Paul Skenes fanned 11 across six no-hit innings as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the host Chicago Cubs 9-3 on Friday afternoon.
Skenes (1-0) earned his first career win while making his second major league start. He struck out the first seven batters he faced and was perfect until walking Michael Busch with one out in the fifth.
Busch was the only one to reach base against Skenes. Chicago did make Skenes work, though, preventing him from going the distance. He threw 100 pitches, 67 for strikes, and was replaced by Carmen Mlodzinski ahead of the home half of the seventh.
Connor Joe finished with three hits and Jared Triolo and Yasmani Grandal each had two to go along with three RBIs for Pittsburgh, which has taken the first two games of the four-game series.
Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks (0-4) was charged with eight runs (seven earned) and 11 hits in 4 2/3 innings. He didn’t issue a walk and struck out four as his ERA ballooned to 10.57. Miguel Amaya hit a solo home run for the Cubs.
Rays 4, Blue Jays 3
Left-hander Tyler Alexander was perfect into the eighth inning, Richie Palacios hit a two-run home run and visiting Tampa Bay defeated Toronto.
Davis Schneider hit a two-run home run for the Blue Jays, who did not have a base runner until Danny Jansen singled with one out in the eighth. Alexander (2-2) allowed three runs and three hits in 7 1/3 innings in the opener of a three-game series. He walked none and struck out four.
Toronto right-hander Chris Bassitt (3-6) allowed three runs, five hits and three walks with five strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.
Tigers 13, Diamondbacks 0
Javier Baez drove in five runs and Kerry Carpenter knocked in four as Detroit shook off its recent offensive struggles and routed Arizona in Phoenix.
The Tigers piled up 17 hits in the opener against Arizona. Rookie Colt Keith collected a career-high four hits while contributing two RBIs and three runs. Six Tigers enjoyed multi-hit performances as the club posted a season-high run total. Tigers starter Tarik Skubal (6-0) pitched six innings of one-hit ball, striking out six and walking none.
Arizona, which managed three hits and no walks, took its first shutout loss since an 8-0 result against the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 1.
Giants 10, Rockies 5
Thairo Estrada belted Ryan Feltner’s last pitch for a three-run home run, Luis Matos drove in a career-high five runs and San Francisco opened a three-game home series against Colorado.
Six San Francisco relievers combined for six innings of one-run ball as the Giants ended Colorado’s seven-game winning streak by posting their third win over the Rockies in four games over the past 11 days. Giants starter Mason Black was pulled after three-plus ineffective innings, charged with four runs and six hits.
Jordan Beck hit his second home run of the season, a solo shot, for the Rockies. Ryan McMahon collected two hits and two RBIs. Ezequiel Tovar, Brendan Rodgers and Jake Cave also had two hits and Charlie Blackmon scored twice for the Rockies, who were outhit 14-11.
Yankees 4, White Sox 2
Nestor Cortes allowed just an unearned run in seven stellar innings and host New York continued its roll with a victory over Chicago.
The Yankees matched a season high by winning five straight for the third time. New York sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton hit long solo homers in the first and sixth innings, respectively. Including the postseason, the Yankees are 35-4 when the pair homer in the same game. Cortes (2-4) produced New York’s third straight start without an earned run allowed.
Chicago starter Mike Clevinger (0-2) gave up three runs on five hits in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out five and walked two.
Orioles 9, Mariners 2
Gunnar Henderson led off Baltimore’s five-run first inning with a home run and the host Orioles went on to defeat Seattle.
Colton Cowser added a two-run double in the opening inning, and Henderson later smacked a run-scoring triple during the Orioles’ four-run seventh inning. John Means (2-0), in just his third outing of the season, worked six strong innings for Baltimore, giving up two runs on six hits. He walked none and struck out four.
Dylan Moore homered and doubled for Seattle. Bryce Miller (3-4) took the loss, though he lasted 5 1/3 innings after the shaky first inning. He gave up five runs (four earned) on six hits and one walk, striking out one.
Cardinals 10, Red Sox 6
Lars Nootbaar and Masyn Winn each hit a two-run homer to power St. Louis past visiting Boston.
Alec Burleson hit a solo homer and an RBI single and Nolan Gorman also went deep for the Cardinals, who won for the fourth time in five games. Kyle Gibson (3-2) allowed five runs on eight hits in six-plus innings.
David Hamilton hit a two-run triple and Rafael Devers had a homer and two RBIs for the Red Sox, who lost for the fourth time in five games. Brayan Bello (4-2) yielded five runs in 4 2/3 innings.
Phillies 4, Nationals 2
Zack Wheeler pitched 7 1/3 strong innings and Philadelphia beat visiting Washington in the opener of a three-game series.
Alec Bohm and Brandon Marsh each hit an RBI double for the Phillies, who won for the fourth time in five games.
Keibert Ruiz and Eddie Rosario provided RBI doubles for the Nationals, who have lost three straight, having been shut out in their previous two.
Guardians 3, Twins 2
Jose Ramirez clubbed a two-out, tiebreaking solo homer in the eighth inning as host Cleveland handed reeling Minnesota its fourth straight defeat.
Facing Twins reliever Jhoan Duran (0-1), who hadn’t allowed a run in seven innings over seven previous appearances this season, the Guardians star clubbed a curveball well into the right-field seats for the lead. It was Ramirez’s 10th homer of the season.
Alex Kirilloff ended the Twins’ 28-inning scoreless drought with a solo homer — his third of the season — in the third.
Marlins 8, Mets 0
No. 9 hitter Nick Fortes, who was batting just .127 entering the game, slugged a three-run home run to lead Miami over visiting New York.
Fortes went 3-for-3 with three runs, three RBIs and one walk. Jesus Luzardo (1-3) pitched six scoreless innings to notch his first win since Sept. 17, 2023. He allowed five hits and no walks, striking out seven.
Mets rookie Christian Scott (0-2), in his third MLB game, lasted just four innings, allowing seven hits, one walk and four runs. His ERA rose from 2.84 to 4.32.
Padres 3, Braves 1
San Diego knuckleballer Matt Waldron baffled the Atlanta bats for 5 2/3 innings and set a career high with 10 strikeouts to help the visiting Padres beat the Braves.
Waldron (2-5) allowed one run on five hits and two walks in his first career appearance against Atlanta, ending his three-start losing streak.
Atlanta starter Max Fried (3-2) pitched seven no-hit innings in his previous outing but struggled with his control against the Padres and was yanked after 4 1/3 innings. Fried gave up three runs on nine hits with three walks and two strikeouts while throwing 88 pitches.
Royals 6, Athletics 2
Cole Ragans pitched seven scoreless innings while Michael Massey and Maikel Garcia each homered during a five-run sixth as Kansas City powered past visiting Oakland to open a three-game series.
Salvador Perez went 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI, while Massey singled twice to go along with his home run. Garcia led the Royals with three RBIs.
Shea Langeliers spoiled Kansas City’s shutout bid with a two-out, two-run homer in the top of the ninth off of Matt Sauer. Abraham Toro had two singles and JJ Bleday went 1-for-4 as the Athletics lost for the 11th time over their past 13 games, including six in a row.
Angels 9, Rangers 3
Zach Neto and Taylor Ward homered while Tyler Anderson tossed seven strong innings as visiting Los Angeles beat Texas.
Willie Calhoun led the Angels’ 14-hit attack by stinging his former team for four hits, scoring twice and knocking in a run. Neto, Ward and Logan O’Hoppe each had two hits.
Andrew Heaney (0-5) lasted only 3 2/3 innings, permitting five hits and three runs, two of them earned for the Rangers. He walked two and fanned five but saw his winless streak extend to nine starts.
Astros 5, Brewers 4
Jake Meyers and Jeremy Pena each homered before four relievers preserved Hunter Brown’s first win of the season as Houston topped visiting Milwaukee.
The Astros extended their winning streak to six games and earned their eighth victory in nine games. They did so with a pair of multi-run homers and a stout bullpen performance capped by closer Josh Hader, who retired the side in order in the ninth for his sixth save of the season.
Jake Bauers and Joey Ortiz homered in the loss for the Brewers.
Dodgers 7, Reds 3
Will Smith hit a go-ahead RBI single in a two-run seventh inning and Los Angeles beat visiting Cincinnati.
Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Jason Heyward hit home runs for the Dodgers, who pulled ahead late after blowing an early three-run lead. Los Angeles had gone without an extra-base hit in each of the previous two games, both losses.
Stuart Fairchild and Tyler Stephenson homered for the Reds, who fell after dominating in the series opener for a 7-2 victory on Thursday. Cincinnati had lost 12 of its previous 14 games before the series started and is now 3-5 on a 10-game road trip.
–Field Level Media