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MLB roundup: Sox's Betts, Indians' Encarnacion rip three HRs

[May 03, 2018] Mookie Betts put on a show, hitting solo home runs in three consecutive at-bats as the Boston Red Sox rallied from an early three-run deficit and beat the visiting Kansas City Royals 5-4 on Wednesday afternoon.

Betts collected four hits and recorded his 13th multi-homer game of his career -- and third this season. It was his second three-homer game in 2018 and fourth of his career, moving past Hall of Famer Ted Williams for the team record.

The 25-year-old outfielder also became the first player to have four three-homer games in his career before age 26, and joined Cleveland's Edwin Encarnacion on the first day with multiple three-homer games since May 29, 2013, when Dioner Navarro and Ryan Zimmerman did it.

In his second game back from a brief absence caused by a hamstring injury and first game back in the starting lineup, Betts homered in the fourth, fifth and seventh innings off Royals starter Danny Duffy (0-4). Drew Pomeranz (1-1) allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings for the win.

Indians 12, Rangers 4

Encarnacion drove in six runs as Cleveland romped past visiting Texas. The slugger produced his third career three-homer game, his first since 2015, and his 30th multi-homer game.

Encarnacion hit a three-run home run in the first inning and added a two-run shot in the second, both off Rangers starter Matt Moore. He tagged a solo shot in the eighth inning off Jesse Chavez.

The Rangers' Nomar Mazara, Juan Centeno and Joey Gallo each hit solo home runs off Indians starter Corey Kluber (5-1). Mazara's fifth of the season came in the second inning, and Centeno's first of the season came in the third. Gallo hit his 10th homer in 2018 in the seventh inning.

Yankees 4, Astros 0

Luis Severino pitched a dominant five-hitter for his first career complete game, and Giancarlo Stanton hit two homers as visiting New York beat Houston. Severino saw his velocity reach 100 mph in the ninth inning.

Severino (5-1) controlled the strike zone and completed a 110-pitch gem, walking just one. He struck out 10 for his sixth career double-digit strikeout game and first this season. He threw 27 first-pitch strikes to 33 hitters.

Stanton recorded his second multi-homer game of the season and the 30th of his career. He entered the game hitless in his past 10 at-bats but hit a two-run homer in the first and a solo homer in the fourth, both off Dallas Keuchel (1-5).

Angels 10, Orioles 7

Albert Pujols continued his assault on the record books with a home run and double and Los Angeles ripped visiting Baltimore early and held on late as the slugger got to 2,998 in his career, leaving him two shy of becoming the 32nd player in major league history to reach the 3,000-hit mark.

His home run was No. 620 of his career (No. 7 all-time), and his double increased his career total to 625, moving him past Hank Aaron and into the No. 10 spot all-time. It was all part of an Angels offense that had just nine hits, but seven of them went for extra bases.

Mike Trout hit his 11th home run of the season in the first inning, tying Betts for the major league lead. Justin Upton's three-run home in the fifth inning boosted the Angels' lead to 7-1. Martin Maldonado homered in the eighth inning, one of his three hits in the game, helping send the reeling Orioles to their 14th loss in 17 games.

Braves 7, Mets 0

Sean Newcomb allowed two hits over a career-high seven innings as surging Atlanta moved into first place in the National League East with a victory over host New York, which may have lost something bigger than a game.

The Mets have dropped 10 of 16 but worse, in the fourth inning ace right-hander Jacob deGrom left with a hyperextended right elbow. He was sent for an MRI exam, and results are expected Thursday, multiple media outlets reported.

The Braves have won the first two games of the three-game series and their past four overall to move into first place for the first time since April 14, 2015.

Dodgers 2, Diamondbacks 1

Los Angeles rookie Alex Verdugo had two doubles and scored twice, Cody Bellinger had two singles, and the Dodgers survived an early exit by left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu to beat host Arizona.

Ryu, who had been the Dodgers' best pitcher the first month of the season, left with a strained left groin in the second inning, and five relievers combined to give up one run in 7 2/3 innings as Los Angeles broke a four-game losing streak.

A.J. Pollock had two hits and John Ryan Murphy had a two-out, run scoring single in the ninth inning as the Diamondbacks (21-9) remained tied for the best start in franchise history despite the loss, their second in seven games.

A's 3, Mariners 2

Mark Canha homered in the ninth inning as visiting Oakland rallied to spoil an outstanding start by Seattle's James Paxton, tagging Mariners closer Edwin Diaz (0-1) with his first loss of the season and just his second run.

Canha snapped the tie with a leadoff shot over the scoreboard in left field. Jed Lowrie tied the score for Oakland in the eighth with a two-run homer off Juan Nicasio.

Paxton pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out a career-high 16 batters. He allowed five hits and walked one. The left-hander eclipsed his previous best of 10 strikeouts.

Rockies 11, Cubs 2

Nolan Arenado went 3-for-6 with a double, two home runs and five RBIs, and Colorado pulled away for an easy victory over host Chicago. Trevor Story and Chris Iannetta also homered for the Rockies, who won the rubber match of the three-game series.

Tyler Anderson (2-0) held the Cubs to two runs on three hits in seven innings. He walked one and struck out nine in his first appearance since leaving his Friday start after 1 1/3 innings because of lightheadedness and shortness of breath.

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Cubs right-hander Yu Darvish (0-3) remained winless since joining the team on a six-year, $126 million deal in the offseason. The 31-year-old gave up six runs (five earned) on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings as his ERA ballooned to 6.00.

Cardinals 3, White Sox 2

Carlos Martinez pitched 7 1/3 strong innings and hit his first major league homer, and Dexter Fowler also went deep as St. Louis swept its two-game series against visiting Chicago.

Martinez broke a scoreless tie with a two-out homer in the sixth inning, and Fowler hit a two-run homer for a 3-0 lead in the seventh to lift the Cardinals over the struggling White Sox. Chicago has lost four in a row and is 4-13 since April 12. The White Sox are 3-9 in one-run games.

Martinez (3-1) gave up five hits and one run while striking out five and walking two in his first May start. He allowed two earned runs in 33 1/3 innings in April for an 0.54 ERA.

Phillies 6, Marlins 0

Aaron Nola (4-1) pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings to lead visiting Philadelphia past Miami. He allowed four hits -- all singles -- and one walk, striking out seven and lowering his ERA to 2.17.

The Phillies' offense was led by Cesar Hernandez, who hit a solo home run on the fourth pitch of the game, and Maikel Franco, who had two doubles and one RBI. In six games against Miami this year, Franco has 13 RBIs.

Marlins starter Jose Urena (0-5) continued his hard-luck season. He allowed seven hits, one walk and two runs, one earned, in seven innings. He has three starts this season in which he has allowed one earned run in seven innings but has come away with two losses and a no-decision in those outings.

Nationals 9, Pirates 3

Bryce Harper homered for the second consecutive night from the leadoff spot, and Matt Adams also went deep as Washington defeated visiting Pittsburgh to win the first three games of a four-game series.

Harper finished the night 3-for-5 with three RBIs. He has homered in both games since manager Dave Martinez moved him to the top spot of the order. Harper now has 10 homers, while Adams hit his sixth. The Nationals finished with 14 hits.

Washington starter Stephen Strasburg (3-3) went seven innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on seven hits and striking out 11 with just one walk. Pittsburgh starter Ivan Nova (2-2) gave up eight runs (five earned) on 11 hits in 4 2/3 innings.

Giants 9, Padres 4

Nick Hundley collected a career-high-tying four hits, and Derek Holland recorded his first win of the season as San Francisco rolled past visiting San Diego to win two of three in their series.

Hundley and Brandon Crawford drove in three runs apiece. Hundley had a home run, two doubles and a single in his first four-hit game since 2015 for the Colorado Rockies. The homer, his third of the season, came in the fourth inning against Padres starter Clayton Richard (1-4).

Holland (1-3) benefitted from a 14-hit attack in winning for the first time as a Giant. The veteran went five innings, allowing three runs and four hits. He walked one and struck out four in his sixth start of the season.

Twins 4, Blue Jays 0

Eddie Rosario hit a home run, Fernando Romero pitched into the sixth inning to win his major league debut, and Minnesota defeated visiting Toronto, avoiding a sweep in the three-game series to finish its homestand at 2-4.

The 23-year-old Romero (1-0) allowed no runs, four hits and three walks while striking out five over 5 2/3 innings. Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman (0-4) allowed two runs, six hits, one walk and struck out five in seven innings, his longest outing of the season.

Rosario hit his fifth homer of the season on a first-pitch two-seam fastball with one out in the second inning. Blue Jays manager John Gibbons was ejected in the top of the third after Teoscar Hernandez struck out swinging on an appeal play and Aledmys Diaz, who had stopped running between first and second thinking it was ball four, was caught stealing.

Tigers 3, Rays 2 (12 innings)

John Hicks laid down a bunt single on a squeeze play to bring home JaCoby Jones, giving host Detroit a walk-off win over Tampa Bay after Jones had ripped a triple to center field to lead off the 12th.

Hicks bunted him home on the next pitch. Jones had three hits and Hicks contributed two while also scoring a run for Detroit, which took two of three in the series. James McCann added a game-tying solo homer.

Warwick Saupold (1-0) pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts to collect the victory. Matt Andriese (0-1) took the loss.

Brewers 3, Reds 1

Wade Miley pitched six sharp innings in his Milwaukee debut and knocked off host Cincinnati, a team the Brewers have beaten in five of six meetings this season.

Miley (1-0) signed a minor league contract with the Brewers and made the team in spring training, only to see a groin injury delay the start of his season. He gave up only a run-scoring double to Devin Mesoraco in the fourth inning. Miley allowed three hits and three walks while striking out four.

The Brewers hitters, meanwhile, were mustering just enough offense against Reds right-hander Luis Castillo (1-4), who allowed two runs on nine hits in six innings. He issued only one walk while striking out seven.

--Field Level Media

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