Kluber, Tribe blank Tigers
Corey Kluber struck out 13, pitching two-hit ball for eight innings and leading the Indians past the Detroit Tigers, 2-0, amidst snow flurries last night in Cleveland.
The temperature at first pitch was 33 degrees, one above Progressive Field’s record low set Sunday. There was snow before the game and again in the seventh, while a crowd of 9,843 braved the conditions.
Kluber (1-1) gave up singles to Victor Martinez in the second and Nicholas Castellanos in the fourth. The reigning AL Cy Young winner walked one and threw 103 pitches in recording the 40th double-figure strikeout game of his career.
Andrew Miller worked the ninth for his first save of the season, getting Miguel Cabrera on a game-ending double play.
Bradley Zimmer hit a two-run homer in the fifth off Francisco Liriano (11) as Cleveland’s offense struggled again but used the long ball to win for the second straight day.
Kluber struck out the side in the fifth and fanned a batter in every inning except the sixth. Leonys Martin was the only batter who didn’t strike out against Kluber.
Blue Jays 7, Orioles 1 — Steve Pearce homered in a third successive game, Josh Donaldson tacked on a ninth-inning grand slam and Toronto won in Baltimore before 7,915 fans, the lowest-paid crowd in Camden Yards history.
Temperature at first pitch was 44 degrees, and a slight mist made the conditions even more miserable. That contributed to a dubious attendance record at the 27-year-old ballpark that had held since April 12, 2010, when 9,129 showed up for a game between the Orioles and Tampa Bay.
There were no fans at a game on April 29, 2015, when the Orioles hosted the Chicago White Sox in a closed stadium due to security concerns amid civil unrest in Baltimore.
The Orioles recalled 2013 first-round pick Hunter Harvey from Double-A Bowie to bolster their weary bullpen.
Rays 5, White Sox 4 — Mallex Smith matched a career high with four hits, Joey Wendle hit his first homer and Tampa Bay stopped an eight-game losing streak by hanging on in snowy, soggy Chicago.
A bullpen that blew late leads in two of the three games at Fenway Park last weekend got the job done after a shaky start by Chris Archer (1-0). Alex Colome escaped a second-and-third jam in the ninth by getting three straight groundouts, retiring Leury Garcia on a game-ending bouncer to first.
Tampa Bay had not won since beating the Red Sox on Opening Day.
Royals 10, Mariners 0 — Jakob Junis carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning and host Kansas City scored more runs than it had in its previous six games combined, routing Seattle.
Junis (2-0) hit three batters and walked two, but the quick-working righthander did not allow a hit until Daniel Vogelbach’s grounder up the middle with one out in the seventh.
National League
Nationals 2, Braves 0 — Max Scherzer stole the first base of his professional career and allowed only two singles in his fifth big league shutout, and host Washington ended a fivegame losing skid while getting back to .500 with a victory against Atlanta.
Scherzer (2-1), the winner of the past two NL Cy Young Awards, did not let the Braves push a runner beyond first base. Kurt Suzuki got a hit in the second, and Nick Markakis did in the fifth, but neither advanced.
Scherzer managed to get farther than that: He swiped second after singling off reliever Peter Moylan in the seventh.
Brewers 5, Cardinals 4 — In his St. Louis debut, Greg Holland walked four batters in the 10th inning and forced home the go-ahead run that gave visiting Milwaukee a victory.
The 32-year-old Holland, who tied for the NL lead with 41 saves for Colorado last season, was signed as a free agent on Opening Day. He pitched two innings at Single A before joining the Cardinals earlier in the day.
Holland (0-1) walked two batters to begin the 10th. After a sacrifice bunt, an intentional walk loaded the bases. The three-time AllStar closer then walked Orlando Arcia and was pulled.
Mets 4, Marlins 2 — Noah Syndergaard allowed one earned run in six innings and New York won its sixth consecutive game by beating host Miami to match the best start in team history.
The winning streak is the Mets’ longest since September 2016, and they improved to 8-1.
Jeurys Familia escaped a jam to pitch a scoreless ninth and earn his fifth save, most in the majors.
Phillies 6, Reds 5 — Pinch-hitter Nick Williams hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift host Philadelphia past Cincinnati.
Scott Kingery homered for the first time in his career and Rhys Hoskins also went deep for the Phillies.
Tucker Barnhart hit a two-run homer for the Reds.
Cubs-Pirates, ppd. — The home opener in Chicago was postponed one day because of persistent snow that covered much of Wrigley Field, creating a scene more reminiscent of December than April. The game was rescheduled for 2:20 p.m. today.
Elsewhere in baseball — Los Angeles Angels starter JC Ramirez will miss the rest of this season because of a torn ulnar collateral ligament, and Tommy John surgery has been recommended for the righthander.