Gibson’s gem leads Twins over Tigers
DETROIT – Kyle Gibson threw seven innings and Eduardo Escobar hit a solo homer in the third and drew a bases-loaded walk in the ninth, lifting the Minnesota Twins to a 2-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Friday night.
Detroit left seven on base against Gibson. The right-hander escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fifth inning by getting Miguel Cabrera to ground into a double play.
Gibson (6-5) allowed five hits and two walks while striking out three. He threw seven scoreless innings for a second straight start and held an opponent without a run for the third time in four outings.
Casey Fien pitched a perfect eighth and Glen Perkins gave up one hit in the ninth, closing the game for his 17th save in 19 chances.
Toronto 4, Baltimore 0: Drew Hutchison scattered six hits over seven innings in another sparkling performance on the road, and the Toronto Blue Jays got a two-run homer from Juan Francisco in a 4-0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night.
Hutchison (5-4) outpitched Ubaldo Jimenez (2-8), who allowed two runs and three hits in six innings but fell to 0-6 at home.
The difference was Francisco’s 11th home run, a second-inning drive into the Baltimore bullpen following a walk to Brett Lawrie.
National League
Chicago Cubs 2, Philadelphia 1: Jake Arrieta threw seven impressive innings, Starlin Castro hit a two-run homer and the Chicago Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 Friday night in matchup of last-place teams.
Arrieta (2-1) allowed two hits and no runs, tying a career high with nine strikeouts. He didn’t give up a hit until Domonic Brown sliced a double just inside the left field line with one out in the fifth.
The Phillies were seeking their first four-game winning streak since last June 2-6.
Phillies starter Roberto Hernandez (2-5) was ejected after hitting Castro with a fastball on the left arm in the sixth inning.
Hernandez allowed two runs and three hits in 5 2/3 innings. He walked Anthony Rizzo leading off the fourth. Castro then drove his ninth homer out to left.
St. Louis 1, Washington 0: Lance Lynn threw eight innings of two-hit ball and Matt Adams homered on his first swing since coming off the disabled list, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 1-0 victory over Jordan Zimmermann and the Washington Nationals on Friday night.
Lynn (7-4) struck out eight with no walks against the National League East leaders, who had won 10 of 13. Trevor Rosenthal added three more strikeouts in the ninth, working around rookie second baseman Kolten Wong’s two-out error on Dennard Span’s routine grounder for his 18th save in 21 chances.
Zimmermann (5-3) gave up three hits, two of them by Adams, in eight innings.
Wainright to miss start: Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright said his elbow injury is not serious. He could miss a start to allow the tendinitis to calm down.
“I’m OK, I really am,” Wainwright said Friday. “I know that in this business when the word elbow gets thrown around people think the worst, but in actuality and in all honest to goodness truth, the only reason we did an MRI at all was to see how to treat it better, to see exactly which spot was dinged up.”
General manager John Mozeliak said the team would have a better idea of its next move after Wainwright plays catch on Saturday. The right-hander was a 19-game winner last year and won 20 games in 2010.
“I think the best way to think about this now is it’s a long season and certainly you don’t want to put the season in jeopardy for one start,” Mozeliak said. “I certainly know where we’re leaning, but I’d like to see how he responds tomorrow.”
Wainwright is tied for the National League lead in wins at 9-3 with a 2.15 ERA. He had an injection on Wednesday after an MRI exam pinpointed the trouble area in the back of his elbow.