Photo Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports
MLB roundup: Gerrit Cole to 5-0 as Yanks win despite Aaron Judge injury
Yankees 4, Rangers 2
Gerrit Cole pitched 6 2/3 innings to become one of three five-game winners in the majors, and the visiting New York Yankees took an early lead to beat the Texas Rangers 4-2 Thursday night in Arlington, Texas.
DJ LeMahieu and Gleyber Torres hit back-to-back homers in a three-run second off Texas starter Andrew Heaney (2-2). Rookie Anthony Volpe hit a bases-loaded RBI single before Heaney retired the next 13 hitters. New York scored its final run when Jose Trevino smacked a homer in the ninth.
The Yankees won their second straight in a game where Aaron Judge exited in the fourth inning due to right hip discomfort. The New York slugger appeared to grimace with some discomfort after striking out in his second at-bat after Volpe’s single in the second inning and was replaced two innings later.
Cole (5-0) allowed two runs and six hits, striking out eight and walking one in a 92-pitch outing. Heaney allowed three runs and four hits in six innings. He struck out six and walked one while throwing 97 pitches.
Marlins 5, Braves 4
Garrett Cooper’s two-out, two-run double in the ninth inning capped a five-run rally and gave visiting Miami a win over Atlanta, ending the Marlins’ four-game losing streak and salvaging a game in the four-game series.
Five Braves pitchers had combined to shut out Miami through eight innings. But the Marlins rallied against Atlanta closer A.J. Minter to win their first game of the season when trailing after the eighth inning.
Miami got run-scoring singles from Yuli Gurriel, Avisail Garcia, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. Atlanta lifted Minter in favor of Jesse Chavez, and Cooper doubled to center field on a 2-2 pitch to drive home the tying and go-ahead runs.
Mets 9, Nationals 8
Jeff McNeil scored New York’s first run and delivered the go-ahead hit in the eighth inning with his first triple of the season in a comeback win over visiting Washington.
The Mets snapped a season-high four-game losing streak. Brett Baty homered and collected a career-high three hits — in just his second game with multiple hits — while Francisco Lindor had three RBIs for the Mets.
C.J. Abrams hit a grand slam with one out in the top of the eighth to put the Nationals ahead 8-7 before the blown lead in the bottom of the inning. Alex Call also went deep for Washington, which finished 4-2 on a road trip to Minnesota and New York.
Cardinals 6, Giants 0
Alec Burleson homered to end a scoreless tie in the seventh inning, right-hander Miles Mikolas outlasted Logan Webb in a battle of zeroes, and St. Louis avoided a four-game sweep at the hands of host San Francisco.
Mikolas (1-1) dueled Webb (1-5) through six scoreless innings. The Cardinals had three hits to that point, the Giants four. But after Webb retired Nolan Arenado to open the seventh, Burleson bombed his third homer of the season, igniting a Cardinals flurry. Paul DeJong also homered for the Cardinals.
Mikolas was pulled one out into the seventh, having thrown 95 pitches. He gave up four hits and two walks, striking out six. Webb was charged with two runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings; he walked one and struck out seven.
Orioles 7, Tigers 4
Anthony Santander hit a two-run homer to cap a five-run seventh as visiting Baltimore defeated Detroit.
Joey Ortiz drove in three runs for the Orioles, who have won nine of their last 10 games. Bryan Baker (2-0) pitched 1 2/3 innings in relief to get the win, and Felix Bautista survived a shaky ninth to earn his sixth save. Baltimore starter Kyle Gibson gave up three runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Eric Haase had two hits, two RBIs, and a run scored for Detroit. Detroit starter Joey Wentz allowed two runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Pirates 6, Dodgers 2
Connor Joe and Rodolfo Castro hit back-to-back homers in the sixth inning to help lift Pittsburgh over visiting Los Angeles.
Bryan Reynolds and Jack Suwinski each added RBI singles for the Pirates, who have won nine of their last 10 games. Pittsburgh starter Mitch Keller (3-0) picked up the win after tying a career-high with 10 strikeouts. He allowed two runs on five hits in six innings.
David Peralta hit a two-run single for the Dodgers. Los Angeles starter Julio Urias (3-3) allowed six runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings with five strikeouts and two walks.
Phillies 1, Mariners 0
Kody Clemens delivered an RBI single in the second inning for the only run of the game as host Philadelphia defeated Seattle.
Five Phillies pitchers combined to limit the Mariners to just three hits. Starter Matt Strahm (2-2) tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowed two hits, struck out five, and walked none. Craig Kimbrel pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his third save in three chances as the Phillies took two of three in the series.
Mariners starter George Kirby (2-2) allowed four hits and one run, with seven strikeouts and one walk in eight strong innings. Tom Murphy had two of the Mariners’ three hits.
Cubs 5, Padres 2
Eric Hosmer and Nelson Velazquez hit back-to-back home runs, and five pitchers held visiting San Diego to six hits as Chicago won the rubber match of a three-game series.
Padres starter Seth Lugo (2-2) had a 1-0 lead and retired the first two Cubs in the second inning when Hosmer lined a full-count fastball 414 feet to center. Velazquez then hit the second pitch he saw from Lugo 404 feet into the seats in left center.
Cubs starter Hayden Wesneski (2-1) held the Padres to one run on four hits and a walk with three strikeouts over five innings to earn the win, lowering his ERA by almost a full run to 5.24. Brad Boxberger, who turned a comebacker into a double play, got his second save.
Angels 8, Athletics 7
Shohei Ohtani threw five nearly perfect innings and one bad one, was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle, and led Los Angeles over Oakland in Anaheim, Calif.
Ohtani (4-0) was perfect through three innings, retiring all nine hitters while striking out five. He gave up five runs in the fourth inning when he lost control, allowing home runs to Brent Rooker and Shea Langeliers, before finishing the day with three hits, five runs, and eight strikeouts over six frames.
Brandon Drury remained the Angels’ hottest hitter, going 2-for-2 with two walks, a double, and a three-run homer. In the four-game series against the A’s, Drury went 9-for-15 with four homers and 12 RBIs.
Rays 14, White Sox 5
Brandon Lowe broke an 0-for-15 slump with a homer and a triple, Isaac Paredes had five RBIs, and visiting Tampa Bay rocked hapless Chicago.
Lowe, whose previous hit was a walk-off homer Friday against the White Sox, collected a triple, a homer, and a single in the first five innings off Chicago starter Dylan Cease (2-1). Lowe went 3-for-4 with three runs, three RBIs, and a walk.
Chicago’s Jake Burger homered, doubled, and had two runs and RBIs apiece, and Adam Haseley had two hits and an RBI, but Chicago’s skid hit a major league-high eight.
Twins 7, Royals 1
Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa blasted back-to-back homers in the fourth inning to help Minnesota pick up a convincing victory over Kansas City in the opener of a four-game series in Minneapolis.
Buxton cranked a three-run blast to center, and Correa followed with a solo shot off Zack Greinke (0-4) to break the game open by putting Minnesota up by six. Brock Stewart (1-0) was credited with the win after taking over for Tyler Mahle, who exited the game after four innings due to elbow soreness.
Vinnie Pasquantino homered and Kyle Isbel doubled for Kansas City, which has dropped 11 of its last 13 games.
–Field Level Media