The Boston Red Sox defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 2-0 to win their seventh game in a row, led by an excellent performance from starter Chris Sale.
The left-hander, who improved to 14-4 worked eight innings and struck out 13 batters, managing to strike every opposing batter at least once. Closer Craig Kimbrel, struck out the side to earn the save, including pinch hitter Lucas Duda.
The Rays had no answer for Sale and Kimbrel, managing just two hits in the game, which came from outfielder Peter Bourjos and the Venezuelan catcher Wilson Ramos.
For the A.L East leading Red Sox, second baseman Eduardo Nuñez had two doubles and shortstop Xander Bogaerts had three hits and a stolen base.
The New York Yankees, second behind the Red Sox in the division, lost 2-4 to the Toronto Blue Jays, who had an outstanding batting performance from Josh Donaldson. The third baseman blasted a pair of home runs and was responsible for all of his team’s RBIs.
C.C Sabathia took the loss and fell to 9-5, while Toronto’s J.A Happ earned the win as he struck five batters in 5.2 innings pitched. Roberto Osuna earned his 29th save of the season.
In Cincinnati, the San Diego Padres defeated the Reds 7-3 with pitcher Luis Perdomo improving to 6-6 after striking out seven and earning just two runs in six innings of work. For the locals Sal Romano took the loss and fell to 2-4.
The Cleveland Indians earned a 4-1 victory against the Colorado Rockies as they scored all runs in the bottom of the ninth. The score was 1-1 when Brazilian Yan Gomes stepped up to the plated and hit a homer with two men on base off Rockies pitcher Greg Holland.
In Washington, the Nationals lost 7-3 at home against the Miami Marlins, while in the “Battle of Missouri” the visiting St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Kansas City Royals 10-3.
In other games, the Arizona diamondbacks defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-3 to snap their four-game winning streak, the New York Mets defeated the Texas Rangers 5-4 and the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Detroit Tigers 6-3.
