MLB roundup: Yanks hit 9 HRs, bash Brewers 20-9

Aaron Judge hit the third of three straight homers for the Yankees to open the game before adding a grand slam in the third inning and a two-run shot in the fourth as New York hit a team-record nine homers in an 20-9 rout over the visiting Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday afternoon.

The Yankees started a game with three consecutive homers for the first time in team history as Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger and Judge hit first-pitch homers off former Yankee Nestor Cortes (0-1) for a 3-0 lead three pitches into the contest. Judge hit his ninth career grand slam with nobody out in the third on a drive to left center against Connor Thomas and then Judge produced his third career three-homer game when he homered to center in the fourth.

Judge drove in a career-high eight runs by adding an RBI double in the sixth. The Yankees became the third team in major league history with nine or more homers. The Toronto Blue Jays hit 10 against the Baltimore Orioles on Sept. 14, 1987, and the Cincinnati Reds slugged nine at the Philadelphia Phillies on Sept. 4, 1999.

Rhys Hoskins, Vinny Capra, and Christian Yelich each hit RBI singles for Milwaukee. Brice Turang added a two-run homer as the Brewers finished with 13 hits.

Padres 1, Braves 0

Yuli Gurriel’s pinch-hit RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning snapped a scoreless tie and lifted San Diego to a win over visiting Atlanta.

Jake Cronenworth started the winning rally with a ground-rule double that caromed off the foot of Aaron Bummer (0-1) and rolled into the third base dugout. After an intentional walk to Xander Bogaerts and a pitching change, Gurriel then pulled a slider past diving shortstop Orlando Arcia into left field to score Cronenworth.

Wandy Peralta (2-0) pitched 1 1/3 innings for the win, and Adrian Morejon pitched around a leadoff walk in the ninth for his first save, slipping a called third strike past Drake Baldwin with the tying run at third to end it.

Angels 1, White Sox 0

Jose Soriano delivered seven shutout innings and Taylor Ward and Luis Rengifo had two hits apiece to help Los Angeles blank host Chicago.

Soriano scattered two hits, two walks and five strikeouts while breezing through Chicago hitters in a tidy 73 pitches. Relievers Ben Joyce and Kenley Jansen completed a combined two-hit shutout.

Los Angeles relied on small ball in the eighth inning to score the game’s lone run. Jorge Soler walked with two outs and advanced to third on a Mike Clevinger wild pitch. Yoan Moncada’s infield hit scored Soler, as Clevinger deflected the ball but was unable to gather it to make a play.

Cardinals 5, Twins 1

Erick Fedde and three relievers combined for a three-hitter as St. Louis defeated Minnesota.

Fedde held the Twins to their one run on two hits in six innings while recording two strikeouts. Lars Nootbaar went 2-for-3 with a run and two RBIs as the Cardinals opened their season with two straight victories. Nolan Arenado and Ivan Herrera each went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.

Twins starter Joe Ryan allowed one run on five hits in five innings, striking out five. Reliever Jorge Alcala took the loss after allowing three runs without retiring a batter.

Athletics 4, Mariners 2

Shea Langeliers hit a two-run homer and Osvaldo Bido gave up one earned run over five-plus innings as the Athletics defeated host Seattle.

It was the Athletics’ second straight victory after dropping the season opener. Bido (1-0), a right-hander, gave up two runs on three hits with four walks and four strikeouts. Mason Miller worked the ninth for his first save of the season.

Mariners starter Bryce Miller (0-1) allowed three runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings, with two walks and four strikeouts.

Orioles 9, Blue Jays 5

Jordan Westburg hit two home runs while going 4-for-5 and visiting Baltimore defeated Toronto to take a 2-1 lead in the four-game series.

Colton Cowser added a solo shot, and Ramon Urias had a go-ahead three-run double among his three hits for the Orioles. Cowser hit Toronto starter Max Scherzer’s second pitch of the game, a fastball. for a homer to center and Westburg added a mammoth homer to center on a hanging slider later in the first.

Andres Gimenez hit a two-run homer and Bo Bichette was 4-for-4 with a walk for Toronto. Scherzer retired seven straight batters before leaving after three innings with what the team said was a right lat issue.

Dodgers 7, Tigers 3

Freddie Freeman homered, doubled and drove in two runs and Will Smith and Tommy Edman also homered as Los Angeles completed a three-game sweep of visiting Detroit.

Teoscar Hernandez hit a two-run, go-ahead double in the fifth inning and Michael Conforto had an RBI double in the second for Los Angeles (5-0), which is off to the team’s best start since opening the 1981 season at 6-0. Jake Rogers tripled, Zach McKinstry went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, and Manuel Margot also had two hits and an RBI for Detroit.

Anthony Banda (1-0), the fourth of seven Dodger pitchers, picked up the win, striking out two during a hitless fifth inning. Starter Roki Sasaki, struggled in his Dodger Stadium debut, allowing two runs on three hits and four walks over 1 2/3 innings. Reese Olson (0-1) suffered the loss allowing four runs on four hits over 4 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out five.

Cubs 4, Diamondbacks 3

Kyle Tucker had three hits, including his first homer of the season, rookie Matt Shaw hit his first major league homer and Chicago held off Arizona in Phoenix.

Tucker’s two-run homer off Brandon Pfaadt (0-1) with one out in the fifth inning gave the Cubs a 3-1 lead. Shaw homered as a pinch hitter to open the seventh to make it 4-1. Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga (1-0) gave up one run on three hits in seven innings, with four strikeouts and two walks in his second start of the season.

Arizona’s Eugenio Suarez followed Josh Naylor’s single with a two-run homer to open the last of the ninth inning off Ryan Pressly before Gabriel Moreno singled. Ketel Marte walked with two outs and Corbin Carroll squibbed a grounder toward shortstop Dansby Swanson, who bluffed a throw to first base and chased down pinch runner Garrett Hampson after he rounded third base for the final out on the fielder’s choice.

Reds 3, Giants 2

Matt McLain homered, doubled and scored twice and Christian Encarnacion-Strand blasted a solo home run to break a sixth-inning tie as host Cincinnati rallied past San Francisco in manager Terry Francona’s first win in a Reds uniform.

Tony Santillan, Graham Ashcraft and Emilio Pagan each pitched a scoreless inning in relief of Nick Lodolo (1-0), with Pagan earning the save.

Making his Giants debut, 42-year-old right-hander Justin Verlander was staked to a two-run lead but allowed two runs and six hits over five innings, striking out five and walking one while throwing 83 pitches in a no-decision.

Phillies 11, Nationals 6

Kyle Schwarber homered for the second consecutive game and Jesus Luzardo struck out 11 in five solid innings in his team debut as Philadelphia beat host Washington.

Brandon Marsh had three hits, including a three-run homer, and Bryson Stott had a homer and a double for the Phillies. Acquired last December in a trade with the Miami Marlins, the 27-year-old Luzardo allowed two runs on five hits and walked three.

Keibert Ruiz hit his second home run in as many games for the Nationals, and Ahmed Rosario and Nathaniel Lowe also went deep. Washington starter Jake Irvin gave up two runs on seven hits in five innings.

Rangers 4, Red Sox 3

Adolis Garcia homered, doubled twice and drove in three runs to lead Texas past Boston in Arlington, Texas.

Garcia broke a 2-2 tie by hitting a leadoff home run in the fourth off Boston starter Walker Buehler (0-1). He also collected a two-run double in the first and hit a leadoff double in the sixth. Corey Seager added two hits and a run for Texas, which has won two of the first three games in the four-game series.

Boston received two hits from both Kristian Campbell and Alex Bregman. Campbell hit the first home run of his major league career. Buehler, who was making his Red Sox debut, allowed four runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out three.

Marlins 5, Pirates 4 (12 innings)

Dane Myers hit a walk-off single with one out in the 12th inning as Miami outlasted the visiting Pittsburgh.

Myers also made a key defensive play in the top half of the 12th. He threw out Tommy Pham at the plate on a single by Bryan Reynolds, and George Soriano (1-0) stranded two to set it up for the dramatic finish. Myers, Kyle Stowers and Otto Lopez each had three hits and an RBI for Miami.

For Pittsburgh, Joey Bart notched three hits and an RBI, while Jack Suwinski and Adam Frazier each drove in a run. Frazier also scored a run on a throwing error.

Royals 4, Guardians 3

Bobby Witt Jr. smacked the tie-breaking double in the bottom of the seventh inning to help host Kansas City edge Cleveland, which saw star third baseman Jose Ramirez leave after 5 1/2 innings due to sprained right wrist.

Maikel Garcia hit a tying homer off Paul Sewald (0-1) to start the seventh as the Royals evened the series at one game apiece. Salvador Perez drove in two runs for Kansas City. Daniel Lynch IV (1-0) pitched two perfect innings of relief.

Steven Kwan homered and scored twice for Cleveland. Ramirez, a six-time All-Star, was injured sliding into second base a failed steal attempt in the third inning. He initially stayed in the game before exiting.

Astros 2, Mets 1

Jeremy Pena homered, Yordan Alvarez hit an RBI double and Houston rode a strong start from right-hander Spencer Arrighetti to edge visiting New York in the rubber match of a three-game interleague series.

After Pena recorded the Astros’ first extra-base of the season when he homered off Mets right-hander Griffin Canning (0-1) to lead off the fifth inning, Jose Siri used his blistering speed to manufacture the Mets’ lone run off Arrighetti. Siri led off the sixth with a walk, stole second base, took third on a flyout and scored when Juan Soto grounded to the mound.

Arrighetti (1-0) pitched six innings, allowing one run and one hit with two walks and five strikeouts. He threw 87 pitches, 51 for strikes, and faced the minimum in four of his six innings. Astros closer Josh Hader recorded his second save of the series by working around a leadoff walk to Soto in the ninth.

Rockies 2, Rays 1

Brenton Doyle had an RBI single in the third inning and Kyle Farmer added another in the seventh, lifting visiting Colorado over Tampa Bay.

Five pitchers combined to allow three hits over 4 2/3 innings in relief of starter Antonio Senzatela, who worked around nine hits and two walks over 4 1/3 scoreless frames. Seth Halvorsen retired all four batters he faced to secure his first save of the season

Taylor Walls ripped a two-out RBI single to right field off Angel Chivilli in the eighth inning to cut Tampa Bay’s deficit to 2-1. Junior Caminero had three singles, Jonathan Aranda ripped two doubles and Christopher Morel reached base four times (two singles, two walks) for the Rays.

–Field Level Media