The Oakland Athletics took advantage of the wild pitching from Shohei Ohtani to score five times in the first inning and held on for a 6-4 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Angels on Sunday afternoon.
After the teams had split the first two contests of a four-game series, the A’s immediately grabbed the upper hand in the third matchup. They got plenty of help from Ohtani (0-1), who was pitching in a regular-season game for the first time since a painful outing in September of 2018 that was followed with Tommy John elbow surgery.
After Marcus Semien singled to open the first, Ohtani walked Ramon Laureano, Matt Chapman and Matt Olson in succession, forcing in the game’s first run. Mark Canha followed with a two-run single and Robbie Grossman had an RBI hit, increasing the A’s lead to 4-0, while prompting Angels manager Joe Maddon to pull Ohtani before he had recorded a single out.
Despite being gifted a big lead, Oakland right-hander Mike Fiers did not complete the five innings required to get credit for a win. He was pulled two batters into the fifth, two innings after the Angels closed the gap to 5-3 on a three-run home run from Mike Trout, his first. Yusmeiro Petit (1-0) finished the inning and got credit for the win.
Yankees 3, Nationals 2
Gleyber Torres chased Patrick Corbin with a solo homer in the seventh inning and then delivered a tiebreaking RBI single off Sean Doolittle in the eighth as visiting New York Yankees took two of three from Washington in their season-opening series.
Torres had three hits and produced New York’s only two hits off Corbin. His homer into the left field seats off the left-hander’s first-pitch fastball prompted Washington manager Dave Martinez to remove Corbin. Luke Voit hit the game-tying homer off Will Harris two batters later.
In the eighth, Torres lined a 2-1 pitch against Doolittle (0-1) into left field that scored Hicks and proved to be the difference. Jonathan Loaisiga allowed one run on two hits in three innings while throwing 51 pitches. Five relievers followed and Chad Green (1-0) pitched two hitless innings.
Giants 3, Dodgers 1
Mauricio Dubon hit a go-ahead single in the sixth inning and seven San Francisco pitchers held the powerful Los Angeles offense in check on the road to earn a series split.
Dubon delivered his RBI hit against Dodgers reliever Adam Kolarek to snap a 1-1 tie. The Giants’ Donovan Solano added an RBI single in the seventh inning against Pedro Baez for a 3-1 lead. The Dodgers’ lone run came in the third inning on an RBI single by Cody Bellinger. After scoring 17 runs on 25 hits while winning the first two games of the series, the Dodgers were held to five runs on 16 hits over the final two games.
New Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts, who signed a blockbuster 12-year, $365 million deal one day before the start of the season, was 1-for-9 over the past two games and went 3-for-20 in his first four games in Los Angeles. Bellinger, the reigning National League MVP, had two hits Sunday, but was just 4-for-17 in the opening series.
Marlins 11, Phillies 6
Miguel Rojas homered and tripled among his three hits to go along with four RBIs to lift visiting Miami over Philadelphia in their series finale. Brian Anderson, Jesus Aguilar and Corey Dickerson also homered as the Marlins took two of three.
Marlins starter Robert Dugger allowed six hits and five runs, four earned, in 3 1/3 innings. Dugger replaced Jose Urena, who was a late scratch after reportedly testing positive for COVID-19 along with three other players. Stephen Tarpley (1-0) earned the win in relief.
Bryce Harper homered and had three RBIs, Adam Haseley had four hits and Rhys Hoskins added three walks for the Phillies, who left the bases loaded in three separate innings and stranded 14 runners.
Indians 9, Royals 2
Jose Ramirez hit two homers and drove in four runs to power host Cleveland past Kansas City, giving the Indians the series win over their AL Central rivals.
After being held to a total of four runs while splitting a pair of season-opening games, the Indians came alive offensively with 13 hits in the series finale, including three apiece by Ramirez and Domingo Santana, and two by Cesar Hernandez.
Right-hander Carlos Carrasco (1-0) benefitted from the big-time support, coasting through six innings with 10 strikeouts. He allowed both Royals runs on five hits and one walk. It was Carrasco’s first start since being diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia last June. He returned in September and took on a role in the bullpen, but this season he has reclaimed his longtime job in the starting rotation.
Rays 6, Blue Jays 5 (10 innings)
Kevin Kiermaier’s two-run, walk-off triple with none out in the 10th inning rallied host Tampa Bay past Toronto in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Toronto scored a run in the top of the 10th on Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s sacrifice fly against Chaz Roe (1-0), but Kiermaier ripped his triple into the right field corner on a 1-0 pitch from Shun Yamaguchi (0-1), scoring Kevan Smith and Jose Martinez as the Rays claimed the rubber match of the three-game series.
Tampa Bay starter Blake Snell threw 46 pitches in a scoreless season debut, allowing three hits, striking out five, walking two and uncorking one wild pitch. He labored through both innings as the Blue Jays left five men on base.
Twins 14, White Sox 2
Nelson Cruz went 4-for-5 with two home runs, two doubles and seven RBIs and Jake Cave drilled a first-inning grand slam to power Minnesota past host Chicago.
Minnesota erupted for nine runs in the first two innings, providing plenty of support for right-hander Kenta Maeda in his debut with the club. Maeda (1-0) held Chicago to two runs on four hits with six strikeouts and one walk in five innings as the Twins earned a 2-1 series win to close the season’s opening weekend.
White Sox starter Reynaldo Lopez exited after facing seven-plus batters and recording just two outs, walking off the field with the training staff alongside. Two men were out with the bases empty before Lopez (0-1) issued a pair of walks around a Cruz double. That brought up Cave, whose opposite-field grand slam sent Chicago left fielder Eloy Jimenez slamming into the wall in pursuit. Jimenez lay on his back on the warning track for a few minutes before getting attention from trainers. He left the game in the second inning.
Mariners 7, Astros 6
Rookie center fielder Kyle Lewis poked a two-run single to right field with two outs and two strikes in the top of the eighth inning as Seattle rallied at Houston for its first win of the season.
The Mariners (1-2) snapped a 15-game losing skid to Houston, which finished 18-1 against Seattle last season.
Trailing 5-4 entering the frame, the Mariners rallied for three runs in the eighth against Astros right-hander Chris Devenski (0-1), the fifth pitcher of the afternoon for Houston following an abbreviated start from veteran right-hander Zack Greinke (3 1/3 innings, three earned runs). Lewis, who homered in the first two games of the series, finished 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Cubs 9, Brewers 1
A four-run fourth inning was all the spark host Chicago and starter Tyler Chatwood needed to top visiting Milwaukee at Wrigley Field.
Up 1-0 heading into the fourth, Kyle Schwarber started the Chicago rally with a lead-off walk against Milwaukee starter Freddy Peralta (0-1). Willson Contreras followed with a double into deep right-center, allowing Schwarber to score standing up. After a walk to Jason Heyward, Corey Knebel replaced Peralta. But Knebel did not fare any better, giving up three straight RBI singles to Nico Hoerner, Victor Caratini and Ian Happ.
Chatwood (1-0) fired six strong innings, giving up one run on three hits while striking out eight batters and walking two.
Braves 14, Mets 1
Dansby Swanson had a single, double and a home run, and tied a career-high with five RBIs as Atlanta won in New York to take the deciding game of a three-game series.
Marcell Ozuna, Austin Riley and Ozzie Albies also homered for the Braves, who pounded out 17 hits — six more than they had in the first two games combined. The five-RBI game was the second of Swanson’s career. He also did it against the Philadelphia Phillies on July 4, 2019.
Jhoulys Chacin, making his Braves debut, earned the win with 3 2/3 scoreless innings in relief of starter Sean Newcomb. Rick Porcello, making his National League debut after spending his first 11 seasons with the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox, allowed seven runs (six earned) on seven hits and three walks while striking out one.
Tigers 3, Reds 2
C.J. Cron belted a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning as Detroit beat host Cincinnati to take two of three in their opening series. For the second straight day, the Tigers broke a tie contest with a two-run homer. On Saturday, JaCoby Jones did the honors off Reds closer Raisel Iglesias in Detroit’s 6-4 victory.
In Sunday’s rubber game, Cron clubbed his second home run of the young season, this time off Michael Lorenzen (0-1), into the empty right-field bleachers to snap a 1-1 tie. Miguel Cabrera opened the frame by working a walk.
Sunday’s starters, Spencer Turnbull for Detroit and Cincinnati’s Trevor Bauer, were both solid in their 2020 debuts. Bauer allowed a run, two hits and struck out 13 — one shy of his career high — over 6 1/3 innings. Turnbull yielded a run, three hits and fanned eight with four walks through five.
Orioles 7, Red Sox 4
Rio Ruiz and Anthony Santander both belted two-run homers as visiting Baltimore defeated Boston.
The Orioles jumped out to a big lead for the second straight day and won the season-opening series, two games to one. Baltimore is in the second year of a massive rebuilding effort and started last year 4-1 before fading out.
Wade LeBlanc (1-0) pitched into the sixth inning in his first Baltimore start to earn the win. He allowed four runs on four hits, striking out four and walking none in 5 2/3 innings.
Pirates 5, Cardinals 1
Mitch Keller limited host St. Louis to two hits in five innings as Pittsburgh avoided a three-game sweep in their season-opening series and they earned new manager Derek Shelton his first victory.
It was just the Pirates’ ninth win in their last 31 games against the Cardinals.
Keller (1-0) held the Cardinals to their only run while matching his victory total for 11 starts last year. Relievers JT Brubaker, Michael Feliz and Nick Burdi followed with four shutout innings. Jose Osuna ripped a two-run homer and Colin Moran hit a solo blast off losing pitcher Dakota Hudson (0-1), who lasted just 4 1/3 innings and allowed four runs on seven hits.
Rockies 5, Rangers 2
Trevor Story homered twice, Kyle Freeland tossed six solid innings, and Colorado beat host Texas in Arlington. Daniel Murphy had two hits and Wade Davis pitched a perfect ninth for his second save in as many games.
Joey Gallo homered and Nick Solak had two hits for Texas, which lost starter Corey Kluber after one inning due to tightness in his right shoulder. Kluber, acquired from Cleveland in a trade in the offseason, lasted just one inning in his debut with his hometown team. He threw 18 pitches and walked one but didn’t allow a run in his first game since suffering a fractured right arm May 1, 2019.
Kluber, 34, won the American League Cy Young Award in 2014 and 2017 with the Indians but was just 2-3 with a 5.80 ERA in seven starts in 2019.
Diamondbacks 4, Padres 3
Ketel Marte drove in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning with a sacrifice fly and David Peralta added a run-scoring single and Arizona denied host San Diego what would have been only its fourth 3-0 season start in the franchise’s 52-year history.
Trailing 1-0 entering the eighth, Arizona scored two runs in each of the final two innings.
Closer Archie Bradley (1-0) got the win although the Padres scored a run in the bottom of the ninth on an RBI double by Jake Cronenworth, his first major league hit. Padres closer Kirby Yates (0-1), who led the major leagues in saves last season, took the loss after giving up both Diamondbacks runs in the ninth.
–Field Level Media
