Bieber fans 10, stays unbeaten as Indians beat Brewers 4-1

CLEVELAND (AP) — Shane Bieber struck out 10 in five innings to remain unbeaten in 2020 and Carlos Santana had two RBIs, leading the Cleveland Indians to a 4-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday.

Bieber (7-0) only allowed one run and five singles, but the right-hander ran up his pitch count — 58 combined in the fourth and fifth innings — and needed Cleveland's bullpen to finish things off.

Brad Hand, the Indians' fourth reliever, worked the ninth for his 11th save in 11 tries. It was his 100th career save.

Bieber came in leading the majors strikeouts and added to his total by reaching double-digits for the sixth time this season.

Santana had an RBI double in the first off Brett Anderson (2-3) and chased the left-hander with a run-scoring single in the sixth when the Indians took a 4-1 lead.

The Indians, whose offense has been wildly inconsistent all season, improved to 20-2 when they score at least three runs.

Bieber breezed through the Brewers' lineup the first time with relative ease. He struck out seven — including the last five in the order in a row — before giving up a two-out walk in the fourth to Christian Yelich, followed by Daniel Vogelbach's hard single.

MIlwaukee's hitters began figuring things out a little better the second time around against Bieber, and they closed within 2-1 in the fifth on three singles, the last a grounder up the middle that second baseman César Hernández's stopped but couldn't turn into an out.

Another single loaded the bases, but Bieber struck out Keston Hiura and Yelich to end the threat.

By then he was at 103 pitches and interim manager Sandy Alomar Jr. decided that was enough for the ace, who didn't go at least six innings for the first time in nine starts.

The 25-year-old Bieber has recorded at least eight...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Bieber-fans-10-stays-unbeaten-as-Indians-beat-15546880.php