Encarnacion, Kluber lead Indians past Rangers 12-4
By STEVE HERRICK
CLEVELAND (AP) _ Edwin Encarnacion homered three times and drove in six runs,helping Corey Kluber and the Cleveland Indians beat the Texas Rangers 12-4 onWednesday.
Encarnacion hit a three-homer in the first, a two-run shot in the second and asolo drive in the eighth. The designated hitter leads the team with nine homersdespite a .191 batting average.
Jason Kipnis and Francisco Lindor also connected in Cleveland’s highest scoringgame of the season. Kipnis’ three-run shot in the second was his first of theseason.
Kluber (5-1) allowed three solo homers in seven innings in his fifth straightwin. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner struck out six and walked none.
Severino hurls shutout, Stanton powers Yanks past Astros 4-0
HOUSTON (AP) _ Luis Severino pitched a five-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts for his first career complete game, Giancarlo Stanton homered twice and drove in four runs, and the New York Yankees beat the World Series champion Houston Astros 4-0 for the second consecutive night Wednesday.
Stanton hit a two-run homer to right field that just made it over the wall in the first inning. He added a solo homer to left off Yankees nemesis Dallas Keuchel (1-5) in the fourth and tacked on an RBI double in the eighth.
Severino (5-1) walked one and threw 110 pitches in his 60th major league start, earning his third straight win. He was still throwing 99 mph in the ninth inning as he polished off New York’s third complete game over the last three seasons.
The 24-year-old righty became the youngest Yankees pitcher to toss a shutout since Sterling Hitchcock, who was also 24, in 1995.
New York has taken two of three in a four-game series, the first matchup between the teams since Houston won Game 7 of last year’s AL Championship Series. The Yankees have thrown consecutive shutouts for the first time since May 2014 against the New York Mets.
The last time Houston got blanked two games in a row was early July 2013, by Tampa Bay.
Severino retired 14 of his first 15 batters, with the lone hit being Alex Bregman’s single through the right side in the second.
Keuchel (1-5) allowed three runs and six hits with five strikeouts in seven innings. The left-hander pitched better after giving up six runs over seven innings in his last outing, but home runs continue to hurt him. He’s served up eight in seven starts this year and at least one in each of his last four outings.