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Baseball roundup: Ohtani pitches Angels over A's

[April 02, 2018] Shohei Ohtani did something on Sunday afternoon that hadn't been accomplished in 99 years, and in the process, the Los Angeles Angels' two-way player earned the victory in a 7-4 win over the Oakland A's.

Ohtani became the first major-leaguer since Babe Ruth in 1919 to start on Opening Day as a non-pitcher (he went 1-for-5 as the DH), and then start on the mound within his team's first 10 games of the season.

Ohtani (1-0) gave up three runs on three hits and one walk in six innings, striking out six along the way. All three hits came in the second inning, including a three-run home run by Oakland third baseman Matt Chapman. That gave the A's a 3-2 lead at the time, but it was short-lived.

The Angels offense battered A's starter Daniel Gossett (0-1) and five relievers for 13 hits, including three each by Andrelton Simmons and Jefry Marte. Mike Trout and Zack Cozart added two hits apiece.

Blue Jays 7, Yankees 4

Justin Smoak hit a grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, lifting Toronto over visiting New York.

Smoak won a nine-pitch matchup with David Robertson (0-1) by hitting a full-count fastball into the second deck in center field. Smoak also hit a two-run home run in the seventh with nobody out off Tommy Kahnle.

Smoak's grand slam occurred after the Yankees opted to intentionally walk Josh Donaldson after Robertson put runners at second and third by allowing a single to Russell Martin and a double to Aledmys Diaz.

Red Sox 2, Rays 1

Rafael Devers delivered a go-ahead RBI single in the sixth inning as visiting Boston claimed its third straight victory against Tampa Bay.

Devers drove in four runs in the series for the Red Sox, who won the remainder of the season's inaugural series after blowing a 4-0 lead in Tampa Bay's 6-4 victory Thursday in the opener.

Brad Miller clubbed a solo blast off Red Sox starter Hector Velazquez for the Rays, who pushed across only three runs over the final three games of the series.

Nationals 6, Reds 5

Bryce Harper homered twice, while Anthony Rendon and Adam Eaton added two-run shots as Washington earned a weekend sweep of host Cincinnati.

Gio Gonzalez picked up the win with six strong innings. He gave up five hits and a run with a walk and seven strikeouts. Four relievers combined to record the final nine outs, with Sean Doolittle pitching the ninth and earning his second save despite giving up a two-run homer to Phil Gosselin.

Sal Romano was charged with the loss even though he logged a quality start. He worked six innings, permitting four hits and three runs with four walks and two strikeouts.

Dodgers 9, Giants 0

Rich Hill threw six scoreless innings, Cody Bellinger hit his first home run of the season, and host Los Angeles beat San Francisco to earn a split in the four-game series.

The shutout was the second in a row for the Dodgers' pitching staff, which had Kenta Maeda and three relievers combine to blank the Giants 5-0 on Saturday. For the entire four-game series, the Dodgers allowed just two runs -- both coming on solo homers by Joe Panik in the first two games, and both resulting in 1-0 Giants victories.

Hill worked his way out of a couple of jams, making 82 pitches and allowing five hits and three walks. He struck out five.

Astros 8, Rangers 2

Gerrit Cole allowed just two hits over seven innings, and Carlos Correa continued his hot start with two hits and two RBIs as Houston rolled past host Texas in the final of a four-game, opening-weekend series.

Cole, a key acquisition by the Astros during the offseason, surrendered a solo home run in the first to Joey Gallo and did not allow another hit until the sixth. He struck out 11 and walked just three during his dominating 102-pitch performance.

Mike Minor, who made a major league start for the first time since 2014, took the loss for the Rangers after surrendering two runs (both earned) and three hits in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out five and walked two in his 93-pitch stint, his most pitches in a game since a September 2014 start against Texas.

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Marlins 6, Cubs 0

Dillon Peters pitched six scoreless innings and fellow rookie Brian Anderson stroked a three-run double to lead Miami over visiting Chicago.

The Cubs and Marlins split their season-opening, four-game series.

Peters (1-0) earned just his second major league win in his seventh start and fourth decision. He allowed six hits and one walk, striking out two.

Mariners 5, Indians 4

Mitch Haniger hit his second home run of the season and Dee Gordon homered in a tiebreaking seventh inning in support of right-hander Mike Leake in Seattle's home victory over Cleveland.

Gordon homered off right-hander Dan Otero (0-1), and Haniger hit a two-run shot off left-hander Tyler Olson after Robinson Cano singled for a 5-2 lead. Haniger is 5-for-8 with a pair of solo homers this season.

Edwin Encarnacion hit two homers and drove in three runs for the Indians.

Cardinals 5, Mets 1

Paul DeJong hit a pair of solo homers for St. Louis, which salvaged the finale of a three-game series against host New York.

With the win, the Cardinals avoided starting 0-3 for the second time in three seasons. St. Louis led for just one half-inning in its first two losses. The Mets were looking to open 3-0 for the first time since 2012.

DeJong gave the Cardinals their first lead with a one-out homer in the second and provided some insurance with a one-out blast in the eighth. The two-homer game was the first in the majors for DeJong, who finished second in the National League Rookie of the Year race last season and signed a six-year extension worth $26 million plus team options for 2024 and 2025 on March 5.

Twins 7, Orioles 0

Brian Dozier homered twice, and Jose Berrios threw a three-hitter as visiting Minnesota defeated Baltimore.

Dozier's homers were half of the Twins' four-homer barrage that let Minnesota (2-1) win the three-game series. The Twins hit three homers in a 6-2 win over Baltimore on Saturday night.

Minnesota belted three homers off Baltimore starter Kevin Gausman and one more off rookie Pedro Araujo, and that proved to be more than enough offense for Berrios (1-0).

Pirates 1, Tigers 0 (Game 1)

Trevor Williams tossed six hitless innings, Gregory Polanco drove in the only run and Pittsburgh beat Detroit in the first game of a doubleheader.

Williams was effectively wild, walking five batters and striking out one while throwing 85 pitches. Felipe Rivero recorded his first save, striking out the side in the ninth. Michael Feliz and George Kontos set up the save by recording three outs apiece.

Polanco, who has five RBIs in two games, delivered the game's only run with a first-inning one-out double that plated leadoff hitter Adam Frazier from first. Polanco was thrown out at third trying to stretch the play.

Pirates 8, Tigers 6 (Game 2)

David Freese capped a five-run fifth inning with a two-run homer as Pittsburgh completed a doubleheader sweep of Detroit.

Pirates leadoff hitter Josh Harrison had three hits, including a two-run homer, and scored twice. Starling Marte had a solo homer and Elias Diaz supplied two hits and scored twice.

Chad Kuhl (1-0) allowed four runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. Felipe Rivero got the last three outs to post his second save of the day.

White Sox-Royals, ppd.

The final game of the season-opening, three-game series between Chicago and host Kansas City will be made up as the first game of a day-night doubleheader on April 28.

--Field Level Media

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