Conforto rocks Strasburg in return from DL
NATIONAL LEAGUE METS 8, NATIONALS 2
WASHINGTON — Michael Conforto got exactly what he wanted. So did the New York Mets.
In his first regular-season game since August, Conforto came off the disabled list to hit a tiebreaking, two-run home run off Stephen Strasburg, Yoenis Cespedes also went deep against the Nationals ace, and Jay Bruce tacked on an insurance grand slam, leading the Mets to an 8-2 victory in Washington’s home opener Thursday.
When new Mets Manager Mickey Callaway was asked beforehand about throwing Conforto in against one of the National League’s premier pitchers instead of giving him a minor league rehab assignment, this was the reply: “He wanted
Strasburg.”
“As a competitor, you want to go up against the best. They don’t get much better than him,” said Conforto, a 2017 NL All-Star who had surgery on his left shoulder in September. “If we’re starting there, then we should be OK.”
ROCKIES 3, PADRES 1 Ryan McMahon drew a bases-loaded walk off All-Star closer Brad Hand to break a scoreless tie in the ninth inning, and DJ LeMahieu added a two-run single for visiting Colorado. Hand (0-2) walked Trevor Story and Chris Iannetta to open the ninth and the Rockies loaded the bases when second baseman Carlos Asuaje committed an error when he couldn’t hold onto the throw from third baseman Christian Villanueva after Gerardo Parra’s bunt. Hand struck out pinch-hitter Carlos Gonzalez, but then walked McMahon on four pitches to bring in Story.
PHILLIES 5, MARLINS 0 Maikel Franco homered, tripled, singled and drove in four runs for host Philadelphia, and Nick Pivetta struck out nine in 52/3 innings. Pivetta (1-0) allowed four hits and no walks. Adam Morgan retired the four batters he faced and Luis Garcia and Hector Neris
Thursday’s scores NATIONAL LEAGUE
NY Mets 8, Washington 2 Philadelphia 5, Miami 0 Colorado 3, San Diego 1 Pittsburgh 5, Cincinnati 2 Arizona 3, St. Louis 1 Chicago Cubs 8, Milwaukee 0
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Boston 3, Tampa Bay 2 (12) Texas 6, Oakland 3
Detroit 9, Chicago White Sox 7 (10) Minnesota 4, Seattle 2 Baltimore 5, NY Yankees 2 combined on the four-hitter. The Phillies won a home opener for the first time since 2011. DIAMONDBACKS 3, CARDINALS 1 Robbie Ray worked around five walks over six innings and the bullpen closed out a two-hitter, helping Arizona spoil St. Louis’ home opener. Arizona improved to 6-1 for the second consecutive season and tied a franchise record for its best seven-game start. St. Louis dropped its first home opener since 2015.
CUBS 8, BREWERS 0 Jon Lester pitched six sharp innings as visiting Chicago beat Milwaukee. The Brewers were blanked for the second consecutive day and have lost three of four since a 3-0 start. Lester (1-0) allowed 3 hits, struck out 6 and walked 1 for Chicago, which played for the first time since Monday.
PIRATES 5, REDS 2 Gregory Polanco hit a two-run home run during a four-run fifth inning to lift host Pittsburgh past Cincinnati. Polanco broke a 1-1 tie when he drove a ball into the shrubbery in center field off Homer Bailey (0-2).
AMERICAN LEAGUE
RED SOX 3, RAYS 2, (12) Hanley Ramirez blooped a bases-loaded fly ball over the drawn-in outfield in right to break a 12th-inning tie after host Boston overcame a two-run deficit in the ninth in the home opener. It was the sixth consecutive victory for Boston and new Manager Alex Cora, and the sixth loss in a row for Tampa Bay. Bobby Poyner (1-0) pitched two innings, striking out three for his first major league victory.
TWINS 4, MARINERS 2 Mitch Garver hit the go-ahead home run in the seventh for Minnesota, one inning after Miguel Sano tied it with
a two-run shot in the Twins’ chilly home opener. Eddie Rosario went deep in the eighth to pad the lead, and Fernando Rodney worked the ninth for his first save with the Twins. That capped a stretch of 4 2/3 scoreless innings by the bullpen in relief of Kyle Gibson.
RANGERS 6, ATHLETICS 3 Adrian Beltre singled and doubled to become the career hits leader among Latin-born players with 3,055 in visiting Texas’ victory over Oakland. Martin Perez (1-0) pitched into the sixth inning of his first start of the season, and Shin-Soo Choo homered for the second consecutive day. The crowd of 10,132 was the largest of the series that attracted 34,613 total for the four games. TIGERS 9, WHITE SOX 7 (10) Niko Goodrum hit a two-run home run after replacing the injured Miguel Cabrera, and visiting Detroit rallied to beat Chicago. Goodrum’s shot with two outs in the ninth got the comeback going. ORIOLES 5, YANKEES 2 Adam Jones hit a go-ahead home run, Andrew Cashner pitched six strong innings and visiting Baltimore beat New York to snap a five-game losing streak. Jones’ third home run of the season was a two-run drive off Masahiro Tanaka (1-1) in a five-run seventh.