MLB roundup: Rays rally past Nats, stay unbeaten

 

[April 05, 2023]  Luke Raley, Josh Lowe and Yandy Diaz smashed home runs during a five-run, ninth-inning outburst as the Tampa Bay Rays earned a 10-6 victory over the host Washington Nationals on Tuesday.

With the victory, the 5-0 Rays remained the lone unbeaten team in the major leagues after the Minnesota Twins lost to the Miami Marlins.

Raley and Lowe greeted Washington closer Kyle Finnegan (0-1) with back-to-back long balls to start the rally. With one out, Taylor Walls singled and Jose Siri doubled. Finnegan then left a slider over the middle of the plate, and Diaz crushed a three-run blast 414 feet into the left field bullpens.

Pete Fairbanks closed out the game for the Rays with a scoreless ninth. Ryan Thompson (1-0) earned the win.

Diamondbacks 8, Padres 6

Visiting Arizona scored four runs in the top of the eighth, capitalizing on San Diego miscues to earn a win and a split of a two-game series. Padres star Manny Machado was ejected in the first inning after arguing a third-strike call that was made for a pitch-clock violation.

The Padres had built a 5-1 lead through five innings on an RBI single by Austin Nola, a solo home run by Nelson Cruz, a run scored on a throwing error and a two-run homer by Xander Bogaerts. But the Diamondbacks scored seven runs in the next three innings against the Padres bullpen.

The Diamondbacks pulled to within a run in the sixth on a two-run double by Geraldo Perdomo and an RBI single by Josh Rojas. Arizona then made the most of three singles to score four runs in the eighth against Luis Garcia (0-1). Kevin Ginkel (1-0) earned the win.

Marlins 1, Twins 0

Reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara scattered three singles over nine innings en route to the fourth shutout of his career to lead Miami past visiting Minnesota.

Alcantara (1-0) retired the first 11 batters he faced before yielding an infield single to Trevor Larnach. Michael A. Taylor had a line-drive single in the sixth and Carlos Correa added a single to center in the ninth for the only other Minnesota hits. Alcantara walked one and struck out five. He threw 100 pitches, 68 for strikes.

Kenta Maeda (0-1), making his first start in nearly 600 days after undergoing Tommy John surgery in September 2021 and sitting out the entire 2022 season, allowed one run on three hits over five innings while striking out nine.

Dodgers 5, Rockies 2

Will Smith hit his third home run in three games and Julio Urias went six scoreless innings as Los Angeles pulled off a two-game sweep of visiting Colorado.

Jason Heyward added his second home run in two games, while Max Muncy also went deep for the Dodgers. Urias (2-0) gave up five hits and no walks while striking out six. Evan Phillips got the last two outs for his first save.

Yonathan Daza had two hits for the Rockies, who lost their fourth game in a row. German Marquez (1-1) gave up four runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings, with two walks and four strikeouts.

Pirates 4, Red Sox 1

Bryan Reynolds collected three hits for the second consecutive game to help visiting Pittsburgh beat Boston.

Reynolds hit a solo home run, a double and had an RBI single on Tuesday. His three hits in Pittsburgh's 7-6 triumph over Boston on Monday night included two home runs. He has four home runs in the past three games.

The Red Sox, who scored 33 runs in their first four games, were held to four hits in the loss. Boston starter Nick Pivetta (0-1) lasted five innings. He gave up three runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks while striking out six.

Cubs 12, Reds 5

Ian Happ went 3-for-4 and reached base a career-best five times and visiting Chicago scored 11 runs over the final four innings to rout Cincinnati.

Happ doubled in a six-run seventh inning and walked twice. Patrick Wisdom doubled twice, drove in three runs and scored twice for the Cubs, who snapped a three-game skid.

Trey Mancini also drove in three runs for the Cubs, who evened the series at a game apiece. Stuart Fairchild homered for the Reds, who had their three-game winning streak snapped. The Reds have homered 10 times in their first five games.

Phillies 4, Yankees 1

Kyle Schwarber hit his 200th career homer two batters into the game, and visiting Philadelphia stopped a season-opening, four-game losing streak with a victory over New York.

Schwarber helped Philadelphia end its early frustration when he hammered a fastball for his 415-foot drive to right field off Domingo German (0-1). Brandon Marsh also homered in the third. Trea Turner and Schwarber added RBI singles in the fifth off Michael King, who was making his second appearance since returning from a broken elbow.

Andrew Bellatti (1-0) fanned two in the fifth and earned the win. The Yankees' lone run came on DJ LeMahieu's solo home run with one out in the ninth.

Apr 4, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz (2) hits a three run home run against the Washington Nationals during the ninth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Blue Jays 4, Royals 1

Whit Merrifield scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch against his former team, lifting visiting Toronto to a victory over Kansas City.

Daulton Varsho homered to lead off the sixth inning and Matt Chapman had an RBI single among his three hits and scored a run. Varsho and Kevin Kiermaier each had two of the 11 hits recorded by the Blue Jays, who snapped a three-game losing skid.

Yusei Kikuchi (1-0) overcame Franmil Reyes' homer to lead off the second inning to keep Kansas City in check. Kikuchi allowed that one run on three hits in five innings. Matt Duffy had three of the four hits for the Royals. Kris Bubic (0-1) took the loss.

Braves 4, Cardinals 1

Austin Riley hit a two-run homer and Orlando Arcia hit a solo shot to lift visiting Atlanta past St. Louis.

Braves starting pitcher Dylan Dodd (1-0) won his big-league debut while allowing one run on six hits in five innings. He struck out three and walked none. A.J. Minter closed out the ninth inning to earn his first save.

Cardinals starting pitcher Steven Matz (0-1) allowed four runs on 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out seven batters and walked one. Willson Contreras' RBI single produced St. Louis' only run.

Orioles 7, Rangers 2

Jorge Mateo homered for the second time in as many days, Kyle Gibson allowed two runs over seven innings and Baltimore rolled to a victory in Arlington, Texas.

The Orioles have now won eight straight over the Rangers, dating back to the start of the 2022 season. It was a forgettable Rangers debut for Andrew Heaney (0-1), who allowed all seven runs on seven hits and two walks over 2 2/3 innings.

Baltimore took control of the game with a five-run second inning, highlighted by a three-run home run by Ryan Mountcastle. Cedric Mullins and Ryan McKenna also had RBI hits in the inning. Gibson (2-0) allowed six hits, struck out five and didn't issue a walk.

Brewers 9, Mets 0

Brian Anderson drove in six runs with two homers and a double and Wade Miley tossed six scoreless innings for his 100th career victory as Milwaukee posted its second consecutive shutout against visiting New York.

Miley (1-0), limited to nine games with the Cubs last season due to injuries, scattered five hits, striking out three and walking none in his season debut.

Rowdy Tellez, Anderson and Garrett Mitchell hit consecutive homers off Mets starter Max Scherzer (1-1) in the sixth inning to put the Brewers up 5-0. Scherzer allowed five runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings, striking out two and walking two.

Tigers 6, Astros 3

Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson recorded multi-hit games, with Torkelson producing three RBIs, as visiting Detroit claimed a victory over Houston.

The Tigers secured the three-game series with their second win in as many games. Torkelson produced an RBI double that opened the scoring in the first inning before delivering a two-run home run in the eighth that provided Detroit a measure of insurance.

Matt Manning (1-0) earned the victory after allowing two runs on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts while logging 5 2/3 innings. Framber Valdez (0-1) took the loss.

Mariners 11, Angels 2

Teoscar Hernandez and AJ Pollock each hit two home runs and Luis Castillo pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings as Seattle defeated visiting Los Angeles.

The Mariners snapped a four-game skid and put an end to the Angels' three-game winning streak. Castillo (1-0) hasn't allowed a run in two starts this season. On Tuesday, the right-hander allowed two hits, walked two and struck out six.

Angels starter Jose Suarez (0-1), making his season debut, allowed seven runs (six earned) on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Athletics 4, Guardians 3

Tony Kemp singled home Ryan Noda with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, delivering Oakland a walk-off win over visiting Cleveland.

Neither team had scored since the sixth before Noda drew a walk from Cleveland's fourth pitcher, James Karinchak (0-2), to lead off the ninth.

An Esteury Ruiz infield out advanced Noda to second with two outs, and he scored the game-ender on Kemp's hit to right. Trevor May (2-1) earned the win after pitching a scoreless top of the ninth.

--Field Level Media

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