Apr 29, 2018 7 min read

Astros manager A.J. Hinch couldn’t find just one word to describe the month that Gerrit Cole just put together.

Cole worked into the seventh inning and struck out 12, George Springer and Jose Altuve each drove in two runs and the Houston Astros beat the Oakland Athletics 8-4 Sunday.

With his performance Cole submitted a record-setting April, breaking Mike Scott’s 31-year-old franchise mark for strikeouts in the month. Cole struck out 61 batters.

“Whatever word you want to say probably fits,” Hinch said. “Whether it’s elite or dominant or exceptional or spectacular. It sounds historic with the strikeouts he had in our uniform.”

After Cole allowed the tying run on his 99th and final pitch, the Astros took advantage of two errors in the bottom of the seventh – among Oakland’s four on the afternoon – to pull away.

“Defensively, we gave it up,” Oakland’s Jonathan Lucroy said. “We gave them too many bases, too many free bags. You give guys free bags whether from an error or walking people or something like that, you’re going to get hurt, especially against a team like that.”

Cole gave up three runs on six hits and walked none in 62/3 innings. The right-hander’s dozen strikeouts were his second-most this season, and he has struck out 10 or more batters in four of his six starts. He had six double-digit strikeout performances in his five previous seasons, all with Pittsburgh. Cole broke Scott’s mark of 49 set in 1987.

“I made a few subtle tweaks coming over here, it’s playing out,” Cole said about his start in Houston. “I think the catchers and the analytics guys deserve a lot of credit for the scouting reports and the preparation. I just try to go out and execute the gameplan.”

Will Harris (1-1) recorded the final out in the seventh.

Baltimore 5, Detroit 3: Substitute starter Pedro Alvarez hit two home runs, Trey Mancini had a solo shot and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers 5-3 for their first home series win of the season.

Kevin Gausman (2-2) allowed one run and five hits over 5 2/3 innings for the Orioles, who took two of three from Detroit following a five-game skid.

Mancini hit his first career leadoff homer on the third pitch from Daniel Norris (0-2) and Alvarez connected with a man on in the second inning for a 3-0 lead.

After the Tigers closed to 4-3, Alvarez hit a pitch from Joe Jimenez over the right-field scoreboard in the eighth.

Alvarez was inserted into the lineup at third base just before game time after Danny Valencia was scratched. He also went deep twice against Detroit Friday night and has 15 multihomer games in his career.

Seattle 10, Cleveland 4: Ryon Healy hit two home runs and had four RBIs, Robinson Cano and Mitch Haniger also homered, and the Seattle Mariners defeated the Cleveland Indians 10-4.

Healy had an RBI double in the second inning, hit a solo homer in the sixth and added a two-run shot in the eighth. Cano hit a two-run homer during Seattle’s five-run second.

Boston 4, Tampa Bay 3: Sandy Leon hit an opposite-field, go-ahead RBI single inside the third-base bag with two outs in the eighth inning against Tampa Bay closer Alex Colome, lifting the Boston Red Sox to a 4-3 victory that snapped the Rays’ eight-game winning streak.

J.D. Martinez had four singles and drove in two runs for the Red Sox, but misplayed a fly ball into a double that put runners on second and third in the eighth before Craig Kimbrel struck out Brad Miller to end the inning.

Denard Span hit a two-run homer and made a leaping catch in front of the Green Monster for the Rays, who had their third-longest winning streak in team history halted. Tampa Bay won nine straight in 2014 and 12 in ’04.

Kansas City 5, Chicago White Sox 4: Cheslor Cuthbert homered twice and drove in four runs as the Kansas City Royals won consecutive games for the first time this season, defeating the Chicago White Sox 5-4.

Toronto 7, Texas 2: Kevin Pillar homered for the third time in two games, J.A. Happ pitched seven innings to win his fourth straight decision and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Texas Rangers 7-2 to avoid a three-game sweep.

National League

Chicago Cubs 2, Milwaukee 0: Tyler Chatwood pitched seven sparkling innings and helped himself with an RBI single, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 2-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers and a sweep of the four-game series between NL Central rivals.

Chatwood (2-3) allowed two hits, struck out four and walked three in his second straight win. Carl Edwards Jr. worked the eighth and Brandon Morrow got three outs for his seventh save in seven chances, finishing Chicago’s second straight shutout and its fifth just this month against Milwaukee.

Atlanta 10, Philadelphia 1: Ronald Acuna Jr. doubled twice and reached base four times to cap a successful first week in the majors, and the Atlanta Braves cruised with a new lineup to a 10-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Acuna, at 20 the youngest player in the big leagues, hit second behind 21-year-old Ozzie Albies, the second-youngest major leaguer. Albies drilled the game’s first pitch for a home run, added a two-run double and scored three runs.

Washington 3, Arizona 1: Gio Gonzalez struck out eight over seven strong innings, Matt Wieters and Michael A. Taylor homered and the Washington Nationals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-1.

The Diamondbacks lost starter Robbie Ray to a strained oblique muscle in the second inning. He waved to the dugout after throwing a ball to Wieters with one out. Arizona manager Torey Lovullo and an athletic trainer came to the mound, and Ray soon departed. He was replaced by T.J. McFarland, who surrendered a home run to Wieters to give the Nationals a 1-0 lead.

Miami 3, Colorado 0: Left-hander Caleb Smith allowed two hits in seven innings for his first career victory, and the Miami Marlins took the rubber game of their low-scoring series against Colorado, winning 3-0.

N.Y. Mets 14, San Diego 2: Adrian Gonzalez homered, doubled and drove in five runs against his former team, and Zack Wheeler struck out nine in five innings for the New York Mets, who overwhelmed the San Diego Padres 14-2.

San Francisco 4, L.A. Dodgers 2: Evan Longoria hit a three-run homer in the first inning and Ty Blach made the early lead stand up, pitching the San Francisco Giants past the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2.

Interleague

Cincinnati 8, Minnesota 2: Tyler Mahle pitched into the seventh inning in another impressive start, Jose Peraza had three hits and Adam Duvall homered, leading the Cincinnati Reds past the Minnesota Twins 8-2.

Mahle (2-3) cruised through the Twins’ lineup in his second straight solid outing. After striking out 11 against Atlanta in his most recent start, Mahle gave up one run in 6 1/3 innings, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out seven.