24 homers, 82 RBI, 97 runs scored and a league-leading .432 on-base percentage.Surprisingly, though, Angels manager Mike Scioscia generally doesnt believe players from last-place teams deserve to be an MVP.Yes, S

CLEVELAND -- Carlos Carrasco overcame a home run and an apparent bug in his eye to pitch into the eighth inning, and the Cleveland Indians beat the Houston Astros 6-5 on Wednesday night.The game-time temperature was 87 degrees, causing swarms of midges to journey from Lake Erie to the muggy ballpark.Carrasco (11-7) allowed Colby Rasmus two-run homer in the fourth, one batter after the game was stopped briefly when one of the bugs appeared to get in his eye. The right-hander regrouped after the home run, allowing four runs in 7 1/3 innings.Mike Napolis two-run homer off Doug Fister (12-11) gave Cleveland a 4-3 lead in the fifth. Pinch-hitter Brandon Guyer added a two-run double in the inning and the Indians extended their lead over Detroit to 5 1/2 games in the AL Central.BREWERS 2, CUBS 1MILWAUKEE -- Jonathan Villar hit two home runs and Keon Broxton robbed Anthony Rizzo of a homer in the ninth inning to help Milwaukee beat Chicago.Milwaukee got its first hit when Villar homered leading off the fourth. Villar homered again off Joe Smith (1-1), the sixth Chicago pitcher, leading off the eighth.Corey Knebel (1-2) pitched a scoreless inning, and Tyler Thornburg finished for his ninth save.With one out in the ninth, Rizzo hit a drive to deep center. Broxton jumped above the wall to make the catch. Chicago starter Mike Montgomery faced the minimum number of batters through three innings. He lasted five innings, allowing one run and two hits with two walks and six strikeoutsMilwaukee starter Matt Garza gave up one run and three hits in six innings.YANKEES 2, BLUE JAYS 0NEW YORK -- Bryan Mitchell earned his first major league win, combining with Luis Severino and Tyler Clippard to shut down Toronto in New Yorks victory.Starlin Castro homered and Brian McCann had an RBI single for the Yankees, They have won four straight and 10 of 14, and closed within 2 1/2 games of Baltimore for the second AL wild card.Marcus Stroman (9-7) struck out eight in five innings but the Blue Jays lost for the fifth time in six games. They were swept for the third time this season, first since May 16-18 by Tampa Bay.METS 6, REDS 3CINCINNATI -- Jose Reyes homered on the first pitch of the game, Noah Syndergaard lasted five shaky shutout innings and New York won its fifth in a row, beating Cincinnati.Reyes and Curtis Granderson each homered for the second straight day and the Mets beat Cincinnati for the 14th straight time. Wilmer Flores added a pinch-hit, two-run drive.The Mets finished off a three-game sweep and have won eight of 10.Syndergaard (13-8) gave up six hits and four walks. But the Reds went 0 for 3 in trying to steal against him -- opposing runners had been previously been 45 for 51 this season.Jeurys Familia closed for his 47th save, extending his franchise record.Anthony DeSclafani (8-3) was the loser.PIRATES 4, CARDINALS 3PITTSBURGH -- Jung Ho Kang led off the eighth inning with a home run, and Pittsburgh beat St. Louis to snap an eight-game losing streak.Kang hit a drive deep into the bullpens in left-center off rookie Alex Reyes (1-1) for his 17th homer and third in two games. It helped snap the Pirates longest skid since dropping 10 straight in 2011.The Cardinals are percentage points ahead of the New York Mets for the second NL wild card, and the Pirates drew within 4 1/2 games of St. Louis.Trevor Williams (1-0) allowed one unearned run in three innings in his major league debut. Tony Watson worked a perfect ninth inning for his 11th save.WHITE SOX 7, TIGERS 4CHICAGO -- Avisail Garcia hit a go-ahead single against his former team in a four-run eighth inning and Chicago beat Detroit to keep the Tigers a game out of the final AL wild-card spot.The Tigers wasted a chance to move into a tie with Baltimore for the second wild card. The teams begin a three-game series Friday in Detroit.Jose Abreu led off the eighth with a single for his third hit and scored on Justin Morneaus double off Shane Greene (3-4). After Todd Frazier grounded out, Garcia singled to right-center. Tyler Saladino and Adam Eaton added RBI singles.Chris Beck (2-1) got four outs, and David Robertson worked the ninth for his 35th save.TWINS 6, ROYALS 5MINNEAPOLIS -- Miguel Sanos hustle led Minnesota to a pair of early runs and his RBI double tied it in the decisive seventh inning, helping the Twins beat Kansas City.Brian Dozier didnt hit a home run for Minnesota, ending his club-tying record at five straight games, but he singled and stole second before scoring on Sanos double off Joakim Soria (4-8). Dozier also started a dazzling double play to to finish the fifth inning, with a diving stop of Eric Hosmers grounder and a glove flick to second base to get the ball out while he was flat on the dirt.Alex Wimmers (1-0) pitched a scoreless seventh in relief of Kyle Gibson for his first major league victory. Brandon Kintzler gave up Jarrod Dysons two-out RBI single before finishing the ninth inning for his 14th save.RAYS 7, ORIOLES 6ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Corey Dickerson had a go-ahead RBI double in the seventh inning and Tampa Bay beat Baltimore to avoid a three-game sweep.Dickerson, in a 2-for-28 slide, tied the score 6-all with an RBI single in the fifth and got the decisive hit during the seventh off Mychal Givens (8-2).J.J. Hardy drove in two on a second-inning double and Michael Bourn hit a solo homer during a three-run third that put Baltimore ahead 5-3.Baltimores Dylan Bundy and Tampa Bays Drew Smyly each allowed five runs and seven hits in 3 2/3 innings. Kevin Kiermaier and Nick Franklin homered for the Rays. Brad Boxberger (3-0) pitched a scoreless seventh for the win and Alex Colome got three outs for his 31st save in 33 chances.ATHLETICS 4, ANGELS 1OAKLAND, Calif. -- Jharel Cotton won in his major league debut, leading Oakland past Los Angeles.The 24-year-old Cotton became the fourth pitcher in big league history born in the Virgin Islands. He allowed one run on two hits, struck out three and walked two in 6 1/3 innings. Cotton came to the As from the Dodgers at the trade deadline in a deal that sent Josh Reddick to Los Angeles.Oakland front office a preview of his potential at the next level.Ryan Madson finished for his 29th save. Alex Meyer (0-2) was the loser.Ryon Healy homed for Oakland, and C.J. Cron connected for Los Angeles.MARLINS 6, PHILLIES 0MIAMI -- Andrew Cashner matched his season high for strikeouts with nine over 5 1/3 innings and earned his first win for Miami in the victory over Philadelphia.Martin Prado drove in three runs for the Marlins. They faded from playoff contention by losing their previous five games and 10 of 11.Acquired from San Diego on July 29, Cashner (5-11) allowed four hits and walked two. He was 0-4 in his first six starts following the trade. Jeremy Hellickson (10-9) was the loser. Nike Tn Requin Pas Cher . It is a cliché dragged out by fans and pundits regularly when discussions take place around which teams are better than others. Nike Air Max Plus Tn Ultra Pas Cher . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. http://www.airmaxtnplus.fr/nike-air-max-plus-tn-ultra-blanc.html . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5. Nike Tn Noir . The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2. Nike Air Max Plus TN Ultra Blanc/Noir . On June 12, just as the sun sets on the magnificent historical city of Sao Paulo the inventors, innovators and purveyors of “joga bonitowill” open their campaign. The opponent, Croatia and all its football might and will. As opposites do attract we are set for a corker of an opener. ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Angels and Cincinnati Reds dont know much about each other, playing head-to-head only nine times in their respective histories.And they havent played each other at all since 2013, when the lineups of each team looked very different than their current lineups.But the one thing both teams have in common is not something either team is too happy about: Both are in last place, playing out the season and doing a lot of evaluating for next season and beyond.The Angels, though 18 games under .500 and 20 1/2 games out in the American League West, enter the series playing well, having won four of their past five games, beating playoff contenders Toronto and Detroit during that stretch.Not so much for the Reds, 19 games under .500 and 27 games out in the National League Central, who have lost five of seven.The Reds, though, have Dan Straily starting on the mound coming in on a hot streak. Hes 6-0 in his last seven starts and hasnt lost a decision since July 8. He leads the Reds staff in victories (10), innings pitched (151 1/3) and strikeouts (123).A key pitch for Straily is his changeup, and he has been happy to share his secrets with his teammates. In particular, Straily recently was approached by teammate Brandon Finnegan for some help.It was the exact same problem I went through a couple of years ago back when I was in the minor leagues, Straily told mlb.com. Once he told me he was having problems cutting it, I just showed him what helped me stop cutting it and it worked for him. Its just how we hold it. We have the same grip; he was just holding it the same way I used to hold it in college.College balls, the seams allow it to do something different. The seams are smaller and when you throw it the way we threw it back in college, now its like a cutter, sometimes its down, sometimes it goes arm-side, theres no control with the movement, which is a good thing, except when nobody can catch it.The advice paid off when Finnegan struck out a career-high 12 Arizona Diamondback hitters in just sixx innings last Friday.ddddddddddddStraily may have a few tricks up his sleeve against the Angels, at least, compared to what the Angels are used to seeing when facing him. Straily started seven games against the Angels while pitching for Oakland, but went just 1/3 with a 6.69 ERA.Matt Shoemaker will start for the Angels with a record (8-13) that wont strike fear into the Reds hitters. But Shoemaker has been far better than his record shows.Shoemaker has given up two earned runs or fewer in more than half of his starts (13 of 25), but earned the victory in just six of those 13 games.One of Shoemakers biggest problems this season has been a lack of run support. The Angels have scored at least four runs in only 11 of Shoemakers 25 starts. And early runs are even better.Its always good to have a lead, Shoemaker told MLB.com. Its always nice knowing, thats in the back of your mind, Hey weve got a two-run lead or whatever it is. The game plan is to attack the hitters, but then when you have the lead, same thing, attack the hitters, stay aggressive.With just over a month to play, about the only drama the Angels have is whether or not Mike Trout can win another MVP award. Trouts numbers make him a candidate -- .312 average, 24 homers, 82 RBI, 97 runs scored and a league-leading .432 on-base percentage.Surprisingly, though, Angels manager Mike Scioscia generally doesnt believe players from last-place teams deserve to be an MVP.Yes, Scioscia said when asked if the MVP should come from a contender. Unless somebody just separates themselves so much where you go my gosh, this guys 15 more home runs than the next guy, 30 more RBI than the next guy.But I definitely think there needs to be a value on how youve affected a teams performance. I think to be a contender says a lot about what a player brings to a team. ... When you play on a contender your production has more of an impact on that teams success. ' ' '