Detroit Tigers right-hander Jack Flaherty tied an American League record with seven straight strikeouts to open a game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday and finished with a career-high 14 over 6 2/3 innings in a 2-1 defeat. Flaherty matched the record shared by Joe Cowley of the 1986 Chicago White Sox, Carlos Rodón of the 2016 White Sox, Tampa Bay’s Blake Snell in 2018 and Seattle’s Luis Castillo two years ago.
Josh Naylor delivered a clutch, three-run double in the seventh inning as the Guardians continued their best start in 25 years with a 6-2 win over the Oakland Athletics on Sunday to complete a three-game sweep. With the Guardians up 3-2, Naylor, who celebrated a two-run homer on Saturday by bashing the top of his helmet with his bat before rounding the bases, doubled with the bases loaded off T.J. McFarland. Naylor is batting .406 (13 of 32) with 14 RBIs in nine home games.
Luis Gil struck out a career-high nine over 5 2/3 innings for his first major league win in three years, and the New York Yankees took advantage of Adam Civale’s control problems in a four-run fifth to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 on Sunday. Civale walked three straight batters with two outs in the fifth, then gave up Alex Verdugo’s two-run single and RBI singles by Jose Trevino and Oswaldo Cabrera — all in a three-pitch span — as New York spurted ahead 5-1.
Juan Soto and Anthony Volpe each hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning off Jesús Luzardo, and the New York Yankees romped over the Miami Marlins 7-0 on Monday night. New York improved to 9-2 and matched the best 11-game start in team history.