Cleveland Pitcher Ties Record in Win Over Twins

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Cleveland’s Shane Bieber has tied the major league record for strikeouts in a pitcher’s first two starts of the season.

Bieber punched out 13 Minnesota Twins over eight innings and the Indians won 2-0. Bieber fanned 14 over six scoreless innings on Friday against Kansas City. His 27 strikeouts in the two games matched the record set by Karl Spooner of the Brooklyn Dodgers in September 1954. Facing a Twins team that came in with the second-best run differential in baseball, Bieber allowed three singles in his eight innings. Francisco Lindor supplied all the offense Cleveland needed with a two-run homer in the third inning off Jose Berríos.