MINNEAPOLIS — Lonnie Chisenhall hit two home runs for Cleveland in the second game after Jose Ramirez went deep twice in the opener, helping Cleveland take over first place in the AL Central by sweeping a doubleheader from the Minnesota Twins with 9-3 and 6-2 victories Saturday.
Austin Jackson hit a solo shot in the nightcap against Twins starter Adalberto Mejia (1-3) in the fourth inning, before Chisenhall homered to put Cleveland in front.
Following a 75-minute rain delay, Chisenhall crushed a three-run drive against Tyler Duffey for his 10th home run of the season and a 5-1 lead in the fifth.
Francisco Lindor went deep in the eighth, too, giving the Indians six home runs for the day against a depleted Twins pitching staff that forced rookies into starting roles for the first three games of this pivotal midseason series.
The rain stopped Mike Clevinger’s start in the second game after four innings, so reliever Nick Goody (1-1) was credited instead with the win, the first of his career after 56 appearances.
Zach McAllister (1-0) pitched two hitless innings in the first game for the victory. He worked in relief of starter Ryan Merritt, who made his season debut before being sent back to Triple-A. He had a big lead before he even stepped on the mound.
Astros 7, Red Sox 1: David Paulino produced the best start of his young career and was backed by an aggressive offense in Houston’s victory over Boston.
Paulino (1-0) posted his first career victory by working a career-long six innings, allowing three hits and one run with four strikeouts.
The lone blemish came in the fifth inning when Boston designated hitter and Houston native Chris Young cranked a leadoff home run to left field.
George Springer, Jose Altuve and Carlos Beltran had multi-hit games for the Astros, with Springer and Altuve each finishing 2-for-4.
Altuve scored twice and added two RBIs, and Beltran homered, doubled and had three RBIs.
Pirates 4, Cubs 3: Andrew McCutchen’s 12th home run powered Pittsburgh to victory over Chicago.
McCutchen belted a solo shot to left field that extended his hitting streak to eight games.
Rockies 5, Giants 1: A barrage of singles and some timely hitting helped Colorado to a victory over San Francisco.
Athletics 5, Yankees 2: Ryon Healy recorded his third career multi-homer game — all coming this month — and powered Oakland to victory against New York.
Nationals 7, Mets 4: Trea Turner homered on the second pitch of the game for Washington, which blasted two more round-trippers on its way to a victory over New York.
Padres 7, Brewers 5 (11 innings): Cory Spangenburg and Chase d’Arnaud hit solo home runs in the 11th inning to lead San Diego to a victory over Milwaukee.
Angels 9, Royals 0: Alex Meyer pitched six shutout innings and Cameron Maybin hit a leadoff home run and stole his league-leading 21st base of the season as Los Angeles snapped Kansas City’s six-game winning streak.
Diamondbacks 5, Phillies 1: Arizona scored four times in the seventh inning and received a strong outing from Zack Godley to defeat Philadelphia.
Dodgers 10, Reds 2: Yasiel Puig homered twice, Cody Bellinger hit a two-run blast and Joc Pederson added a solo shot, lifting Los Angeles over Cincinnati.
Orioles 15, Cardinals 7: Jonathan Schoop tied a career high with four hits, including two of Baltimore’s five home runs in its victory over St. Louis.
White Sox 5, Blue Jays 2: Chicago has found a home away from home and it is named the Rogers Centre, where it continued its mastery over Toronto by using solo home runs from Todd Frazier, Matt Davidson and Jose Abreu to support Mike Pelfrey’s six effective innings.
Rays 3, Tigers 2: Mallex Smith and Daniel Robertson grounded two-out RBI singles to right field in the seventh inning to rally Tampa Bay from a one-run deficit to a victory over Detroit that snapped a three-game losing streak.
Rangers 10, Mariners 4: Mike Napoli homered twice and drove in four runs as Texas moved over .500 with a victory over Seattle.
Braves 8, Marlins 7 (10 innings): Atlanta rallied from four down against Miami to force extra innings with a tying run in the ninth, then celebrated its fourth walk-off victory of the season in the 10th inning as Brandon Phillips played hero. — Agencies
