The Detroit Tigers blasted five homers, including four in their first five at-bats, as they powered past the host Pittsburgh Pirates 11-5 on Saturday.
Niko Goodrum, Miguel Cabrera, C.J. Cron and Jeimer Candelario homered off Pittsburgh left-hander Derek Holland during the Tigers’ five-run first inning. JaCoby Jones also homered for Detroit, which has scored 28 runs during the first two games of the series.
Cabrera finished with three hits and three RBIs, Jonathan Schoop supplied three hits, three runs scored and an RBI, while Cron added two hits, two runs scored and two RBIs. Candelario had his second straight three-hit game.
The Tigers hit four home runs in an inning for the first time since the fourth inning on June 1, 2013 at Baltimore. It was the first time in franchise history they blasted four homers before making an out.
Athletics 3, Astros 1
Frankie Montas allowed just two hits over seven shutout innings, and Marcus Semien recorded a piece of Oakland history with a leadoff home run in a win over slumping Houston.
Semien ended Friday’s 3-2 win with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the 13th inning. With Saturday’s leadoff homer, he became the first player in franchise history to deliver the back-to-back big hits.
Montas (2-1) didn’t walk a batter and struck out five for Oakland, which has won eight straight. Yuli Gurriel had two hits for Houston, which has dropped four in a row.
Yankees 8, Rays 4 (Game 1)
Gerrit Cole took a shutout into the fifth inning to run his unbeaten streak to 26 games, Aaron Judge hit his major league-leading eighth homer and New York posted a victory over Tampa Bay in the first game of a seven-inning doubleheader in St. Petersburg, Fla.
It was another three-HR game for the Yankees, who also received a two-run shot from Mike Ford and Giancarlo Stanton’s solo home run. It marked the 86th time the Yankees hit at least three homers in a game since the start of the 2018 season.
Ji-Man Choi hit an RBI double, and Jose Martinez hit a two-run homer for Tampa Bay, which lost for only the fifth time in 26 regular-season home games since Aug. 21, 2019.
Rays 5, Yankees 3 (Game 2)
Nick Anderson retired Aaron Judge — representing the tying run with two outs in the seventh inning — and Tampa Bay held on for a victory over visiting New York in the second game of a seven-inning doubleheader.
Anderson recorded his second save by winning an eight-pitch encounter with Judge with DJ LeMahieu on second. He secured Tampa Bay’s split when Judge flew out to center fielder Kevin Kiermaier, who made the catch in front of the warning track in left-center.
Jalen Beeks preceded Anderson and was lifted after allowing LeMahieu’s two-run single, cutting a 5-1 deficit to 5-3. Tampa Bay beat New York for the sixth time in its last seven home games.
Giants 5, Dodgers 4
San Francisco bombed Clayton Kershaw for three home runs, two by Austin Slater, and three relievers combined to hold a one-run lead over the final 3 1/3 innings in a victory at Los Angeles.
Johnny Cueto combined with Tony Watson, Tyler Rogers and Trevor Gott on a two-hitter, helping the Giants end a two-game skid with a third win in six tries at Dodger Stadium already this season.
Kershaw (1-1), who was scratched from his Opening Day start against the Giants and was making just his second start of the season, served up solo home runs to Slater and Mike Yastrzemski to break a scoreless tie in the third inning, then another solo shot to Slater in the fifth.
Mets 8, Marlins 4
J.D. Davis homered and collected a career-high four RBIs to lead a potent performance by the middle of New York’s order in a win over visiting Miami.
The Mets won for just the third time in 10 games. The Marlins, who were trying to match the best nine-game start in franchise history, had their six-game winning streak snapped.
The 3-4-5 trio of Davis, Pete Alonso and Michael Conforto combined for all eight of the Mets’ RBIs. Conforto gave the Mets the lead for good with a two-run homer in the second. Davis singled in the third to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 12 games before Alonso snapped a career-long 10-game homer drought with his first round-tripper since July 31.
Rockies 5, Mariners 0
Ryan Castellani pitched four-plus hitless innings in his major league debut, and three relievers — Jeff Hoffman, Yency Almonte and Phillip Diehl — completed a one-hitter as Colorado won at Seattle.
Charlie Blackmon went 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs to increase his batting average to .446. He also lifted his majors-leading hit total to 25.
Castellani, a right-hander who was a second-round pick out of high school in 2014 and is considered one of the Rockies’ top pitching prospects, retired the side in order in each of the first four innings. He wasn’t able to make it through five innings to qualify for the victory after opening the fourth with a hit batsman and a walk.
Royals 9, Twins 6
Jorge Soler hit two home runs — including a three-run shot in a six-run fourth inning — to lead Kansas City over visiting Minnesota.
The Royals hit three home runs in the fourth, the first time they had three in an inning since August of 2018 against the Chicago White Sox. Kansas City clinched its first series victory of the season.
Nicky Lopez hit his first home run of the season off Thorpe. Cody Stashak relieved Thorpe and gave up Soler’s second home run. Salvador Perez followed with his own monster shot, his third, which went 438 feet to left-center.
Reds 4, Brewers 1
Anthony DeSclafani allowed two hits over six scoreless innings, and Eugenio Suarez belted a three-run homer in the first, as Cincinnati posted a second straight win at Milwaukee.
In his second start of 2020, DeSclafani (1-0) faced hardly any trouble while also striking out six with a walk. This gem followed his 2020 debut, in which he gave up three hits in five scoreless innings at Detroit last weekend.
After rolling to an 8-3 win in Friday’s series opener, the Reds wasted no time in putting runs on the board Saturday against Milwaukee starter Brett Anderson. After Phillip Ervin reached on an infield single and Joey Votto made it aboard via a one-out error by second baseman Keston Hiura, Suarez clubbed a towering homer to left to make it 3-0.
Blue Jays 2, Red Sox 1
Left-hander Anthony Kay pitched 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, Rowdy Tellez drove in the go-ahead run with a groundout in the eighth inning and Toronto won at Boston.
Kay (1-0) held Boston to two hits and no walks while striking out three to earn his second career victory. Toronto’s winning run came against Red Sox right-hander Marcus Walden (0-1).
Chase Anderson made the start in his Blue Jays debut after opening the season on the injured list with an oblique strain. He allowed one run, one hit and two walks in three innings. Boston starter Zack Godley threw four scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks while striking out three.
Diamondbacks 3, Padres 2
Starling Marte and Stephen Vogt hit sixth-inning homers off Chris Paddack, and Merrill Kelly allowed one run on six hits in six-plus innings as Arizona won at San Diego.
Marte homered to left on a 3-1 fastball leading off the sixth to snap a 1-1 tie. Vogt lined his first homer of the season into the short-porch of right-field seats with two out — a 363-foot drive to make it 3-1.
Both Padres runs came on solo homers by 21-year-old shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. For the second straight night, Tatis opened the game with a leadoff homer, giving the Padres a quick 1-0 lead after driving a 1-0 fastball from Kelly into the left field stands.
Indians 7, White Sox 1
Franmil Reyes, Jordan Luplow and Domingo Santana each homered to back six shutout innings from Zach Plesac and lift Cleveland to a victory at Chicago.
Cleveland broke the game open with a six-run fourth inning. The rally proved to be plenty for Plesac, who improved to 1-1 after scattering five hits while recording one walk and seven strikeouts.
Yoan Moncada helped the White Sox avoid their second shutout in four games with a solo shot in the bottom of the inning. Moncada has reached base in 19 consecutive games dating to last season, matching his career high.
Rangers 2, Angels 0
Joey Gallo’s two-run home run in the sixth inning was all Texas offense could muster, but it was enough in a victory over Los Angeles in Arlington, Texas.
It was enough because the Rangers got a combined shutout from starter Kolby Allard and five relievers, who limited the Angels to four hits, two from Albert Pujols. The Angels were 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.
The Rangers didn’t exactly hit the cover off the ball either, finishing with just four hits, including two from Todd Frazier. Allard and Angels starter Patrick Sandoval matched each other inning for inning from the outset.
Phillies 5, Braves 0
Jay Bruce homered, doubled and drove in three runs to lead host Philadelphia past Atlanta.
J.T. Realmuto added a home run while Bryce Harper and Didi Gregorius had two hits each for the Phillies, who won their second in a row. Adeiny Hechavarria had two hits for the Braves, who managed only four hits overall.
Phillies starter Jake Arrieta (1-1) tossed six scoreless innings and allowed three hits while striking out six and walking one. It was Arrieta’s first scoreless start since Aug. 6, 2018.
Orioles 5, Nationals 3
Anthony Santander belted a three-run homer in the eighth, and Pat Valaika and Pedro Severino hit back-to-back pinch-hit solo shots earlier in the inning as Baltimore rallied to win at Washington.
The Orioles had just two hits through seven innings as the Nationals carried a 3-0 lead into the eighth. But Valaika led off the top half with his pinch-hit homer off Washington reliever Sean Doolittle. Severino then made it two pinch-hit homers in a row when he followed with a blast to left.
It was the second straight win for Baltimore, as the O’s have outscored Washington 16-3 in the first two games of the series.
–Field Level Media
