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MLB roundup: Braves crush Indians as Donaldson homers twice

[April 22, 2019] Josh Donaldson homered in his first two at-bats, and Max Fried tossed 6 1/3 strong innings as the visiting Atlanta Braves breezed to an 11-5 rout of the Cleveland Indians on Sunday night.

Donaldson drove in four runs, while Freddie Freeman had a pair of RBI singles to highlight his three-hit performance.

Ozzie Albies had a two-run single and joined Freeman in scoring twice for the Braves, who saw each member of the starting lineup record at least one of the team's 16 hits.

Donaldson provided the fireworks by depositing a 1-1 slider from starter Shane Bieber (2-1) over the wall in center field for a solo homer in the first inning. The 2015 American League Most Valuable Player wasn't done, launching a 1-2 fastball from Bieber deep into the bleachers in left field for a three-run shot in the second inning.

Rangers 11, Astros 10

Joey Gallo capped a prolific weekend with his third consecutive multi-hit game, and host Texas claimed the rubber match of its three-game series with Houston.

After slugging home runs in each of the first two games, Gallo finished 2-for-3 with five RBIs and delivered a two-run triple that ignited Texas' three-run first inning against Astros right-hander Collin McHugh.

Gallo also hit a sacrifice fly in the Rangers' four-run third inning and, after the Astros chased Texas right-hander Shelby Miller with a five-run sixth, Gallo added a run-scoring single in the bottom of the sixth.

Cubs 2, Diamondbacks 1

David Bote ripped a game-ending single to right-center field in the bottom of the ninth inning to score Javier Baez and lift Chicago to a 2-1 victory over visiting Arizona.

Teammates mobbed Bote near first base after the hit, which gave the Cubs a series win and marked their fifth victory in the past six games. Baez finished 2-for-3 with a double, a triple, an RBI and the game-winning run.

Baez set the stage for the dramatic win when he led off the ninth with a double down the right field line. He advanced to third base after Diamondbacks right fielder Adam Jones bobbled the ball in the grass.

Yankees 7, Royals 6 (10)

Austin Romine hit a game-winning single with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning as host New York beat Kansas City.

Mike Tauchman and Gio Urshela opened the inning by drawing walks from Jake Diekman (0-1), who was replaced by Ian Kennedy. After the runners were sacrificed to second and third by pinch hitter Thairo Estrada, Romine won by lifting a fly ball over center fielder Billy Hamilton's head.

Before the wild sequences of the late innings, the Yankees carried a 5-0 lead into the eighth behind the dominance of left-hander James Paxton and a three-run homer by Clint Frazier. Kansas City scored six in the eighth before Romine's RBI single in the bottom of the eighth tied it.

Dodgers 6, Brewers 5

Cody Bellinger belted his 11th home run with two out in the top of ninth inning to lift Los Angeles to a 6-5 road win over Milwaukee.

Bellinger went 3-for-4 and drove in three runs, hitting the game-winner off Milwaukee reliever Josh Hader (0-2). He also robbed Christian Yelich of a homer at the wall in the eighth inning. Kenley Jansen (2-0) pitched 1 1/3 innings and struck out the side in the ninth to earn the win.

Yelich, who leads the majors in homers with 13 and is one shy of tying Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez for the most home runs (14) before May 1, went 0-for-2 with two walks.

Red Sox 4, Rays 3 (11)

Christian Vazquez hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the top of the 11th inning as Boston edged host Tampa Bay.

Rafael Devers began the 11th with a bloop single, and Michael Chavis, making his first major league start, followed with a walk. After a Jackie Bradley Jr. bunt advanced both runners, Vazquez lofted a deep fly to center to drive in the game-winning run.

The Red Sox rallied against Rays reliever Jose Alvarado (0-2) for the second straight game.

Cardinals 6, Mets 4

Paul Goldschmidt delivered a two-run single among his two hits as host St. Louis topped New York.

Dexter Fowler and Marcell Ozuna each had a run-scoring double and Kolten Wong added an RBI single for the Cardinals, who have scored at least four runs in each game during their 7-1 surge at home.

Dakota Hudson (1-1) overcame three solo homers and five hits total in five innings to record his first career win as a starter.

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Braves third baseman Josh Donaldson (20) hits a home run during the first inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Blue Jays 5, Athletics 4

Justin Smoak hit his second home run in two days as Toronto completed a three-game sweep of host Oakland.

Brandon Drury capped a big series with a double and a single for the Blue Jays, who completed a 6-1 trip that began with three wins in four games at Minnesota.

The A's have lost five of six.

Padres 4, Reds 3

Austin Hedges homered to help host San Diego defeat Cincinnati and avoid a four-game sweep.

The Padres had five straight hits and six in the inning against Reds starter and loser Tyler Mahle (0-2), who allowed four runs on seven hits with nine strikeouts in six innings. Mahle retired the last 10 Padres he faced.

Left-hander Joey Lucchesi (3-2) allowed one run on five hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings to earn the win.

Angels 8, Mariners 6

Los Angeles clubbed four homers and held off visiting Seattle for the first time in six tries this season.

Tommy La Stella hit two homers, and Brian Goodwin and Kevan Smith each hit one for Los Angeles. In all, the Angels had 11 hits, including two doubles by Mike Trout.

Mariners starter Mike Leake (2-2), who yielded three homers, allowed four runs on six hits and two walks in six innings.

Nationals 5, Marlins 0

Stephen Strasburg pitched eight scoreless innings, and Ryan Zimmerman slugged two homers as Washington won at Miami.

The last-place Marlins failed to get their first three-game sweep since September of 2017 but still won their first series this year.

Strasburg (2-1) improved to 18-7 in his career against Miami. He passed Gio Gonzalez as the Nationals' career leader in innings pitched.

Rockies 4, Phillies 1

Jon Gray pitched six shutout innings, and Colorado beat visiting Philadelphia.

Tony Wolters had two hits, including a two-run double for the Rockies, who have won six of seven.

Colorado's Charlie Blackmon had a triple and two singles to finish 10-for-18 in the series.

Twins 4, Orioles 3

Willians Astudillo drove in two runs, and starter Kyle Gibson threw six solid innings as visiting Minnesota defeated Baltimore.

Astudillo had an RBI double plus a sacrifice fly as the Twins took a 2-0 lead in the first inning and never trailed. The victory let Minnesota complete a sweep of the three-game weekend series in Baltimore.

Gibson (1-0) gave up two runs on five hits in six innings.

Giants 3, Pirates 2

Buster Posey's three-run home run in the fifth inning lifted visiting San Francisco over Pittsburgh, ending a four-game skid.

San Francisco starter Dereck Rodriguez (3-2) gave up two runs and three hits in 5 2/3 innings, with one walk and four strikeouts. He also singled and scored a run.

Josh Bell hit a two-run homer for Pittsburgh.

Tigers 4, White Sox 3

Daniel Norris tossed five scoreless innings in his first start this season, Gordon Beckham hit a solo homer and host Detroit edged Chicago.

Norris (1-0) allowed two hits and struck out six. Shane Greene recorded his 10th save by getting the last three outs, including two strikeouts.

White Sox starter Reynaldo Lopez (1-3) gave up three runs (two earned) and seven hits in six innings while striking out eight.

--Field Level Media

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