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MLB roundup: Braves pound Pirates 20-1

[May 22, 2021] Ronald Acuna Jr. and Ehire Adrianza hit grand slams and Austin Riley went deep twice as the Atlanta Braves powered to a 20-1 win over the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday.

Acuna sliced a second-inning, full-count pitch from Tyler Anderson toward right field for his National League-leading 14th home run. He later added a sacrifice fly, with his five RBIs tying a career high.

Riley hit solo homers in the fifth and seventh innings, giving him seven long balls this season, and added a double and a sacrifice fly to finish 3-for-4.

The Braves hit seven home runs, with Ozzie Albies, Marcell Ozuna and Dansby Swanson also connecting. Adrianza's grand slam came in the eighth inning against position player Wilmer Difo, who allowed eight runs.

Dodgers 2, Giants 1

Chris Taylor hit a two-run homer and Trevor Bauer struck out 11 in 6 1/3 innings to help Los Angeles beat host San Francisco in the opener of a three-game series.

Mookie Betts and Gavin Lux each had two hits as the Dodgers picked up their fifth straight victory and ninth in the past 10 games. The Giants had a five-game winning streak halted and lost for just the fourth time in 14 contests.

Bauer (5-2) gave up one unearned run on two hits and four walks in a 126-pitch outing. Nate Jones retired five consecutive batters, and Blake Treinen tossed a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his second save.

Athletics 8, Angels 4

Chad Pinder hit a three-run home run and Ramon Laureano hit a solo shot as Oakland rallied past Los Angeles in Anaheim, Calif.

Pinder had three hits, Laureano had four, and Mark Canha and Jed Lowrie also hit home runs for the A's, while James Kaprielian was solid in his homecoming. Kaprielian, who went to high school in nearby Irvine, gave up two runs on four hits over 5 2/3 innings in his second career start.

Jose Iglesias and Jared Walsh hit home runs for the Angels, who lost for the fourth time in their past five games, all since three-time MVP Mike Trout was sidelined with a calf injury. Mike Mayers (1-3) gave up three runs on four hits and two walks in 1 1/3 relief innings.

Rays 9, Blue Jays 7 (12 innings)

Francisco Mejia's 12th-inning grand slam beat host Toronto in Dunedin, Fla., and stretched Tampa Bay's winning streak to eight games.

Brandon Lowe hit two runs and finished with three RBIs for the Rays. Diego Castillo (1-2) tossed 1 1/3 innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on one hit for the win.

Toronto's Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was 3-for-5, homered twice and drove in four runs, and Marcus Semien went 3-for-6 with two runs and two RBIs, falling a single short of hitting for the cycle. Jeremy Beasley (0-1) allowed a hit and two walks, one intentional, before surrendering Mejia's blast.

Padres 16, Mariners 1

Trent Grisham and Fernando Tatis Jr. homered in the first two innings as host San Diego scored eight runs against Seattle starter Chris Flexen in 1 2/3 innings en route to a rout.

Jake Cronenworth had a two-run double in the fifth and a three-run homer in the seventh to give him a career-high five RBIs as the Padres scored their most runs at Petco Park in almost 11 years. Tatis finished with four RBIs. Winning pitcher Chris Paddack (2-3) allowed one run on three hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out six.

The Mariners scored the game's first run on Kyle Seager's single in the first inning, when they got two hits, but they had only two hits more the rest of the way. Flexen (4-2) gave up eight runs on 10 hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings.

Nationals 4, Orioles 2

Stephen Strasburg threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings in his return from the injured list and Washington beat visiting Baltimore in the opener of a three-game series.

Strasburg (1-1) allowed only one hit with four strikeouts and four walks while throwing 72 pitches. Josh Bell went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored for Washington, which drew a season-high crowd of 14,369.

Jorge Lopez (1-5) gave up two runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts and three walks over five innings for the Orioles, who lost for the 11th time in their last 13 games.

Yankees 2, White Sox 1

Gleyber Torres hit a game-winning single with no outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and New York eked out a victory over visiting Chicago.

After Aaron Judge and Gio Urshela opened the inning by singling off Evan Marshall (0-2), Torres won it when he hit a first-pitch changeup into left field that easily scored Judge from second. Torres' fifth career walk-off hit and second this season gave the Yankees their fourth straight win and 10th in 13 games.

In six innings, White Sox starter Carlos Rodon allowed two hits and struck out 13, eclipsing his career-high whiff total for the second time this season.

Tigers 7, Royals 5

Miguel Cabrera hit two home runs, including his sixth career grand slam, and drove in five runs as Detroit defeated host Kansas City. Cabrera finished the night 3-for-5.

Jose Urena (2-4) earned the win despite allowing five runs on 10 hits in six innings. He struck out one and walked none. Michael Fulmer pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his fourth save in as many chances.

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Atlanta Braves right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. (13) hits a grand slam home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the second inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Michael A. Taylor hit a two-run home run and Carlos Santana had a two-run single to lead the Royals. Tyler Zuber (0-1) gave up two runs on a single and a walk in two-thirds of an inning in the top of the seventh. The go-ahead run scored when the next reliever, Greg Holland, served up the slam to Cabrera.

Cubs 12, Cardinals 3

Joc Pederson, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and David Bote each had two RBIs to lead Chicago to a victory at St. Louis in the first meeting of the season between the longtime rivals.

The Cubs have won six of their past eight games and the Cardinals have dropped four of their past six. Cubs starter Hendricks (4-4) tossed 6 2/3 innings and allowed three runs, one earned.

Chicago sent 11 batters to the plate during an eight-run eighth inning. The rally broke open a close game as the Cardinals' bullpen imploded following a quality start from Carlos Martinez, who threw six innings of two-run ball.

Twins 10, Indians 0

Just recalled from the minors, Randy Dobnak threw six scoreless innings in his first 2021 start and visiting Minnesota scored nine times in the fourth inning while routing Cleveland.

Rookie Alex Kirilloff had two hits and two RBIs for the Twins, who gave Dobnak more offense than needed while winning back-to-back games for the first time since May 2-3. Dobnak (1-3) yielded just three singles while recording five strikeouts and two walks.

A two-run double from Max Kepler and a two-run single from Kirilloff highlighted the Twins' fourth-inning barrage.

Red Sox 11, Phillies 3

Rafael Devers homered, doubled and drove in three runs, Danny Santana also homered and Boston defeated host Philadelphia.

Christian Vazquez added two doubles and drove in three runs while Alex Verdugo added three hits and two runs before leaving due to hamstring tightness. J.D. Martinez contributed two hits and Xander Bogaerts had two hits and two RBIs for the Red Sox, who won their third in a row.

Jean Segura homered, singled twice and knocked in two runs while Alec Bohm added two hits and an RBI for the Phillies, who have lost three straight.

Reds 9, Brewers 4

Jesse Winker belted three home runs and Tyler Naquin added a towering three-run homer to help Cincinnati snap a four-game skid with a win over visiting Milwaukee.

With his first career three-homer game, Winker continued his torrid start to 2021 with four hits and a walk to lift his average to .356. Jeff Hoffman (3-3) pitched out of trouble early and worked around four walks over five innings.

Brewers starter Adrian Houser (3-5) struggled from the beginning, allowing six runs and five hits in four-plus innings.

Mets 6, Marlins 5 (12 innings)

Khalil Lee stroked a go-ahead double in the 12th inning -- his first major league hit after eight strikeouts -- leading New York past host Miami.

Johneshwy Fargas followed Lee's hit with a two-run triple, although he was thrown out bidding for an inside-the-park homer. New York pitchers struck out 18 batters. Drew Smith (1-0) got the win, and Jacob Barnes earned his first save since 2018 by retiring the only batter he faced.

The Marlins got two runs back in the bottom of the 12th on an RBI single from Miguel Rojas and a run-scoring, double-play grounder from Corey Dickerson. Garrett Cooper hit a two-run homer for Miami. Adam Cimber (0-1) allowed three runs, two earned, in two innings.

Rangers 7, Astros 5 (10 innings)

Adolis Garcia clubbed a three-run, walk-off home run in extra innings to lift Texas to a win over visiting Houston in Arlington, Texas.

Garcia drilled a 1-0 fastball from Bryan Abreu (2-3) the opposite way to right field with two outs, plating Willie Calhoun and Joey Gallo with his 12th home run.

Carlos Correa had scored on a fielder's choice grounder by Jose Altuve in the top of the 10th to give the Astros a 5-4 lead. Houston erased a three-run deficit in the eighth when Correa and Jason Castro stroked run-scoring doubles before Altuve extended his hitting streak to 15 games with an RBI single off Rangers closer Ian Kennedy.

Rockies 7, Diamondbacks 1

Ryan McMahon hit two home runs, Raimel Tapia also went deep, and Colorado beat Arizona in Denver.

German Marquez tossed seven scoreless innings, and C.J. Cron, Charlie Blackmon and Dom Nunez had two hits each for the Rockies, who snapped a five-game skid.

Eduardo Escobar had two hits for the Diamondbacks, who have lost six in a row and 11 straight on the road.

--Field Level Media

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