Alex Verdugo went 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs against his former team as the visiting New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox 8-1 on Friday.
The Yankees became the first team in the majors to reach 50 wins this year. Verdugo contributed to all three of the Yankees’ multi-run innings. He hit a two-run homer in the first, added an RBI double in a two-run fifth and chipped in a run-scoring single in a three-run ninth.
Anthony Rizzo went 2-for-3 with an RBI, Jose Trevino homered and Luis Gil (9-1) pitched five innings of one-run ball for New York. Gil yielded four hits and four walks while striking out six.
The Red Sox were limited to five hits and went scoreless against four New York relievers. Enmanuel Valdez had the team’s lone RBI. Boston’s Brayan Bello (6-4) allowed five runs (four earned) in 4 2/3 innings. He gave up six hits and three walks and struck out five.
Phillies 5, Orioles 3 (11 innings)
After a 71-minute rain delay, Alec Bohm hit a two-run double in the 11th inning and Philadelphia finished off host Baltimore in the series opener between teams with the second- and third-best records in the majors.
Kyle Schwarber led off the game with a home run and provided a go-ahead, two-out single in the 10th inning for the Phillies. Catcher Rafael Marchan, playing in just his second big-league game since 2021, homered in the fifth inning. Orion Kerkering (2-0) picked up the win despite allowing the tying run to score on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 10th.
Anthony Santander’s solo blast for the Orioles tied the score with two outs in the eighth. The Orioles have lost on back-to-back days after a season-best six-game winning streak. Jacob Webb (1-4) took the loss.
Mariners 3, Rangers 2
Mitch Garver slugged a two-run homer and Luis Castillo worked six solid innings as Seattle edged visiting Texas to win for the fifth time in six games.
Castillo (6-7) gave up four hits and two runs while walking one and striking out seven. After permitting three hits and both runs in the first inning, he stifled Texas over the next five innings. Three Seattle relievers got the last nine outs, with Ryne Stanek pitching the ninth inning for his sixth save.
Andrew Heaney (2-8) lasted 4 2/3 innings for Texas, allowing three runs on six hits with three walks and four strikeouts. Jose Urena supplied 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, but the Rangers weren’t able to come up with an equalizing run. Wyatt Langford had two hits and drove in a run for Texas.
Dodgers 4, Royals 3
Chris Taylor hit his first home run of the season and Freddie Freeman hit a go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning as Los Angeles rallied to beat visiting Kansas City in the opener of a three-game series.
Miguel Rojas also homer for the Dodgers, who rebounded after scoring three combined runs against the Texas Rangers in back-to-back home losses.
Salvador Perez hit a three-run shot for the Royals, who lost for the fifth time in their past six games. Maikel Garcia had two hits and a run for Kansas City, which also lost for the sixth time in its past eight road games.
Mets 2, Padres 1
J.D. Martinez’s two-run double in the fourth inning lifted host New York past San Diego. The Mets have won nine of their last 13 games, while the Padres had their three-game winning streak snapped.
Sean Manaea (4-3) yielded a run in five-plus innings before Adam Ottavino, Jake Diekman, Sean Reid-Foley and Edwin Diaz (six saves) handled the final four frames.
Jackson Merrill homered in the fifth inning for the Padres, who got seven innings of two-run ball from Matt Waldron (4-6).
Cardinals 3, Cubs 0
Pedro Pages hit his first homer of the season, opening the top of the eighth with a solo shot to lift St. Louis over host Chicago.
Cardinals starter Kyle Gibson (5-2) scattered just two hits across seven innings, walking one and striking out six.
Cubs starter Jordan Wicks lasted just 1 2/3 innings before exiting the game with an oblique injury. Kyle Hendricks took over and surrendered just two hits across 4 1/3 shutout innings.
Nationals 8, Marlins 1
Lane Thomas hit a three-run homer to highlight a seven-run third inning and Washington cruised past visiting Miami in the opener of a three-game series.
CJ Abrams had three hits and drove in two runs, Jacob Young added two hits and two runs, Jesse Winker and Luis Garcia Jr. each had two hits and a run and Joey Meneses knocked in two runs for the Nationals, who have won six of seven.
Tim Anderson had three hits, his fourth straight multi-hit game, but the Marlins lost their third straight contest.
Guardians 3, Blue Jays 1
Will Brennan bashed a solo home run, a double and scored two runs and Cleveland defeated host Toronto to begin a three-game set.
In five-plus innings, Logan Allen (7-3) allowed a run on three hits and three walks with three strikeouts as the Guardians improved to 4-2 on their eight-game road trip.
The Blue Jays were held to three hits in the opener of a six-game homestand that followed a 3-3 trip. Toronto’s Kevin Gausman (5-5) allowed three runs and eight hits while striking out six without a walk in 5 1/3 innings.
Braves 7, Rays 3
Marcell Ozuna blasted his National League-leading 19th home run to highlight a five-run first inning that sent host Atlanta over Tampa Bay.
Ozuna’s three-run shot gave him 60 RBIs, also tops in the NL. The Braves’ Austin Riley ended a 5-for-35 (.143) slump by going 3-for-4 with a homer, a double and three RBIs. Starter Chris Sale (9-2) pitched seven innings and allowed two runs on five hits with two walks and seven strikeouts. Raisel Iglesias entered the ninth inning with two runners on base and got Yandy Diaz on a grounder for the final out, earning his 18th save.
Tampa Bay starter Zack Littell (2-5) had his worst outing of the season. He pitched two innings and allowed a season-high seven runs, six earned, on eight hits with one walk and two strikeouts.
Astros 4, Tigers 0
Hunter Brown posted his fifth consecutive quality start and Mauricio Dubon capped a four-run, sixth-inning outburst with a two-run homer as Houston topped visiting Detroit.
Brown (3-5) recorded his second consecutive scoreless start, matching his season high of nine strikeouts. He was 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA over his previous four starts but elevated his performance a notch, working a season-best seven innings while allowing five hits and no walks.
Colt Keith had two of the five hits for the Tigers, who have lost three of four.
Reds 6, Brewers 5
Jeimer Candelario belted a two-run homer and TJ Friedl also went deep among his three hits, lifting visiting Cincinnati over Milwaukee.
Elly De La Cruz had an RBI triple among his two hits and Jonathan India and Friedl each added a run-scoring single. Jake Fraley also had two hits as the Reds overcame five errors — including three by De La Cruz — to record their ninth win in their past 11 games.
William Contreras launched a solo homer in the third inning for the Brewers and scored after an error by De La Cruz in the fifth.
Twins 6, Athletics 5 (10 innings)
Max Kepler belted a three-run homer in the sixth inning and hit a walk-off single in the 10th to lift Minnesota over Oakland in Minneapolis.
Kepler finished 3-for-4 for the Twins, who have won the first two games of the four-game series and three straight overall. Minnesota right-hander Jhoan Duran (2-2) earned the victory with two scoreless innings out of the bullpen.
Shea Langeliers hit a grand slam for the Athletics. Brent Rooker added an RBI, but Oakland dropped its seventh game in a row. Left-hander Scott Alexander (0-2) allowed an unearned run in the 10th.
Pirates 5, Rockies 2
Andrew McCutchen and Bryan Reynolds homered and finished with two hits each, Jack Suwinski also went deep, and Pittsburgh beat Colorado in Denver.
Luis Ortiz (3-2) got the win with five innings of relief for the Pirates.
Charlie Blackmon homered and doubled twice and Brenton Doyle had two hits for the Rockies, who lost starter Ryan Feltner to an apparent injury after surrendering Suwinski’s two-run homer in the seventh that made it 4-1.
Diamondbacks 7, White Sox 1
Joc Pederson and Eugenio Suarez homered and Ryne Nelson pitched six solid innings as Arizona notched a victory over Chicago in Phoenix.
Pederson and Tucker Barnhart had two hits and two RBIs apiece as Arizona won for the ninth time in its past 13 games. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. added two hits. Nelson (4-5) struck out eight and gave up one run on six hits and one walk.
Chicago’s Chris Flexen (2-6) gave up six runs (four earned) and nine hits in 3 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out two as his winless streak reached seven starts. The White Sox have lost 19 of their past 22 games.
Angels 8, Giants 6
Mickey Moniak collected two doubles and a triple, Zach Neto added a home run and Los Angeles scored early and often in defeating host San Francisco to begin a three-game series.
Tyler Anderson (6-6) limited his former team to one run in 5 1/3 innings. The onslaught against Giants starter Spencer Howard (0-1) began with Michael Stefanic’s RBI single in the second inning and gained steam during a three-run third, which included Moniak hitting a two-run double.
The Giants’ lone run against Anderson came in the last of the fourth when Thairo Estrada’s double-play grounder scored Wilmer Flores. The hosts made things interesting with a five-run eighth, getting within 8-6 when Heliot Ramos smacked a three-run home run off Roansy Contreras.
–Field Level Media