Jun 21, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (49) pitches during the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Photo Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
BOSTON — Chris Sale mowed down baseball’s most lethal lineup and in return became the majors’ first 12-game winner as the Chicago White Sox quieted the Boston Red Sox 3-1 on Tuesday night at Fenway Park.
Sale (12-2) struck out nine, tying a season high, and allowed one run on four hits and a walk over seven innings as Chicago (35-36) won its fifth game in six tries in Boston.
Todd Frazier hit his 20th home run of the season, Tim Anderson slugged his first career homer and Melky Cabrera drove in a run for the White Sox.
Mookie Betts drove in the lone run for Boston (39-31), which has dropped six of nine.
Clay Buchholz’s return to the Red Sox’s rotation was listless as he served up a pair of homers and gave up three runs total on four hits and a walk with five strikeouts in five innings. Buchholz (3-7) lost his starting job May 26 after giving up six runs in an 8-2 loss against Colorado and had made five relief appearances since.
Indians 6, Rays 0
CLEVELAND — Corey Kluber pitched a three-hit, complete-game shutout and Jose Ramirez and Juan Uribe homered to lead streaking Cleveland.
Kluber (7-7) struck out nine and walked two in pitching his third career shutout. The only hits allowed by Kluber were singles, by Corey Dickerson in the second inning and by Brad Miller and Evan Longoria in the ninth.
The victory extends the AL Central-leading Indians’ winning streak to five in a row. They have also won 10 straight home games. Tampa Bay, last in the AL East, has lost six in a row.
Mets 2, Royals 1
NEW YORK — Five New York pitchers combined for 8 2/3 innings of one-run relief after right-hander Bartolo Colon departed with a thumb injury, and Asdrubal Cabrera and Yoenis Cespedes each hit solo homers as the Mets edged Kansas City in a rematch of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field.
The piecemeal win stopped a three-game losing streak for New York (37-32). The Royals (38-32) had a three-game winning streak snapped.
Hansel Robles, who entered after Colon was hit on the right thumb by a line drive off the bat of Kansas City leadoff batter Whit Merrifield, earned the win after allowing one run on five hits and one walk while striking out six over a career-high 3 2/3 innings.
X-rays on Colon’s thumb were negative. The 43-year-old, who had never recorded fewer than two outs in his first 481 big league starts dating back to 1997, is day-to-day.
Tigers 4, Mariners 2
DETROIT — Mike Aviles’ nubbed single 40 feet down the first base line with one out and the bases loaded in the eighth inning scored pinch-runner Andrew Romine with the tie-breaking run to lead Detroit over Seattle.
Bruce Rondon (1-0) pitched a scoreless eighth to earn the win in his second appearance since being recalled from the minors. Francisco Rodriguez gave up a pair of two-out singles before finishing his 20th save of the season.
Justin Verlander went the first seven innings for the Tigers, striking out five and allowing six hits. Verlander stranded a Mariners runner at third with one out in the third, getting two straight strikeouts after a double plus a sacrifice. He also got three outs in a row following Cano’s leadoff double in the fourth.
Diamondbacks 4, Blue Jays 2
TORONTO — Yasmany Tomas and Peter O’Brien hit home runs, Patrick Corbin pitched into the seventh inning and Arizona defeated Toronto.
Corbin (4-6) allowed eight hits, three walks and two runs in 6 1/3 innings. The left-hander struck out three as the Diamondbacks (34-39) extended their winning streak to five games as the Blue Jays (39-34) lost their third in a row.
Blue Jays starter Marco Estrada (5-3) allowed two hits, including a home run, three walks and three runs while striking out eight in six innings before Jesse Chavez replaced him. It was the 11th straight start in which Estrada had allowed five or fewer hits while going six or more innings.
