Bieber strikes out 15 in Indians’ win
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Shane Bieber was determined to finish what he started, even if it meant playing hide-and-seek with his pitching coach.
Bieber struck out a career-high 15 in his first major league complete game and the Cleveland Indians routed the Baltimore Orioles 10-0.
“It was one of those days where everything was working,” he said. “Fortunately I was able to take advantage of it because they don’t come too often. A lot of guys will tell you that, just be able to take advantage of it.”
The 23-year-old Bieber gave up five hits, didn’t walk anyone and threw 107 pitches. He bounced back from allowing four home runs against the Chicago White Sox in his last start.
Bieber received a loud ovation from the crowd of 21,377 when he took the mound for the ninth inning. He struck out Dwight Smith Jr., retired Joey Rickard on a groundout and whiffed Chris Davis to end the game.
The right-hander admitted he tried to stay away from pitching coach Carl Willis in the late innings, concerned he might not be given the chance to finish.
“I avoided Carl once and he found me again,” Bieber said. “He said, ‘How much does it mean to you?’ I said ‘a lot.’ I was eyeing it the whole time.”
Davis and Smith each struck out in all four at-bats. Steve Wilkerson and Hanser Alberto were the only starters who didn’t strike out.
“That guy really threw the ball well,” Davis said. “I mean, he was pretty dominant the whole game.”
A day after being held to one hit, the Orioles were overmatched against Bieber (3-2).
Oakland-Detroit, susp: The Oakland Athletics led the Detroit Tigers 5-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning when the game was suspended because of rain. The game will resume Sept. 6 in Oakland before a scheduled series between the teams.
Toronto 5, Chicago White Sox 2: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit another home run, Danny Jansen and Billy McKinney also connected and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Chicago White Sox 5-2. Guerrero has hit all four of his homers in the past six games.
Boston 4, Houston 3: Michael Chavis homered, Xander Bogaerts hit a tiebreaking double in the seventh inning and the Boston Red Sox averted a sweep against Houston with a 4-3 victory that snapped the Astros’ 10-game winning streak. Mookie Betts scored three runs for Boston.
N.Y. Yankees 13, Tampa Bay 5: Brett Gardner homered early, then got two hits during a seven-run burst in the sixth inning fueled by five walks that sent the New York Yankees past the Tampa Bay Rays 13-5. The Yankees took their second straight weekend series with Tampa Bay and moved a half-game in front atop the AL East.
Philadelphia 7, Atlanta 5: Bryce Harper homered for the second straight day and pinch-hitter J.T. Realmuto also went deep to help the Philadelphia Phillies complete a three-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies with a 7-5 victory.
L.A. Dodgers 8, Cincinnati 3: Hyun-Jin Ryu threw seven shutout innings to extend his major league-leading streak to 31, Cody Bellinger hit his 17th homer and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat Cincinnati Reds 8-3.
Milwaukee 3, Atlanta 2, 10 inn: Ben Gamel led off the 10th inning with a home run against Wes Parsons, lifting the Milwaukee Brewers over the Atlanta Braves 3-2.