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MLB roundup: Yanks, Pirates hit walk-off homers

[April 27, 2018] Gary Sanchez hit a three-run homer with no outs in the bottom of the ninth inning off Fernando Rodney as the New York Yankees extended their winning streak with a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Thursday afternoon.

Sanchez upped New York's winning streak to six by lifting a 96 mph fastball into the left field seats off Rodney (1-2). The Twins finished their first 0-7 road trip since Aug. 10-16, 2001.

It was the catcher's sixth homer of the season and first walk-off homer and hit. It was New York's first walk-off homer since Brett Gardner had one last July 27 versus Tampa Bay. Dellin Betances (1-1) struck out the side in the ninth for New York.

Before Sanchez won it, Rodney was betrayed by some shaky defense from third baseman Miguel Sano. Sano committed a throwing error on a ball hit by Didi Gregorius and then cut in front of shortstop Ehire Adrianza on a grounder by Giancarlo Stanton.

Pirates 1, Tigers 0

Corey Dickerson hit his first career walk-off home run to give Pittsburgh the win over visiting Detroit with one out in the bottom of the ninth on a ball that barely made it into the right field stands off Detroit reliever Alex Wilson (0-3).

The win validated a stellar performance by Ivan Nova. The Pirates starter did not get a decision but pitched eight shutout innings, using only 81 pitches. He allowed six hits -- never more than one in any inning -- while striking out five. For his fourth start in a row, he did not walk a batter.

Pirates closer Felipe Vasquez (1-0) got into and out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the ninth with two groundouts sandwiched around a popup to preserve the shutout. Detroit starter Michael Fulmer also had a strong outing. Fulmer pitched six scoreless innings, giving up four hits, striking out nine and walking one.

Cubs 1, Brewers 0

Kyle Schwarber homered, and Kyle Hendricks pitched seven shutout innings to help Chicago beat visiting Milwaukee, halting Milwaukee's eight-game winning streak.

Schwarber homered in the sixth inning off Brewers right-hander Chase Anderson (2-2), while Hendricks (2-1) allowed four hits, struck out five and didn't walk a batter in his best effort of the season.

Brandon Morrow allowed two hits in the ninth but picked up his fifth save in the two-hour, 22-minute contest. Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant sat out his third straight game for the Cubs after getting hit on the helmet on a pitch Sunday.

Cardinals 4, Mets 3 (13 innings)

Dexter Fowler's RBI single with one out in the bottom of the 13th inning capped a comeback by host St. Louis over New York. The Mets wasted a strong start by Noah Syndergaard, who allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits and no walks while striking out seven over a season-high 7 1/3 innings.

Cardinals starter Carlos Martinez allowed one run on four hits and no walks while striking out three over six innings. He has given up just two runs in his last five starts, a stretch of 33 1/3 innings. With the victory in the rubber match of the three-game series, the Cardinals have won 10 of their last 12. The Mets fell to 2-4 on a nine-game road trip.

John Gant (1-0), making his first big league appearance of the season, earned the win with three perfect innings of relief.

Red Sox 5, Blue Jays 4

J.D. Martinez hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the fifth inning as Boston won at Toronto. The Red Sox took the final two games of the three-game series.

Boston's Chris Sale (2-1) allowed three runs, four hits and two walks while striking out four in six innings. Craig Kimbrel pitched a perfect ninth to earn his seventh save of the season.

Devon Travis and Justin Smoak homered for the Blue Jays.

Diamondbacks 8, Phillies 2

Jarrod Dyson, Nick Ahmed and David Peralta homered behind right-hander Matt Koch, and Arizona became the first National League team in 41 years to win its first eight series with a victory over host Philadelphia.

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The Diamondbacks (17-7) used those homers to take an 8-0 lead after three innings while equaling their best start in franchise history. The 1977 Dodgers are the last NL team to win their first eight series. Seattle won its first nine in 2001.

Odubel Herrera and Rhys Hoskins each had two hits and Aaron Altherr had a double and two RBIs for the Phillies (15-9), who with a victory would have been eight games over .500 for the first time since the last day of the 2011 season.

Mariners 5, Indians 4

Kyle Seager had three hits, including a go-ahead RBI double in the eighth inning, as visiting Seattle beat Cleveland as the Mariners scored four of their five runs with two outs, and they went 7-for-15 in two-out situations.

The Mariners led 4-0 early, but the Indians tied it thanks to a Yonder Alonso two-run home run in the sixth inning and Jason Kipnis and Edwin Encarnacion run-scoring hits in the seventh.

Seager's hit helped give the Mariners their fifth victory in the first seven games of a 10-game, three-city trip that ends Sunday. Mariners reliever Dan Altavilla (2-2) gave up the game-tying single to Encarnacion, but he earned the victory when the Mariners went ahead in the eighth.

Rays 9, Orioles 5

C.J. Cron and Wilson Ramos both hit two-run homers as visiting Tampa Bay Rays completed a sweep of a two-game series against Baltimore. The Rays won their sixth consecutive game, and they scored at least eight runs for the fifth game in a row, a franchise record. The previous mark was three.

Ramos led the way with three RBIs. Chris Archer (2-1) got the win despite giving up four runs and 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings. An early 6-0 lead proved to be a big help for the right-hander, who walked one and struck out seven.

Baltimore starter Dylan Bundy (1-3) entered the game with a 1.42 ERA, but Tampa Bay scored twice against him in each of the first three innings. He allowed eight runs (seven earned) in 4 2/3 innings, with his ERA jumping to 2.97.

White Sox 6, Royals 3

Matt Davidson continued his assault on Kansas City pitching with two homers and Yoan Moncada added three hits and a homer in Chicago's victory over the host Royals as the White Sox hit five home runs in all.

Davidson hit a bases-empty homer in the fourth inning and a two-run shot for a 6-2 lead in the sixth, giving him five homers in 10 at-bats at Kauffman Stadium this season. He had three homers against the Royals in a 14-7 victory on opening day.

Welington Castillo and Trayce Thompson also hit bases-empty homers for the White Sox, who had lost nine of 10 and 16 of 19. Jorge Soler had two hits including a two-run homer and Mike Moustakas, Salvador Perez, Abraham Almonte and Ryan Goins had two hits apiece for the Royals, who have lost 13 of 15 and are 1-10 at home.

Braves 7, Reds 4

Highly touted rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. hit his first career home run and delivered the go-ahead run with a double as Atlanta used a late rally to beat host Cincinnati. Acuna -- rated as one of the top prospects in baseball -- finished the game 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs to lead the team's 13-hit attack.

Acuna sparked a two-run rally in the eighth inning that put the Braves ahead to stay. After Freddie Freeman led off with a double -- one of his three hits -- against reliever Wandy Peralta (1-1), Acuna rapped a two-out RBI double to right. Acuna then scored an insurance run when Dansby Swanson singled to left.

The winning pitcher was Sam Freeman (1-1), who threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Arodys Vizcaino allowed a double and walk in the ninth, but retired pinch hitter Tucker Barnhart to end the game and earn his second save.

--Field Level Media

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