ways to beat the top team in their division.
Eugenio Suarez and Yasiel Puig each hit his 22nd home run of the season, and Cincinnati rallied past the Cubs 6-3.
Jesse Winker raced home with an unearned run to cap a two-run seventh inning that made a winner of All-Star starter Luis Castillo. And although the NL Central standings are tight, the Reds improved to a surprising 7-3 against the first-place Cubs this season.
Curt Casali sent the first pitch from reliever Steve Cishek (2-5) in the seventh into the left field bleachers to tie it at 3. Winker pinch-hit for Castillo and singled, then the Reds jumped on errors by the Cubs infield to take the lead.
Pinch-hitter Kyle Farmer and reliever Michael Lorenzen singled home insurance runs in the eighth.
Castillo (9-3) allowed three runs on seven hits and struck out 10 through six innings. After throwing 105 pitches, the right-hander left trailing 3-2 before his teammates rallied to get him a win.
Kyle Schwarber hit his 20th home run and doubled. Jason Heyward came through with two more singles and an RBI, but the Cubs fell flat after a three-game sweep of Pittsburgh.
Kyle Hendricks was sharp through six innings in his third start following a 17-day stint on the injured list with shoulder inflammation. The right-hander allowed two runs and four hits.
Kansas City 5, White Sox 2
Jakob Junis struck out a career-high 10 and Nicky Lopez drove in a pair of runs and scored twice as the Kansas City Royals beat the White Sox 5-2.
The Royals beat Lucas Giolito for the first time and thwarted his bid for a 12th victory. The right-hander entered the game 6-0 with a 2.13 ERA in 10 previous career starts against Kansas City. After an eight-game winning streak, Giolito is 1-3 with a 6.48 ERA in his last five starts.
Junis (5-8) worked seven innings and gave up one run, James McCann’s 10th homer of the season.
Whit Merrifield extended his hitting streak to 13 games (.358, 19 for 53) with a bunt single in the seventh. He leads the majors with 122 hits.
Giolito (11-4) was hit on his glove hand by a wicked line drive off the bat of Lopez. The ball ricocheted into right field and Lopez got a double.
The Royals got to Giolito in the fourth inning. Alex Gordon and Hunter Dozier had back-to-back doubles for the Royals’ first run. Dozier advanced on a wild pitch and scored on single by Cheslor Cuthbert, making the score 2-0.
Giolito was removed after the six innings and 94 pitches.
Royals closer Ian Kennedy worked a scoreless ninth for his 14th save in 17 chances.
ELSEWHERE IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL…
Tampa Bay 5, N-Y Yankees 4
Boston 10, Toronto 8
L-A Angels 9, Houston 6
San Francisco 19, Colorado 2
L-A Dodgers 16, Philadelphia 2
Atlanta 4, Milwaukee 2
St. Louis 7, Pittsburgh 0
San Francisco 2, Colorado 1
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TONIGHT…
Tigers at Cleveland, 7:10 (live on 106.1 & 1400 WSJM Sports beginning at 6:45)
Cincinnati at Cubs, 8:05
White Sox at Kansas City, 8:15
MIDWEST LEAGUE YESTERDAY…
Quad Cities 4, South Bend 3
Kane County 9, West Michigan 1
Cedar Rapids 14, Lansing 7
Great Lakes 3, Peoria 1
MIDWEST LEAGUE TONIGHT…
No games scheduled
CUBS/ROYALS TRADE…
The Cubs have acquired catcher Martin Maldonado in a trade with Kansas City that sent left-hander Mike Montgomery to the Royals.
Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein announced the deal Monday night following Chicago’s 6-3 loss to Cincinnati _ adding that All-Star catcher Willson Contreras was going on the 10-day injured list with a strain to the arch area of his right foot.
The 32-year-old Maldonado, a Gold Glove winner in 2017 with the Angels, was batting .227 with six homers and 17 RBIs in 74 games for the struggling Royals this season. The Cubs will be the fifth major league team for the nine-year veteran, and Epstein expects him to provide a strong defensive presence behind the plate.
Montgomery, 30, is 1-2 with a 5.67 ERA in 20 relief appearances for the Cubs this year, and was 14-17 with three saves in 119 games for Chicago over four seasons. He is expected to get a chance to start with the Royals, who drafted him in 2008.
TIGERS NEWS…
The Tigers have bought the contract of pitcher Trevor Rosenthal from Triple-A Toledo. Rosenthal was released by the Washington Nationals last month after going 0-1 with a 22.74 ERA in 12 appearances. The right-hander allowed 16 earned runs and eight hits with 15 walks in 6 1/3 innings. Rosenthal missed all of last season because of elbow surgery and signed with Washington in November.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL…
Michigan has hired Jay Smith to be on Juwan Howard’s basketball staff as director of player personnel and development. Howard says he is retaining director of basketball operations Chris Hunter and hiring video analyst David Metzendorf. Smith was an assistant for the Wolverines from 1989 to 1996, including the Fab Five era that included Howard’s career. He went on lead Grand Valley State, Central Michigan and Kalamazoo. Howard previously hired former Saint Joseph’s coach Phil Martelli.
NFL NEWS…
The San Francisco 49ers have signed kicker Robbie Gould to a four-year contract. The Niners had placed the franchise tag on Gould in February for a price tag of about $5 million before signing him to a long-term deal.
The New York Giants suspended safety Kam Moore on Monday amid charges he punched a woman, stepped on her neck and rendered her unconscious last Thursday.
Moore appeared in Union County Superior Court on Monday to face charges of third-degree aggravated assault.
The 22-year-old Moore played in two games as a rookie last year for New York after being cut by the Saints.
Under the NFL’s personal conduct policy, Moore could be subject to a six-game suspension for a first-time offense.
