Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger stroked consecutive bases-loaded singles in the fifth inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers claimed a 5-2 interleague victory over the host Houston Astros on Tuesday in a contentious rematch of the 2017 World Series combatants.
The Dodgers sent 10 batters to the plate in their fifth-run fifth, chasing Framber Valdez (0-1). AJ Pollock had three hits for Los Angeles, which got two hits apiece from Corey Seager and Mookie Betts. Dodgers reliever Brusdar Graterol (1-0) pitched one scoreless inning for the win.
Carlos Correa, who had three of the Astros’ four hits, was a central figure in a dugout-clearing flare-up that ended the sixth when he struck out and exchanged words with Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly, who nearly hit Alex Bregman, Yuli Gurriel and Correa with pitches that inning.
Several Dodgers players were vocal in their admonishment of the Astros following details of Houston stealing signs during the 2017 season being released this past offseason.
Cubs 8, Reds 5
Javier Baez homered twice and Alec Mills threw six solid innings as visiting Chicago beat Cincinnati to earn its their third win in a row. Mills (1-0) allowed only a Nick Castellanos two-run homer in the fourth inning plus one other hit while striking out three and walking two.
Baez also doubled and drove in three runs. David Bote went deep for one of his two hits, Jason Kipnis also posted a pair of hits, and Nico Hoerner had two RBIs for the Cubs, who have totaled 25 runs and homered seven times in the past three games.
Curt Casali clubbed his second homer of the season in the eighth and Freddy Galvis belted a two-run drive in the ninth for Cincinnati, which has dropped four straight.
Indians 4, White Sox 3 (Game 1)
Aaron Civale recorded a career-high nine strikeouts and Francisco Lindor belted a two-run homer to lift host Cleveland to a victory over Chicago in the opener of a doubleheader.
Bradley Zimmer joined Lindor in going deep and driving in a pair of runs for the Indians. Civale (1-0) allowed two runs on seven hits in six innings. Brad Hand allowed Yasmani Grandal’s two-out RBI single in the ninth befre striking out Edwin Encarnacion to secure his second save of the season.
Tim Anderson homered in the third inning to snap an 0-for-13 slump and went 3-for-5 with three runs for the White Sox, who saw manager Rick Renteria return to the dugout. Renteria’s status wasn’t certain after general manager Rick Hahn announced prior to Monday’s postponed game that the manager woke up with a slight cough and nasal congestion.
Indians 5, White Sox 3 (Game 2)
Adam Plutko tossed six strong innings and Carlos Santana belted a two-run homer as Cleveland completed a doubleheader sweep of visiting Chicago.
Oscar Mercado ripped a two-run single in the fourth inning and made a leaping catch at the center field wall to end the eighth for the Indians.
James McCann launched a solo homer in the second inning and Jose Abreu went deep in the sixth for the White Sox, who have lost three consecutive games. The home runs were the lone blemishes for Plutko (1-0), who allowed two runs on five hits while striking out four without walking a batter.
Diamondbacks 4, Rangers 1
Merrill Kelly allowed just three hits in 7 2/3 innings, and David Peralta and Stephen Vogt had RBI hits as Arizona won at Arlington, Texas.
Kelly controlled the Rangers into the seventh inning before surrendering a one-out solo home run to Rougned Odor that ended his no-hit and shutout bid.
Kelly (1-0) struck out seven and walked one. He left with two outs in the eighth after giving up singles to the Rangers’ Elvis Andrus and Robinson Chirinos, with Andrew Chafin getting the final out of the inning. Archie Bradley struck out the side in the ninth for his first save of the season.
Twins 6, Cardinals 3
Josh Donaldson and Jorge Polanco each homered and drove in two runs to lead Minnesota to a victory over St. Louis in Minneapolis.
Homer Bailey (1-0) picked up the victory in his Twins debut, allowing two runs on four hits over five innings. He walked two and struck out four. Sergio Romo pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his first save. Donaldson and Polanco each had two of Minnesota’s seven hits.
Carlos Martinez (0-1), making his first start since July 30, 2018, gave up six runs on seven hits over 3 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out two. Tyler O’Neill and Tommy Edman homered for St. Louis.
Blue Jays 5, Nationals 1
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit solo home runs and Tanner Roark pitched five efficient innings against his former team as Toronto won again at Washington.
The Blue Jays have smashed six solo home runs in winning the first two games of the four-game series. Roark (1-0), who pitched for the Nationals from 2013-18, allowed one run, three hits and no walks while striking out five in his return to Nationals Park. The Nationals had one hit and one walk after the third inning.
Washington starter Austin Voth (0-1) allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits. He had no walks and two strikeouts. Guerrero led off the second with a homer to left-center off the webbing of the glove of center fielder Victor Robles, who collided with left fielder Emilio Bonifacio.
Pirates 8, Brewers 6
Adam Frazier’s tiebreaking two-run homer in the eighth inning lifted host Pittsburgh past Milwaukee for the Pirates’ first home win of the season.
Frazier’s first homer of the year came off Bobby Wahl (0-1) after Cole Tucker led off the eighth with a double. Guillermo Heredia had a two-run single for Pittsburgh, and Phillip Evans added a tying RBI double in the seventh.
Derek Holland, in his Pirates debut, went 5 2/3 innings, giving up two runs and two hits with three walks and five strikeouts. Geoff Hartlieb (1-0) tossed two scoreless innings for his first major league win, and Nick Burdi pitched the ninth for his first big-league save.
Mets 8, Red Sox 3
J.D. Davis homered to help make a winner of David Peterson in his major league debut as the New York ran host Boston’s losing streak to four.
Peterson (1-0) allowed two runs on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings, striking out three and walking two. Kevin Pillar and Kevin Plawecki had three hits apiece for the Red Sox, who have lost four straight at home since winning their season opener. Boston has given up at least seven runs in each defeat.
A first-round pick by the Mets in the 2017 draft, Peterson had previously never pitched higher than Double-A. He cruised early while the Mets put three runs on the board in the second on a Robinson Cano RBI double and a two-run, bloop single by Amed Rosario.
Royals 4, Tigers 3
Christin Stewart hit a go-ahead two-run homer, and a handful of relievers combined for six scoreless innings as Detroit edged visiting Kansas City.
Jonathan Schoop also smashed a two-run homer for Detroit, and Tyler Alexander (1-0) was credited with the victory, giving up two hits in two innings of scoreless relief. Joe Jimenez notched his third save by pitching a shutout ninth.
Detroit’s Cameron Maybin added two hits, the only player on either team to record a multi-hit game. Whit Merrifield blasted a three-run homer to account for all of the Royals’ runs.
Rockies 8, A’s 3
Sam Hilliard homered and doubled, Raimel Tapia, Ryan McMahon and Charlie Blackmon added two hits apiece, and Colorado won at Oakland.
David Dahl hit a two-run double, and Tony Wolters provided an RBI double for Colorado, which posted its third straight victory. Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela (1-0) allowed two runs on six hits and three walks while striking out three in five innings.
Ramon Laureano and Matt Olson had two hits apiece for the A’s. Daniel Mengden (0-1) allowed three runs on five hits in four innings.
Rays 5, Braves 2
Yoshi Tsutsugo drove in two runs as Tampa Bay batted around in a five-run third inning en route to its fourth consecutive victory, a triumph over Atlanta in St. Petersburg, Fla.
After an eight-run inning Monday, the Rays broke out in a frame again, aided by three walks from Atlanta starter Kyle Wright (0-1), while also stringing together three consecutive run-scoring hits.
Rays right-hander Pete Fairbanks (1-0) struck out the side in a scoreless fifth to get the win. Six Tampa Bay pitchers combined to allow six hits and two unearned runs while striking out 12.
Padres 5, Giants 3
Fernando Tatis Jr. and Wil Myers hit early home runs and San Diego held on to spoil San Francisco’s home opener to start a three-game series.
Zach Davies (1-0) held the Giants to three runs, two earned, in five innings, and four relievers combined to blank San Francisco the rest of the way. Drew Pomeranz struck out the side in the ninth for his first save.
Tatis belted a three-run homer in the third to wipe out a 1-0 deficit, and Myers added a two-run homer for the Padres in the fourth. Jeff Samardzija (0-1) was charged with all five runs, on four hits in four innings. He walked one and struck out one.
Angels 10, Mariners 2
Albert Pujols hit his 657th career home run, Anthony Rendon hit his first with Los Angeles, and Max Stassi added a three-run shot as Los Angeles beat Seattle to win its home opener in Anaheim, Calif.
Angels left-hander Ryan Buchter (1-0) pitched a scoreless inning in relief to earn the victory. Seattle’s starter, Justus Sheffield (0-1), cruised through the first two innings before surrendering two runs in the third.
With the Angels up 5-2 in the fifth, Pujols lined Nestor Cortes’ 0-2 pitch just over the wall in the left-field corner, despite Cortes trying to throw off Pujols’ timing with an exaggeratedly slow delivery. Rendon, making his Angels debut after signing a $245 million deal in the offseason, hit a two-run shot in the eighth to cap the scoring.
Orioles at Marlins, ppd.
Baltimore’s scheduled game at Miami was postponed with the Marlins in the midst of a coronavirus outbreak. All Marlins games scheduled through Sunday have been postponed as 17 members of the club’s traveling party have tested positive for COVID-19.
Yankees at Phillies, ppd.
New York’s scheduled game at Philadelphia was postponed, with the Phillies having all their action scrapped until Friday. The Phillies’ home park was the site of the most recent games played by the Marlins, last weekend.
–Field Level Media
