Tyler Glasnow struck out 10 over five innings to help the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays beat Alex Cobb and the Orioles, 2-1, Friday night in Baltimore.
Glasnow (4-1) allowed one run, four hits, and a pair of walks. The righthander has won four straight decisions, a streak that began with a 13-strikeout performance against the Orioles on Aug. 25.
“We want to win the East, and to do that we’re going to have to play really well,” manager Kevin Cash said before the game. “You do that and you’ve got momentum going into the postseason.”
Tampa Bay’s win came hours after placing outfielder Austin Meadows on the 10-day injured list with an oblique strain that will keep him sidelined into the postseason.
The injury occurred while Meadows took a swing in the opener of Thursday’s doubleheader against at Baltimore. The Rays will need a deep playoff run to get Meadows back in the lineup.
Meadows is batting .205 with four homers and 13 RBIs. Last year he hit .291 with 33 home runs and 89 RBIs, so his bat is always welcome in the Tampa Bay lineup.
Reds continue hot streak
Jesse Winker hit a three-run homer — one of four off White Sox starter Jonathan Stiever — and Cincinnati extended its surge into playoff contention with a 7-1 win at home for its season-high sixth victory in a row.
The Reds moved to .500 (26-26) for the first time since Aug. 3. They’ve had a winning record only once, after their season-opening victory over the Tigers. Their winning streak has them in playoff position, in second place in the NL Central behind the Cubs.
Tyler Mahle (2-2) got his first win since Aug. 28, allowing four hits and fanning eight in 5 2/3 innings. Chicago managed only one run out of a bases-loaded, none-out opportunity in the sixth.
Dodgers erupt against Rockies
Cody Bellinger, Mookie Betts, and Gavin Lux homered and the Los Angeles Dodgers set a season high for runs, romping past the Colorado Rockies, 15-6, in Denver to move closer to clinching their eighth straight NL West title.
The Dodgers' magic number for wrapping up the division dropped to four. They were already the first team to secure a playoff spot this season.
Bellinger had three of LA’s season-high 17 hits, including his first homer since Aug. 30 and a double. He also added an RBI single as part of a five-run fifth inning that broke open the game.
Betts delivered a solo homer in the sixth to increase the Dodgers' major league-leading total to 98, and added a two-run triple in the seventh.
Braves blow past Mets
Freddie Freeman added three more hits to his burgeoning MVP campaign, Ozzie Albies hit two of Atlanta’s six homers, and the visiting Braves battered New York Mets pitching in a 15-2 blowout that thrust them closer to a third consecutive NL East title.
Max Fried (7-0) returned from a brief stay on the injured list due to a back spasm and breezed through five innings that only help his credentials for the NL Cy Young Award. The lefthander hasn’t allowed a home run since Sept. 10 last year.
Freeman laced a two-run double and Marcell Ozuna followed with a long two-run homer in the second off Steven Matz (0-5).
Atlanta pounded out 17 hits and opened a 3 1/2-game lead over second-place Miami, which split a doubleheader with Washington. The Braves have nine games remaining, the Marlins 10.
Hendricks, Cubs edge out Twins
Kyle Hendricks tossed eight innings of three-hit, shutout ball to outduel Rich Hill, and the host Chicago Cubs edged the Minnesota Twins, 1-0, for their fifth straight win.
Hendricks stuck out 10 and walked one before Jeremy Jeffress worked around two walks in the ninth for his eighth save.
Willson Contreras' sharp RBI single in the first accounted for the only run off the 40-year-old Hill (2-2), who walked the first two Cubs batters and then settled in, allowing one run and three hits while walking two and striking out five in seven innings.
The first-place Cubs' lead in the NL Central is five games over St. Louis, which swept a doubleheader from Pittsburgh.
The Twins remained three games behind the first-place White Sox in the AL Central.
Murphy back with Brewers
Milwaukee Brewers bench coach Pat Murphy rejoined the team just over six weeks after having a heart attack at Miller Park on Aug. 1.
Murphy said he was feeling “pretty good” while talking to reporters before the Brewers' game against with the Kansas City Royals.
Brewers manager Craig Counsell said Murphy wouldn’t be on the bench Friday but would be before the end of the season. Murphy will remain with the Brewers for their seven-game road trip that starts Monday and concludes their regular season.