MLB roundup: Astros pound Red Sox in series opener

[June 01, 2021]  Jose Urquidy delivered an exceptional outing in his return from the injured list while Kyle Tucker capped a productive month with another multi-hit and multi-RBI effort as the Houston Astros won the opener of their four-game home series against the Boston Red Sox 11-2 on Monday.

Urquidy (4-2) missed two turns in the rotation after leaving his previous start against the Los Angeles Angels with right posterior shoulder discomfort on May 12. Urquidy had allowed two or fewer runs in four consecutive starts and resumed that excellent pitching, retiring the first 11 batters he faced before issuing a two-out walk to J.D. Martinez in the fourth inning.

Urquidy pitched around a two-out double by Boston catcher Christian Vazquez in the fifth before digging deep to complete the sixth, recording back-to-back strikeouts of Martinez and Xander Bogaerts to strand Alex Verdugo at second after Verdugo plated Hunter Renfroe with a double.

Urquidy allowed one run on three hits and one walk with a season-high nine strikeouts. He threw 87 pitches, 61 for strikes, and generated 10 swings and misses on 53 fastballs.

Giants 6, Angels 1

Johnny Cueto allowed one run and five hits over seven innings to lead San Francisco past visiting Los Angeles in the first of their two-game series.

Cueto (4-1) struck out five and didn't walk a batter but hit two. He improved to 4-0 in five career starts against the Angels with a 1.34 ERA. Evan Longoria, LaMonte Wade Jr. and Mauricio Dubon homered for the Giants, who have won four straight.

Dylan Bundy remains winless in 10 starts for the Angels this season. Bundy (0-6) went 5 2/3 innings, allowing four runs and five hits, three of which left the yard. He struck out five and walked two in his second career outing in San Francisco.

Twins 3, Orioles 2 (10)

Rob Refsnyder scored the tiebreaking run on Adam Plutko's wild pitch in the top of the 10th inning, and Jorge Polanco later homered as visiting Minnesota extended Baltimore's losing streak to 14.

Refsnyder began the 10th on second base, moved to third on Kyle Garlick's grounder to second and scored when Plutko (1-2) bounced an 0-2 pitch to Andrelton Simmons. Polanco followed with a homer to deep right for a 3-1 lead.

The Orioles got one back on DJ Stewart's RBI double and put runners on first and third with one out, but Hansel Robles retired the final two batters as Minnesota held on.

Rays 3, Yankees 1

Rich Hill pitched five sharp innings, Kevin Kiermaier scored twice and red-hot Tampa continued its dominance over New York with a victory in the opener of a four-game series at Yankee Stadium.

The Rays won their fifth consecutive game and improved to 16-1 in their past 17 games since a 1-0 loss to the Yankees on May 12.

Tampa Bay also improved to 7-3 in the season series with the Yankees, won for the ninth time in its past 10 games at New York and also improved to 17-5 in its past 22 regular-season meetings with the Yankees.

Reds 11, Phillies 1

Max Schrock and Kyle Farmer drilled two-run homers and Wade Miley allowed just one run over six innings in a return from the injured list as host Cincinnati pounded slumping Philadelphia.

Schrock finished just a single shy of the cycle before leaving with an apparent left leg injury following his seventh-inning double. Farmer drove in a career-high five runs and finished a triple short of the cycle. National League batting leader Nick Castellanos extended his hitting streak to 17 games, matching the longest streak in the majors this season.

Miley (5-4) earned the victory, throwing 102 pitches in his first start since May 19, when he injured his left heel running out of the batter's box and landed on the 10-day injured list. The Reds bullpen of Sean Doolittle, Brad Brach and Michael Feliz closed out Cincinnati's win and handed the Phillies their 11th loss in 15 games.

Braves 5, Nationals 3

Right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. hit his 16th home run and the Atlanta bullpen produced four shutout innings as the Braves handed visiting Washington its fifth straight loss.

Acuna was 2-for-4, scored two runs and drove in one on a solo homer in the second inning, his fourth of the season against Washington and 15th of his career vs. the Nationals.

Braves starter Charlie Morton (4-2) worked five innings and allowed three runs on six hits, three walks and six strikeouts. It was his first win against Washington since May 23, 2014, when he was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Cubs 7, Padres 2

Javier Baez and Patrick Wisdom each hit a pair of home runs and Kris Bryant added his own two-run shot as Chicago defeated visiting San Diego.

All seven Cubs runs scored on the five home runs with the wind blowing out at Wrigley Field.

Cubs right-hander Kohl Stewart allowed one unearned run on three hits and a walk with two strikeouts over five innings to earn his first major league win since 2019. Stewart was a last-minute call-up from Triple-A Iowa when scheduled starter Trevor Williams was forced to undergo an emergency appendectomy.

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Rich Hill (14) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

Brewers 3, Tigers 2 (10)

Luis Urias hit a game-winning single in the bottom of the 10th as Milwaukee stretched its winning streak to five games by edging visiting Detroit.

Keston Hiura sacrificed runner Omar Narvaez to third prior to Urias' hit to deep right. Willy Adames hit a two-run homer for Milwaukee, and Brad Boxberger (2-1) picked up the victory with a scoreless inning of relief.

Milwaukee starter Corbin Burnes lasted six innings, allowing one run on six hits while striking out seven. Akil Baddoo hit his fifth homer of the season for Detroit, and Jonathan Schoop added two hits and an RBI.

White Sox 8, Indians 6 (8 inn., Game 1)

Adam Eaton's two-run home run highlighted a three-run eighth inning, and visiting Chicago overcame a shaky outing from Carlos Rodon to win its fifth straight, beating Cleveland.

Chicago took a 6-5 lead in the extra frame on Jose Abreu's sacrifice fly and Eaton broke things open with his second hit of the day, a homer that landed near the club's right-center field bullpen with a man on base.

Cesar Hernandez recorded his first career two-homer game but also made two errors for the Indians, who have lost four of six.

Indians 3, White Sox 1 (Game 2)

Jose Ramirez hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the third inning, and Cleveland earned a victory over visiting Chicago in the seven-inning nightcap to split a doubleheader.

Bradley Zimmer had an RBI single and five Indians pitchers held the American League Central-leading White Sox to one third-inning run and seven hits to help them bounce back after falling 8-6 in eight innings of Game 1. Cleveland also split a home doubleheader with Toronto on Sunday.

Yoan Moncada and Billy Hamilton each had two hits while Nick Madrigal drove in the lone run for Chicago, which saw its five-game winning streak come to an end. The White Sox struck out 26 times over both contests Monday (14 in Game 1, 12 in Game 2).

Mariners 6, A's 5 (10)

Tom Murphy's sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning brought home the winning run as Seattle defeated visiting Oakland.

Donovan Walton hit his first major league home run for the Mariners, who won their fifth straight game and their seventh in the past eight. The A's lost their third in a row.

With one out in the 10th, Ty France grounded a sharp single into left field, scoring Jack Mayfield from second. J.P. Crawford hit a hard one-hopper down the first-base line that eluded Olson for a two-base error. Jake Fraley was intentionally walked to load the bases and Murphy lined a sacrifice fly to deep right to end it.

Royals 7, Pirates 3

Mike Minor pitched six solid innings as host Kansas City defeated Pittsburgh.

Adalberto Mondesi had two hits, including a two-run home run, before being replaced in the eighth inning. The Royals have won 10 of their last 16 games to return to .500.

Starter Chad Kuhl (0-2) lasted only four innings for Pittsburgh, allowing three runs on six hits. He struck out five and didn't walk a batter.

Dodgers 9, Cardinals 4

Chris Taylor hit a home run and delivered a three-run double on a 14-pitch at-bat and host Los Angeles rallied for a victory in the opener of a three-game series against St. Louis.

Gavin Lux hit two home runs for the Dodgers, but Taylor's sixth-inning duel against Cardinals left-hander Genesis Cabrera in a tie game made the difference. The Dodgers ended a three-game losing streak that came after they won nine of 10.

Justin Williams and Dylan Carlson each hit home runs in the sixth inning as St. Louis took a short-lived lead. Tyler O'Neill also went deep for the Cardinals.

Mets 6, Diamondbacks 2

Jacob deGrom pitched six shutout innings and Pete Alonso homered and had a season-high four RBIs in his return from a hand injury as New York defeated Arizona in Phoenix.

deGrom (4-2) struck out eight and allowed two hits without issuing a walk. He lowered his ERA to 0.71 and has struck out 82 and given up just 22 hits in 51 innings over eight starts. Billy McKinney also went deep for the Mets, who won their fifth straight game.

Eduardo Escobar hit his 13th homer and Josh Reddick had three hits for the Diamondbacks, who have lost 23 of their past 27 games. Arizona is 0-4 against the Mets this season. Merrill Kelly (2-6) gave up five runs and nine hits over 6 2/3 innings. He struck out six and walked two.

--Field Level Media

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