Francisco Lindor, Indians Win 19th Straight, 11-0; Denard Span, Giants Hand Dodgers 11th Straight Loss

Players of the Day for Monday, September 11, 2017

American League

Lindor: 3B, 4 RBI

The Indians won their 19th straight in dominant fashion, dumping the Tigers, 11-0, in the opener of a three-game series in Cleveland.

While starter, Carlos Carrasco, was blanking Detroit on seven hits over six innings, fanning nine for his 15th win against six losses, Francisco Lindor was stoking the offense, going 2-for-4 with a single, triple and four RBI.

Lindor's three-bagger came with the bases full in the second inning, clearing the deck en route to a five run frame.

He scored in the fourth after singling when Jose Ramirez socked a two-run homer. His forth RBI came in the fifth inning on a fielder's choice.

Lindor is batting .275, with 29 homers and 77 RBI, astounding for a leadoff hitter. Riding a five-game hitting streak, Lindor is 10-for-21 (.476) with three home runs and seven RBI over that span.

Cleveland's streak has pushed their led in the AL Central out to 13 1/2 games over Minnesota. With 18 games to play, their magic number to clinch the division is five.

The Indians will be looking for their 20th straight win - which would tie the 2002 Oakland A's for the fifth-longest MLB winning streak - on Tuesday in game two (7:10 pm ET). The 1884 St. Louis Maroons and Providence Grays each won 20 games that season. The longest winning streaks of all time are:

1. 1916 NY Giants (26)
2. 1880 Chicago White Stockings (21)
2. (tie) 1935 Chicago Cubs (21)

National League

Span: HR, 3 RBI

The LA Dodgers' losing streak reached 11 straight on Monday with the Giants hosting another loss for the NL West leader in an 8-6 nail-biter.

The Giants took a 4-0 lead into the fourth, but the Dodgers tied the game with four of their own. The game was also tied at five and six before the Giants punched through single runs in the sixth and seventh and the bullpen held the Dodgers off the board in the final three innings.

Denard Span singled, homered, drove in three runs and scored twice, the second time he crossed the plate supplied an insurance run in the seventh inning on a Buster Posey double.

Span's home run was his 14th. He's batting .268 with 41 RBI.

LA's 11th straight loss marked the longest losing streak for the club since moving to Los Angeles from Brooklyn in 1958. The first place team has lost 16 of their last 17 after reaching their zenith at 91-36 on August 25th with a 3-1 win over Milwaukee. What was projected to be a 110+ win season has morphed into a titanic struggle for wins down the stretch. Losing to the last place Giants, 36 games off the pace at 57-89, shows the depth of the Dodger desperation.

The Dodgers are still nine games up on Arizona in the division. The Diamondbacks lost to Colorado, 5-4, on Monday.

The streak surpassed a pair of 10-game LA losing streaks in 1961 and 1992. In 1944, Brooklyn lost 16 straight games.

LA will try to end their skid Tuesday in game two of the three-game series at san Francisco's AT&T Park. Game time is 10:10 pm ET.