Arenado, Cards hit 4 HRs in row in 1st
Nolan Arenado sparked a record barrage of four straight home runs by St. Louis in the first inning, then hit a tiebreaking drive in the ninth that sent the Cardinals over the Philadelphia Phillies 7-6 on Saturday.
With two outs in the first, Arenado, Nolan Gorman, Juan Yepez and Dylan Carson homered off Kyle Gibson. It was the first time in major league history a team connected for four homers in a row in the first inning.
The Cardinals tied the MLB record for any inning with four in a row. It was the first time they had done it, and the 11th time overall in big league history.
Twins 4, Orioles 3: Jorge Polanco hit a tying homer and Jose Miranda delivered a game-ending single as Minnesota again rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning and beat Baltimore. A day after Byron Buxton hit a two-run homer in the ninth off Jorge Lopez for a 3-2 victory, Minnesota came back once more.
Rays 6-11, Blue Jays 2-5: Francisco Mejia homered twice, Isaac Paredes had three hits and five RBIs, and Tampa Bay swept a doubleheader against Toronto. The Rays won the first game 6-2, and nearly doubled their run output for the second with an 11-5 win. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a solo blast for his 19th home run and Bradley Zimmer added a two-run homer in the second game, but couldn’t keep Toronto from losing a doubleheader at home for the first time in five doubleheaders.
Dodgers 7, Padres 2: Freddie Freeman,
Will Smith and Justin Turner homered during a seven-pitch span in the first inning, Tyler Anderson struck out six and Los Angeles continued its dominance of San Diego. Freeman, Smith and Turner all connected for solo shots off Padres starter Yu Darvish (7-4). It was the third time this season they have had three homers in an inning.
Astros 9, Angels 1: Martin Maldonado homered twice and Jose Altuve, Kyle Tucker and Chas McCormick added a home run each as Houston built a big lead early and didn’t let up.
Marlins 5, Nationals 3: Jesus Aguilar hit a two-run home run in the first inning and scored in the seventh, Daniel Castano picked up his first win of the season and Miami continued its domination of Washington.
Braves 4, Reds 1: Spencer Strider allowed one hit over six innings and matched a career high with 11 strikeouts, Austin Riley homered for the second straight game and drove in two runs and Atlanta beat Cincinnati.
Pirates 7, Brewers 4: Oneil Cruz collected his 12th run batted in over 13 games this season to help Pittsburgh bounce back from a blowout loss.
Mariners 2, Athletics 1: Pinch-hitter Justin Upton homered to tie it in the eighth inning and Abraham Toro singled home the winning run in the ninth to lift Seattle over Oakland.
White Sox 5, Giants 3: Gavin Sheets doubled twice and drove in two runs, and Chicago held on for a victory against San Francisco.
Tigers 4, Royals 3: Victor Reyes and Riley Greene hit back-to-back homers in the ninth inning to give Detroit a win over Kansas City.
Note: Dave Martinez and Mike Rizzo are signed through the 2023 season after the Washington Nationals exercised their contract options for the World Series-winning manager and GM.