Major leagues: Carrasco outduels Gausman as Indians edge Orioles
Carlos Carrasco outpitched Kevin Gausman in a tight duel, and a two-run homer by Yonder Alonso carried the Cleveland Indians past the struggling Baltimore Orioles 2-1 Monday night.
Carrasco (4-0) allowed one run and six hits over 7 1/3 innings to win his 10th straight decision since Aug. 27. He struck out seven and walked two.
Andrew Miller got the last two outs in the eighth and Cody Allen struck out the side in the ninth for his fourth save.
National League
Cincinnati 10, Atlanta 4: Jesse Winker’s bases-loaded single provided Cincinnati’s first lead in six games, and the Reds – off to the worst start in their history – rallied for their first victory under interim manager Jim Riggleman on Monday night, 10-4 over the Atlanta Braves.
The Reds are 4-18, the worst start in the majors since Baltimore opened with an identical mark in 2010. They fired manager Bryan Price Thursday and got swept in a three-game series at St. Louis under Riggleman.
Only Red Sox, Nats on pace to pay luxury tax: The Boston Red Sox and Washington Nationals are the only teams on track to pay baseball’s luxury tax this year, according to opening-day payroll totals compiled by Major League Baseball and obtained by the Associated Press.
Boston’s payroll at the start of the season for purposes of the tax was $233.9 million, which would cause the Red Sox to pay a $9.4 million tax. Washington’s payroll was $201 million, which would result in a tax of $1.2 million.
San Francisco was just below the $197 million tax threshold at $196.66 million. The Giants were followed by the Chicago Cubs at $183.9 million, Houston at $182.4 million, the Los Angeles Dodgers at $181.99 million and the New York Yankees at $178.8 million.