Kevin Cash was ejected in the eighth for arguing

[officialsbaseball]

The St. Louis Cardinals have lost consecutive games to the rebuilding Detroit Tigers in walk-off fashion.The Cardinals Wilmer Flores Jersey , who sit second in the National League wild-card standings, will attempt to salvage the series finale Sunday afternoon at Comerica Park. Right-hander John Gant will start for them against Michael Fulmer.Gant has battled control problems in recent starts. He has issued 13 walks in his last three outings, including five in 4 1/3 innings at Washington on Tuesday. He gave up three runs that night, though none were earned.Article continues below ...“Felt good with the heater,” Gant told the St. Louis Post Dispatch. “My secondary stuff was iffy.”Gant (6-5, 3.19 ERA) has allowed two or fewer earned runs in his last six outings. He made one relief appearance against Detroit during his rookie season with Atlanta in 2016 and tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.Fulmer will make his fourth start since returning from an oblique strain. He gave up one hit, a leadoff homer, in his last outing against the Chicago White Sox on Monday. Fulmer threw 96 pitches in that 5 2/3-inning stint.“All the mechanical adjustments we’ve made over the past couple of weeks, I didn’t trust them at first http://www.metsfanproshop.com/authentic-neil-walker-jersey , and I was still flying open (with his front shoulder in his delivery),” Fulmer told the Detroit News. “I came back inside and looked at the video and sure enough, I was flying open. So I closed it right off and I started to get weak contact.”Fulmer wound up with a no-decision that night. Detroit has lost 11 of his last 12 starts dating to late May. The lone win was a 3-1 decision over Minnesota on June 14.Fulmer (3-10, 4.57 ERA) was struck in the shin by a line drive at the end of his last start, but it turned out to be just a bruise. He’s looking forward to his remaining starts.“I am very excited where we’re going,” said Fulmer, who will face the Cardinals for the first time. “I just have to stick to it and trust the process.”If the Cardinals fail to make the postseason, they’ll look at this series as one of the big reasons they came up short.On Saturday, Victor Reyes scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth to give Detroit a 4-3 victory. Marcell Ozuna tied the score with a two-run homer in the top of the inning Adrian Gonzalez Jersey , his third long ball in two games.“They’re in a pennant race,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “You can tell how tense it is for them over there. We’re getting a piece of it from the other side that we wouldn’t get if we weren’t playing teams that were in this pennant race.“So our guys are pretty fired up in the dugout and they’re getting after it pretty good. They’ve been doing it all summer long, but there’s definitely a different emotion going on right now.”It has been a rough weekend all around for the Cardinals. Infielder Jedd Gyorko was expected to be activated off the disabled list Saturday but instead returned to St. Louis for treatment on his left groin injury.Starting pitcher Michael Wacha was scheduled to make a rehab start Friday night but had a setback with his left oblique injury and it’s uncertain if he’ll return this season. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Josh Donaldson and Edwin Encarnacion are back together again and got a chance to celebrate a home run like old times in Toronto.Donaldson went hitless in his Cleveland debut, Encarnacion reached 30 homers for the seventh straight season and the Indians beat the Tampa Bay Rays 2-0 on Tuesday night.Donaldson was on-deck when Encarnacion went deep and the pair exchanged a high-five afterward.“We try and have fun out there,” Encarnacion said. “It’s good to have him back in the same lineup together.”Cleveland lowered its magic number to three for a third straight AL Central title. Second-place Minnesota was hosting the New York Yankees.Acquired from Toronto on Aug. 31, Donaldson went 0 for 4 in his first big league game since May 28, a layoff caused by a strained left calf. The 2015 AL MVP flied out to deep center and deep right, struck out and grounded into a forceout. The third baseman made a nifty backhand grab on C.J. Cron’s sixth-inning grounder.“He looked to me like Donaldson Jose Bautista Jersey ,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “He took some ferocious swings, and he was on so many pitches. He squared up a couple and had nothing to show for it. He’s got time and it gets exciting.”Jose Ramirez moved from third to second, and second baseman Jason Kipnis moved to center.Yan Gomes also homered and rookie Shane Bieber (10-3) struck out a career-high 11 in 6 2/3 innings, allowing three hits and three walks.Tampa Bay had its franchise record 12-game home winning streak end and lost for just the fourth time in 21 games overall.The Rays dropped to 8 ½ games behind Oakland for the second AL wild card with 18 games remaining. The teams will meet in a three-game series this weekend.“The odds are against us but I’m very excited,” Rays ace Blake Snell said. “This team is special.”Gomes homered in the fifth and Encarnacion in the sixth against Tyler Glasnow (0-4), who allowed six hits in seven innings.Encarnacion, Ramirez (37) and Francisco Lindor (34) are the fifth trio of Indians to reach 30 homers in the same season.“It’s unbelievable, something I never expected to happen,” Encarnacion said of his streak. “I’m proud of what I’ve been doing.”Bieber allowed three hits and three walks. Brad Hand relieved with two on and two outs in the seventh http://www.metsfanproshop.com/authentic-amed-rosario-jersey , walked pinch-hitter Matt Duffy, then fell behind Mallex Smith 3-0 before getting him to pop out on a full-count pitch.“That was rough for about eight pitches but he fights his way back,” Francona said.Cody Allen pitched a one-hit ninth, completing a four-hitter for his 27th save in 32 chances.Tampa Bay’s Tommy Pham singled in the first and has a career-best 15-game hitting streak.Rays manager Kevin Cash was ejected in the eighth for arguing a balk called on Vidal Nuno.SETTING UP THE ACEThe Indians will skip 18-game winner Corey Kluber’s start this weekend to give him a couple extra days off to get lined up for the playoffs.NUMEBRSBieber is 6-0 in 10 road starts. … Cleveland pitchers have 29 strikeouts, including 13 Tuesday, through the first two games of the series.TRAINER’S ROOMIndians: RHP Trevor Bauer (right fibula stress fracture) is to throw off a bullpen mound Wednesday. … RHP Cody Anderson (right elbow surgery) made 27 pitches over two-thirds of an inning for Double-A Akron against New Hampshire in Game 1 of the Eastern League Championship Series.Rays: CF Kevin Kiermaier (illness) was out of the lineup for the second consecutive game but was in the on-deck circle when the game ended. … RHP Jose Mujica had Tommy John surgery.UP NEXTIndians: RHP Carlos Carrasco (16- starts Wednesday.Rays: Snell (18-5) seeks to take over the big league lead in wins after going 5-7 last season. “It’s amazing how much better he’s gotten in one year,” Francona said.
_________________
dan yu