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MLB roundup: Harper leads Phillies to series sweep

[April 01, 2019] Bryce Harper reached base four times and hit a solo home run in the seventh inning as the Philadelphia Phillies completed a three-game sweep of the visiting Atlanta Braves with a 5-1 win on Sunday night.

The Phillies are 3-0 for the first time since 2011.

Philadelphia starting pitcher Jake Arrieta (1-0) gave up one run on three hits in six innings. He struck out six, but he also walked six while throwing 104 pitches.

Andrew McCutchen also hit a solo home run and scored twice for the Phillies. Rhys Hoskins walked three times and was hit by a pitch to reach base in all four plate appearances. He was plunked after Harper's home run, and Braves reliever Shane Carle was ejected immediately afterward.

Nationals 6, Mets 5

Trea Turner hit a solo homer on a full count with one out in the bottom of the ninth as host Washington beat New York, avoiding a three-game series sweep.

It was the second homer of the game for Turner, who hit a three-run shot in the third inning. Victor Robles had two doubles and Adam Eaton had three hits for the Nationals.

Free agent pitcher Patrick Corbin, signed after last season by the Nationals, gave up two runs on seven hits while pitching six innings in his first start of the season.

Padres 3, Giants 1

Manny Machado drove in his first game-winning run as a Padre as host San Diego took advantage of a strategic misfire by San Francisco.

After Eric Hosmer was walked intentionally to load the bases in the bottom of the seventh, Hunter Renfroe scored on Machado's bases-loaded, one-out fielder's choice to break a 1-1 tie and give the Padres their third win in their season-opening four-game series against the Giants at Petco Park.

In his major league debut, Padres starter Chris Paddack dueled with San Francisco starter Jeff Samardzija, with both pitchers giving up a run in the fifth.

Orioles 7, Yankees 5

Renato Nunez hit a three-run homer, Trey Mancini added a solo shot, Joey Rickard hit a two-run blast and John Means recorded his first career win as Baltimore waited out a lengthy rain delay and claimed another series win at Yankee Stadium.

Nunez hit Baltimore's first homer of the season when he slugged a 2-2 fastball from J.A. Happ (0-1) into the lower rows of the left-field bleachers four batters in to give Baltimore a 3-0 lead.

Mancini gave Baltimore a 4-0 lead in the third when he drove a 2-2 fastball on to the netting above Monument Park in center field.

Rangers 11, Cubs 10

For the second game in a row, Joey Gallo had a hand in the game-winning run, this time coming home on a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Texas a win over visiting Chicago.

Gallo blasted a three-run homer in the eighth inning of Saturday's win. Texas took the season-opening series after getting blasted 12-4 in the opener. Gallo started off Sunday's bottom of the ninth with an opposite-field double off the left-field wall. After advancing to third on a Shin-Soo Choo groundout, Gallo came home on Pedro Strop's wild pitch.

The Cubs couldn't hold leads of 4-0 and 8-5 and instead start the season 1-2.

Athletics 2, Angels 1

Oakland rode a fourth consecutive dominant pitching performance at home and a fourth home run by Khris Davis to a victory over visiting Los Angeles.

The win gave Oakland three of four over its California rival in the opening series on American soil after the A's had lost two straight to Seattle in Japan.

Extending a streak of consecutive shutout innings by Oakland starters to 23 2/3 innings before surrendering a home run to Kole Calhoun in the sixth inning, right-hander Frankie Montas (1-0) carried a 2-1 lead into the seventh before giving way to the A's bullpen.

Rays 3, Astros 1

Yonny Chirinos worked seven strong innings, and Tampa Bay claimed its four-game series against visiting Houston with a victory at Tropicana Field.

Chirinos, making just his eighth career start after appearing in 18 games as a rookie in 2018, dominated the Astros while surrendering two hits and recording six strikeouts. Chirinos did not walk a batter.

Chirinos (1-0) retired the first eight batters he faced before surrendering a game-tying solo home run to Astros center fielder Jake Marisnick with two outs in the third inning. He threw 88 pitches, 60 for strikes, to follow strong starts from fellow Rays right-handers Charlie Morton and Tyler Glasnow.

Pirates 5, Reds 0

Right-hander Trevor Williams pitched six shutout innings, allowing only three hits, and drove in two runs as Pittsburgh knocked off host Cincinnati for its first win, earning a split of their rain-abbreviated season-opening series.

Williams (1-0) allowed only one walk while striking out six in beating the Reds for the third straight time going back to 2018. He needed only 80 pitches, throwing 59 for strikes, to blank the Reds.

Williams drove in his first run with a single down the first base line in the second inning off Cincinnati starter Sonny Gray (0-1), who struggled badly in his Reds debut. Gray went only 2 2/3 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and four walks, with no strikeouts.

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Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Bryce Harper (3) hits a home run in front of Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann (16) during the seventh inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

White Sox 6, Royals 3

Lucas Giolito took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning and Jose Abreu and Yonder Alonso smacked back-to-back home runs in the fourth to propel visiting Chicago past Kansas City.

The White Sox salvaged the finale of the season-opening, three-game series as Giolito continued his sterling, early-career stretch against the Royals. The right-hander entered the game with a 2.35 career ERA against Kansas City and a 3.24 ERA at spacious Kauffman Stadium.

Giolito (1-0) maintained his success on Sunday, spacing two runs on three hits in 6 2/3 innings, walking one and striking out eight.

Mariners 10, Red Sox 8

Omar Narvaez hit a three-run homer in a seven-run third inning and Seattle held on to defeat visiting Boston.

Jay Bruce added a solo shot for the Mariners, who hit 11 home runs in taking three of four games from the defending World Series champions.

Left fielder J.D. Martinez hit a home run and drove in four runs for the Red Sox, but had a costly fielding error in the third that led to five unearned runs.

Twins 9, Indians 3

Nelson Cruz had three hits including a two-run homer and Willians Astudillo had two doubles and two RBIs to highlight Minnesota's 15-hit attack in a win over visiting Cleveland.

Byron Buxton, Jonathan Schoop, Jorge Polanco and C.J. Cron each added two hits for the Twins, who took two out of three games in the season-opening series against the three-time defending American League Central champion Indians.

Martin Perez (1-0) picked up the win in relief of Michael Pineda, allowing three runs on five hits over 3 2/3 innings. He walked three and struck out six.

Tigers 4, Blue Jays 3 (11)

Jeimer Candelario had five hits, including a two-run single, Nicholas Castellanos singled home the go-ahead run in the 11th inning and visiting Detroit defeated Toronto to gain a split in the four-game series.

Grayson Greiner singled with one out in the top of the 11th against Thomas Pannone (0-1). Candelario singled with two out to put runners at the corners and Castellanos delivered his RBI single.

The Blue Jays had squandered a chance in the bottom of the 10th. Richard Urena, who had three hits, doubled against Daniel Stumpf (1-0), but was out at home as he tried to score when shortstop Jordy Mercer knocked down a grounder in the hole by pinch hitter Freddy Galvis.

Marlins 3, Rockies 0

Sandy Alcantara pitched eight scoreless innings and lined his first major league hit as host Miami defeated Colorado. Hitters for both teams may have been hindered by the shadows that hung over home plate in the early innings.

Miami, which also got a two-run single by Jorge Alfaro and a solo homer from JT Riddle, split its season-opening series after losing the first two to Colorado.

Alcantara (1-0), a 23-year-old native of the Dominican Republic, made just his seventh major league start. His eight innings on Sunday marked the longest outing of his brief career.

Brewers 5, Cardinals 4

Christian Yelich tied a major league record by homering for the fourth straight game to open the season, then smacked a two-run walk-off double in the ninth inning as Milwaukee defeated visiting St. Louis.

Ben Gamel doubled leading off the ninth and Lorenzo Cain followed with an infield single before Yelich doubled to left-center field on a 2-0 pitch from Jordan Hicks (0-1).

Yelich hit a solo home run off St. Louis starter Michael Wacha in the first inning to become the sixth player to go deep in his team's first four games, joining Willie Mays (San Francisco Giants, 1971), Mark McGwire (Cardinals, 1998), Nelson Cruz (Texas Rangers, 2011), Chris Davis (Baltimore Orioles, 2013) and Trevor Story (Colorado Rockies, 2016).

Dodgers 8, Diamondbacks 7

A.J. Pollock proved to be a headache for his former team, delivering a game-tying double and scoring the go-ahead run in the eighth inning as Los Angeles rallied to knock off visiting Arizona.

Pollock, who left the Diamondbacks in the offseason to sign a free agent deal with the Dodgers, had two hits in the series finale after delivering a four-hit game against Arizona on Friday.

Cody Bellinger hit his third home run in two days and his fourth of the season for the Dodgers, as Los Angeles scored 42 runs during its opening four games, winning three of them.

--Field Level Media

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