A look at what’s happening all around the majors today:
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CLOSER AND CLOSER
The Cleveland Indians try for their 17th straight win when Josh Tomlin starts at home against Baltimore. The longest winning streak in major league history is 21 games by the 1935 Chicago Cubs. The defending AL champion Indians have trailed only twice during their string and have outscored opponents 114-28. Gabriel Ynoa, recently recalled from Triple-A, makes his first start this season for the Orioles.
GOOD SEATS AVAILABLE
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. at www.Mets.com/Irma and the Citi Field box office for next week’s Yankees-Rays series, moved from St. Petersburg, Florida, to the Mets’ home ballpark in New York due to Hurricane Irma. Field Level reserved seating will be $25, with no purchase fees. Major League Baseball considered other neutral sites, like Baltimore and Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, but hotel availability was limited in both cities, and in New York only the Rays need lodging. It was the Rays who opened their stadium to Houston and Texas after Hurricane Harvey. Now, they’ll be guests of the Mets as the home team in the series. That means the Yankees – who are 2-0 at Citi Field this year, part of their four-game season sweep of the Mets – will again be the visiting team in their own city. Meanwhile, the Mets will be in Chicago to play the Cubs.
GOOD AS GOLD
Diamondbacks star Paul Goldschmidt was held out of the starting lineup Friday for the fifth straight game because of stiffness in his right elbow. The first baseman says he thinks he could play – he was hitting .314 with 33 home runs and 109 RBIs. Arizona is in firm control of the top NL wild-card spot and had won 13 in a row going into the start of a weekend series vs. the visiting Padres.
SALE’S PITCH
AL Cy Young Award candidate Chris Sale (15-7, 2.85 ERA) can polish his resume when Boston hosts Tampa Bay. The lanky lefty is a favorite to win his first prize as the AL’s best pitcher, but he has struggled recently, going 1-3 with a 5.48 ERA over his past four starts, including a pair of losses to the rival Yankees. He’s still piling up the strikeouts, though, and is four shy of matching his career best of 274.
PAIR OF 10s
Luis Severino and Andrew Cashner go head-to-head in a 12:05 p.m. local start at Texas following a night game in the series opener between the Yankees and Rangers. Severino (12-6) has allowed no more than one earned run in eight of his last 10 starts, going 7-2 with a 2.15 ERA during that span for New York. Cashner (9-9) is 6-2 with a 2.62 ERA in his past 10 starts for Texas.
JJ IS OK
Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy is off the disabled list after missing nearly three months because of a broken right wrist. He was activated from the 60-day disabled list Friday but didn’t start at Cleveland. Hardy is batting .211 with three home runs and 21 RBIs in 64 games this season. Tim Beckham, acquired from Tampa Bay at the July 31 trade deadline, has taken over at shortstop and went into the weekend hitting .359 with seven homers and 20 RBIs since the deal.
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