MLB roundup: Cubs' Shota Imanaga stellar again in win

 

[May 02, 2024]  Rookie Shota Imanaga had another strong start and Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the fifth inning Wednesday night as the visiting Chicago Cubs beat the New York Mets 1-0.

Nico Hoerner had two hits and a stolen base for the Cubs, who have won two of the first three games of the four-game series. Jeff McNeil collected a pair of hits for the Mets, who have lost seven of 10.

Imanaga (5-0) gave up three hits and one walk while striking out seven over seven scoreless innings. The seven innings are a career high for Imanaga, who lowered his ERA from 0.98 to 0.78.

Imanaga entered the game as the first starting pitcher to begin his career with a 4-0 record or better and an ERA below 1.00 in his first five starts since Dave Ferriss (5-0 with a 0.60 ERA) for the Boston Red Sox in 1945.

Twins 9, White Sox 5

Jose Miranda and Willi Castro had three hits apiece and Alex Kirilloff homered as Minnesota defeated host Chicago, extending its winning streak to 10 games.

Ryan Jeffers' two-run double punctuated the Twins' four-run ninth. His two RBIs matched Miranda for the team high. Tommy Pham homered, doubled and drove in two runs, and Robbie Grossman doubled twice to keep Chicago afloat before bullpen woes took a toll. The Twins scored six runs in the seventh inning or later.

Twins starter Bailey Ober (3-1) worked six innings, allowing four runs and six hits while striking out three. White Sox reliever Dominic Leone (0-1) took the loss after yielding two runs in two-thirds of an inning with two walks and two strikeouts.

Tigers 4, Cardinals 1

Matt Vierling belted a two-run home run as part of a three-RBI performance and host Detroit defeated St. Louis.

Colt Keith added an RBI double for the Tigers. Kenta Maeda (1-1) gave up one run on four hits in six innings for his first win with Detroit.

Willson Contreras accounted for St. Louis' lone run with a home run. Starting pitcher Miles Mikolas (2-4) gave up three runs and six hits in six innings. The Cardinals have lost three of their past four games.

Brewers 7, Rays 1

Willy Adames belted two home runs and drove in four runs and Colin Rea pitched six shutout innings as host Milwaukee defeated Tampa Bay in the final meeting of a three-game series.

Adames, who also homered in Tuesday's win, stayed hot at the plate with a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth inning and a three-run home run in the seventh. The Rays were unable to crack Rea (3-0), as the Brewers' starting pitcher limited them to four hits and two walks while striking out five batters.

Tampa Bay has lost five of its past six games. Starter Zach Eflin (1-4) was relieved midway through the sixth inning after Adames had his first home run of the day. Eflin allowed three earned runs on six hits and struck out six batters.

Royals 6, Blue Jays 1

Michael Massey hit a three-run homer, right-hander Seth Lugo allowed two hits over seven innings and visiting Kansas City defeated Toronto.

Danny Jansen hit a solo home run for the Blue Jays in the rubber match of the three-game series. The Royals took the season series between the teams, 5-2.

Toronto right-hander Chris Bassitt (2-5) allowed three runs and four hits in six innings. He also hit a batter but did not allow a hit until Kansas City put together a three-run sixth. Lugo (5-1) allowed one run, walked two and fanned eight.

Athletics 4, Pirates 0

Ross Stripling won for the first time since 2022, Abraham Toro and Tyler Nevin hit home runs and Oakland completed a three-game sweep of visiting Pittsburgh.

T.J. McFarland, Austin Adams, Dany Jimenez, Michael Kelly and Mason Miller extended the Oakland bullpen's run of consecutive scoreless innings to 27 1/3 with three more, capping a four-hit effort that produced the A's season-best fourth straight win.

Stripling (1-5), who entered the game 0-5 after having gone 0-5 for the San Francisco Giants in 2023, worked six innings, allowing three hits and no walks. Pirates starter Quinn Priester went six innings, charged with three runs (two earned) on five hits.

Phillies 2, Angels 1

Kyle Schwarber had two singles and two RBIs to lift Philadelphia past Los Angeles in Anaheim, Calif.

Whit Merrifield added two hits for the Phillies, who won despite striking out 18 times. Starter Zack Wheeler (3-3) tossed five innings and allowed five hits, one run and one walk with six strikeouts. Gregory Soto threw a scoreless ninth for his second save.

Ehire Adrianza hit a solo home run for the Angels in the second. Taylor Ward, Luis Rengifo, Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel had two hits each. Starter Patrick Sandoval (1-5) gave up four hits and two runs with 10 strikeouts and two walks in five innings.

Red Sox 6, Giants 2

Kutter Crawford threw a career-high seven innings and Connor Wong went 3-for-4 with two doubles as host Boston eased past San Francisco.

Three two-out RBIs, including Jarren Duran's run-scoring triple in the fourth inning, helped Boston to its fourth straight win and second to begin the three-game series. Crawford (2-1) held up his end on the mound, striking out six while allowing two runs on four hits.

May 1, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Tigers center fielder Matt Vierling (8) celebrates after he hits a two run home run in the third inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

For the Giants, Tom Murphy's solo home run in the third opened the scoring, while Mike Yastrzemski had the only other RBI.

Braves 5, Mariners 2

Austin Riley hit a two-run triple and Chris Sale allowed one run over five innings as Atlanta salvaged the finale of a three-game series at Seattle.

Riley and Ronald Acuna Jr. each had two hits for the Braves, who snapped their first two-game losing streak of the season. Sale (4-1) gave up six hits, didn't walk a batter and struck out nine.

Julio Rodriguez had three hits, including a double, and Jorge Polanco had two RBIs for the Mariners, who lost for just the fourth time in their past 15 games.

Yankees 2, Orioles 0

Luis Gil pitched 6 1/3 innings and Oswaldo Cabrera hit a two-run home run as New York beat host Baltimore.

Caleb Ferguson, Ian Hamilton and Clay Holmes worked out of the bullpen to secure the Yankees' second shutout win of the season. Holmes logged 1 2/3 innings for this 10th save.

Orioles starter Corbin Burnes (3-1) worked six innings, allowing both runs and four hits with one walk and six strikeouts.

Padres 6, Reds 2

Jake Cronenworth hit a tiebreaking grand slam in the seventh inning to help San Diego win the rubber contest of the three-game series against visiting Cincinnati.

Jurickson Profar went 4-for-4 in the leadoff spot with two RBIs and a run scored for the Padres, who beat the Reds on Tuesday to snap a five-game skid. Joe Musgrove allowed two runs and four hits in six innings, striking out a season-high nine.

Spencer Steer homered and right-hander Graham Ashcraft allowed two runs, both unearned, and five hits in six innings for the Reds.

Marlins 4, Rockies 1

Emmanuel Rivera had two hits and scored twice and host Miami beat Colorado to win consecutive games for the first time this season.

Roddery Munoz (1-0) tossed six strong innings to earn his first major league victory and Anthony Maldonado got the final three outs of the contest for his first save of the season for the Marlins.

Elias Diaz had the only RBI for Colorado, which has yet to put together a winning streak this season. The Rockies have trailed in each of their first 30 games of the campaign, a feat no team has ever accomplished before in league history.

Nationals 1, Rangers 0

Trevor Williams and four relievers combined on a six-hit shutout as visiting Washington beat Texas.

Williams (3-0) pitched five scoreless innings despite allowing five hits with four walks and three strikeouts for the Nationals. Derek Law, Dylan Floro and Hunter Harvey combined for three scoreless innings before Kyle Finnegan struck out the side in the ninth for his 10th save.

Texas outhit the Nationals 6-5 but was 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. The Rangers stranded 11 baserunners and were shut out for the third time this season.

Guardians 3, Astros 2 (10 innings)

Steven Kwan hit an RBI double in the top of the 10th inning before Emmanuel Clase recorded his ninth save as visiting Cleveland beat Houston.

Kwan finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs for the Guardians. He followed a leadoff walk from Brayan Rocchio with a double to left field off Astros reliever Shawn Dubin (0-1) that scored automatic runner Gabrial Arias with the go-ahead run. Rocchio finished 1-for-2 with two walks and a run scored.

Justin Verlander allowed two runs on six hits and three walks with two strikeouts in seven innings for the Astros.

Dodgers 8, Diamondbacks 0

Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw six scoreless innings to help lead Los Angeles past Arizona in Phoenix.

Yamamoto (3-1) gave up five hits and two walks while striking out five. Mookie Betts went 3-for-5 and drove in two runs while Andy Pages and Will Smith homered for the Dodgers, who have won eight of their past 10 games.

Diamondbacks starter Jordan Montgomery (1-2) allowed six runs on six hits in three innings.

--Field Level Media

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