Cardinals pitcher amazes
CINCINNATI St. Louis starter Daniel Poncedeleon made a sensational debut 14 months after suffering a severe head injury, throwing no-hit ball for seven innings Monday night before Eugenio Suarez led the Cincinnati Reds’ two-out rally in the ninth for a 2-1 victory over the Cardinals.
Suarez’s two-out, solo homer off Bud Norris (3-3) tied it 1-1. The closer then loaded the bases on a pair of singles and a walk, and pinchhitter Dilson Herrera singled to end the Reds’ losing streak at four games. Jared Hughes (3-3) pitched the ninth.
The late rally overshadowed Poncedeleon’s incredible comeback.
The 26-year-old right-hander was hit on the right temple by a line drive while pitching for Triple-A Memphis on May 9 last year, fracturing his skull and causing bleeding in the brain. He had emergency surgery followed by months of slow recovery.
Poncedeleon was one of the top pitchers in the Pacific Coast League when St. Louis called him up Monday to help their injury-depleted rotation. He walked three and struck out three, threw 116 pitches and gave way to a pinch-hitter in the eighth with St. Louis up 1-0.
PIRATES 7, INDIANS 0, 6 INNINGS
CLEVELAND — Josh Harrison hit a three-run homer and Gregory Polanco had a two-run triple off Corey Kluber in his return, and Pittsburgh beat Cleveland in a six-inning, rain-shortened game for its 10th straight win.
RAYS 7, YANKEES 6
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Gary Sanchez failed to hustle on a pair of key plays, Jake Bauers hit a three-run homer and scored with some nifty baserunning, and Tampa Bay beat Luis Severino and New York.
DODGERS 7, PHILLIES 6
PHILADELPHIA — Max Muncy, Yasmani Grandal, Chris Taylor and Joc Pederson hit solo homers and Alex Verdugo scored the tiebreaking run on a wild pitch in the top of the ninth inning, lifting Los Angeles over Philadelphia in a matchup of division leaders.
RED SOX 5, ORIOLES 3
BALTIMORE — Rick Porcello scattered six hits over six scoreless innings, Mitch Moreland homered and Boston beat Baltimore in a rain-delayed matchup between the best and worst teams in the major leagues.
1 DIAMONDBACKS 7, CUBS
CHICAGO — Paul Goldschmidt homered and Patrick Corbin pitched seven strong innings to pick up his first win in seven weeks, leading Arizona over Chicago.
PADRES 3, METS 2
NEW YORK — Jacob deGrom’s winless streak reached five games as the major league ERA leader was hurt by a pair of errors behind him, and San Diego beat New York in a matchup of teams with the worst records in the National League.
BRAVES 12, MARLINS 1
MIAMI — Freddie Freeman hit his 17th homer and also doubled for Atlanta, which totalled 16 hits to beat Miami.
TWINS 8, BLUE JAYS 3
TORONTO — Logan Morrison homered and had three RBIs, Max Kepler added a two-run blast and Minnesota beat Toronto, snapping a three-game losing streak.