Comeback Kid: Brantley drives in 3; Indians beat Astros 7-6
CLEVELAND (AP) _ Michael Brantley, continuing his comeback from shoulder problems that forced him to miss most of last season, drove in three runs and the Cleveland Indians defeated the Houston Astros 7-6 on Wednesday night.
Brantley, who played in only 11 games last season after having two operations on his left shoulder, had an RBI double in Cleveland’s three-run first inning and added a two-run single in the fifth.
Carlos Santana had a two-run double in the sixth for the Indians, who have won six of eight.
Trevor Bauer (2-2) allowed four runs in six innings and won his second straight start despite giving up two-run homers to Evan Gattis and Brian McCann.
Cleveland’s Andrew Miller worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh by striking out Carlos Correa and McCann.
Houston scored two in the eighth off Bryan Shaw, but Cody Allen recorded the final four outs for his fourth save.
Lance McCullers (2-1) gave up five runs in five innings.
Rangers avoid another series sweep with 14-3 win over Twins
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) _ Joey Gallo took a couple of hits to score the tiebreaking run, Ryan Rua connected for a grand slam and the Texas Rangers avoided another series sweep with a 14-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night.
Rua’s first career slam came in the eighth and Shin-Soo Choo, who had already tripled in the inning, added a three-run homer to cap the late eight-run outburst.
Gallo was hit by a pitch leading off the sixth against Taylor Rogers (1-1). The young Texas slugger scored on a wild pitch by another reliever to make it 3-2, and was struck on the back of the right shoulder by catcher Chris Gimenez’s throw after the ball ricocheted hard off the brick backstop.