MLB roundup: Back-to-back HRs in 9th send Reds past Nats

 

[April 01, 2024]  Will Benson tied the score with a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth and Christian Encarnacion-Strand lined a solo homer to left to complete the rally as Cincinnati Reds edged the visiting Washington Nationals 6-5 on Sunday.

Just one strike from defeat, Jonathan India won a 10-pitch encounter with Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan (0-1) by driving a double down the left-field line. Benson followed with a homer to left-center before Encarnacion-Strand ended an 0-for-12 slump with his solo shot.

Lucas Sims (1-0) pitched a perfect ninth for Cincinnati, which captured the rubber game of the series.

Jake Fraley and Benson each had three hits for the Reds, while Spencer Steer went 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Benson drove in three runs.

Rookie Trey Lipscomb broke a 3-3 tie with his first big league homer in the seventh inning after CJ Abrams hit a solo shot for the Nationals in the third.

Angels 4, Orioles 1

Taylor Ward hit his second home run in two days, Reid Detmers pitched five strong innings and visiting Los Angeles beat Baltimore to avert being swept in the three-game opening series.

Detmers (1-0) allowed a run on two hits. He struck out seven and walked three. Jose Soriano followed with three scoreless innings of relief and Carlos Estevez worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save of the season.

Tyler Wells (0-1) tossed six innings for the Orioles, allowing four runs -- three earned -- on five hits. He struck out seven without a walk. After struggling early, Wells retired the final 13 batters he faced.

Diamondbacks 5, Rockies 1

Brandon Pfaadt threw five effective innings in his first outing of the season, helping Arizona to a victory over Colorado in Phoenix.

The Diamondbacks offense collected just five hits, two coming from Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Pfaadt (1-0) allowed five hits, one run, and no walks while striking out six. He also hit two batters.

Rockies starter Ryan Feltner (0-1) went five innings, charged with five runs (three earned) on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts. He also hit a batter.

Phillies 5, Braves 4

Alec Bohm had two hits and two RBIs, Kyle Schwarber homered and singled and host Philadelphia salvaged a three-game series with a victory over Atlanta.

Trea Turner hit an RBI single for the Phillies, who were outscored 21-7 in the first two games of the set. Matt Strahm (1-0) earned the win in relief, and Jose Alvarado threw a scoreless ninth inning for his first save of the season.

Ozzie Albies hit a home run, singled and had three RBIs, and Austin Riley added two hits for the Braves. Atlanta starter Chris Sale gave up five hits and two runs to go along with seven strikeouts and two walks in 5 1/3 innings.

Brewers 4, Mets 1

Colin Rea combined with two relievers to scatter seven hits for visiting Milwaukee, which completed a season-opening three-game sweep of New York.

Rea (1-0) allowed one run on five hits and two walks while striking out two over five innings for the Brewers. Bryan Hudson struck out four over three innings of two-hit ball before Joel Payamps struck out one in a perfect ninth for his first save. Willy Adames had two hits, including the first-inning RBI single that gave the Brewers a lead they'd never relinquish.

Tyrone Taylor, who spent the first five seasons of his career with the Brewers, had an RBI single in the second for the Mets. Tylor Megill (0-1) took the loss after allowing two runs (one earned) over four innings while walking three and striking out four.

Pirates 9, Marlins 7 (10 innings)

Pittsburgh, which scored two runs in the top of the 10th inning without hitting the ball out of the infield, defeated host Miami to complete a four-game sweep.

Pittsburgh's Rowdy Tellez slugged a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh inning. But the Marlins tied in the bottom of the ninth on Nick Gordon's pinch-hit homer. Hunter Stratton pitched a scoreless 10th inning to earn the save. In fact, the Pirates bullpen allowed just one run in six innings.

Miami blew a 5-0 lead and opened the season 0-4 for the first time since 2001. The Marlins got a Jazz Chisholm Jr. grand slam in the first and Avisail Garcia's solo homer in the fourth. Miami was the last team in the majors to hit a homer this season.

Blue Jays 9, Rays 2

Justin Turner went 3-for-4 and drove in four runs in his biggest day with Toronto as it clobbered Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The third baseman singled, doubled and homered in the first five innings. He also scored twice and walked. Davis Schneider homered and had two RBIs, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run as Toronto won the opener and finale in the four-game series.

Tampa Bay's Randy Arozarena hit an opposite-field home run for the second consecutive game, and Isaac Paredes went deep as the club managed just three hits.

Yankees 4, Astros 3

Juan Soto produced his third consecutive multi-hit game, snapping a ninth-inning deadlock with an opposite-field RBI single that pushed New York to a victory and a four-game series sweep of host Houston.

Soto (3-for-5) lined a two-out, 3-2 slider from Astros closer Josh Hader (0-1) into left field, driving home Gleyber Torres with the go-ahead run. Torres reached one batter earlier with a bloop single to shallow right field and swiped second base to set the table for Soto to deliver in the clutch. Yankees reliever Nick Burdi (1-0) earned the win after two-thirds of an inning.

Jose Altuve went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a walk and two runs. Altuve and Kyle Tucker had doubles to power a two-run Astros rally in the sixth.

Mar 31, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Reds center fielder Will Benson (30) hits a two-run home run in the ninth inning against the Washington Nationals at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports

Tigers 3, White Sox 2

Pinch hitter Andy Ibanez ripped a go-ahead RBI single in the top of the ninth as Detroit edged host Chicago to complete a three-game series sweep.

Kerry Carpenter and Jake Rogers went deep for Detroit, with Carpenter adding a single as part of a 2-for-4 day. Making his Tigers debut, Jack Flaherty recorded a quality start, allowing one run on four hits in six innings. He didn't issue a walk and struck out seven.

Paul DeJong and Korey Lee homered for the White Sox, who hadn't been swept in a season-opening series since coming up empty in a three-game set with the Kansas City Royals in 2015.

Royals 11, Twins 0

Salvador Perez homered and drove in four runs and Brady Singer struck out 10 over seven shutout innings as Kansas City blasted visiting Minnesota.

The Royals launched five home runs to salvage the final game of their season-opening series, outhitting the Twins 14-4.

Bailey Ober (0-1) surrendered eight runs on nine hits while recording four outs for Minnesota.

Cubs 9, Rangers 5

Ian Happ had four hits and drove in the go-ahead run with a bases-loaded walk as visiting Chicago salvaged the finale of its three-game opening series with Texas Rangers with a victory in Arlington, Texas.

Seiya Suzuki hit a two-run single to highlight a four-run ninth, Christopher Morel hit a three-run homer, Miguel Amaya joined Suzuki with two hits and a run and Happ finished with two RBIs for Chicago.

Marcus Semien doubled and had two hits and three RBIs, rookie Wyatt Langford had a two-run triple and Josh Jung also tripled for Texas. Ezequiel Duran also had two hits and a stolen base for the Rangers.

Padres 13, Giants 4

Luis Campusano and Ha-Seong Kim each belted three-run homers and San Diego scored 12 runs in the first three innings en route to a drubbing of visiting San Francisco.

In earning a split of the four-game series, the Padres outhit San Francisco 16-5. Campusano finished with three hits and four RBIs, while Kim delivered three hits and three runs. Manny Machado doubled twice and drove in three.

The Giants got on the board in the fourth via Thairo Estrada's first homer of the season, a two-run homer to left-center, against Padres starter Michael King.

Athletics 4, Guardians 3

Pinch hitter Abraham Toro drew a four-pitch, walk-off walk from reliever Eli Morgan with no outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, allowing Oakland to avoid a four-game sweep versus visiting Cleveland.

JJ Bleday and Esteury Ruiz had two hits apiece for the A's, who outhit the visitors 9-7.

Josh Naylor and Ramon Laureano had two hits for the Guardians in a game that featured no home runs.

Red Sox 5, Mariners 1

Enmanuel Valdez and Tyler O'Neill hit home runs as Boston defeated host Seattle, earning a split of their season-opening, four-game series.

Red Sox right-hander Garrett Whitlock (1-0) went five innings and allowed one run on three hits. He didn't walk a batter and struck out eight.

Seattle starter Bryce Miller (0-1) also pitched five innings but gave up four runs on six hits. The righty walked two and fanned six.

Dodgers 5, Cardinals 4

Max Muncy hit a go-ahead, two-run home run in the eighth inning and Los Angeles rallied from a four-run deficit over the final four innings to earn a victory over visiting St. Louis.

Teoscar Hernandez also hit a home run in the eighth inning and had two RBIs as the Dodgers' offense finally came to life late against the Cardinals' bullpen. The top three of the Dodgers' order in Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman went just 1-for-11, but the lone hit proved key when Ohtani doubled and scored a run in the sixth inning. Nabil Crismatt (1-0) picked up the victory with two scoreless innings in his Dodgers debut and Daniel Hudson pitched the ninth for his first save.

Brendan Donovan and Paul Goldschmidt each drove in two runs and Steven Matz pitched into the sixth inning for the Cardinals, who nearly split their four-game opening series of the season after losing the first two games. Matz gave up two runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings with two walks and three strikeouts in his first start of the season. Left-hander John King (0-1) gave up Muncy's home run and was tagged with the loss.

--Field Level Media

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