Yankees slip past Toronto
Aaron Judge hit his fifth home run, David Robertson pitched out of an eighthinning jam and the Yankees overcame some shaky defense on a chilly night in New York to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 last night.
BASEBALL
Judge lofted a solo shot to make it 4-2 in the seventh. He turned on a 3-2 splitter from Tyler Clippard, spoiling the reliever’s first outing at Yankee Stadium since New York traded him to the White Sox last July.
Robertson loaded the bases with consecutive walks with no outs the next inning but limited Toronto to one run on pinch-hitter Curtis Granderson’s RBI single. Robertson struck out two and got a flyout from Luke Maile to hold a one-run lead.
CC Sabathia allowed two unearned runs over 41⁄3 innings and 71 pitches in his first start since straining his right hip on April 6. He is 9-0 with a 1.88 ERA in his last 13 regular-season starts following a Yankees loss.
Tigers 13, Orioles 8 — Leonys Martin hit his first big league grand slam, Jeimer Candelario had four hits and three RBI, and host Detroit beat Baltimore to extend the Orioles’ losing streak to six.
Jordan Zimmermann (10) gave up four runs and seven hits in 51⁄3 innings, allowing two home runs to Manny Machado and one to Chris Davis. Zimmermann was pitching for the first time since being hit in the jaw by a line drove off the bat of Cleveland’s Jason Kipnis on April 11.
Astros 9, Mariners 2 — Charlie Morton pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, Jose Altuve hit a threerun double and Houston beat host Seattle.
After losing the series opener, the Astros won their third straight behind another impressive pitching performance. Morton allowed singles to Robinson Cano, Mitch Haniger and Nelson Cruz, and otherwise baffled Seattle’s lineup. In the four-game series, Houston’s starters dominated with none of the four allowing more than two earned runs.
National League
Cubs 8, Cardinals 5 — Jon Lester was dominant through six innings of two-hit ball in his 100th start as a Cub, Jason Heyward hit a two-run homer and host Chicago defeated St. Louis.
Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber each had two RBI as Chicago took a 6-1 lead after two innings. Every Cubs starter had a hit, including three by Anthony Rizzo and two each by Heyward, Schwarber and Javier Baez.
Lester (2-0) didn’t allow a hit until Jedd Gyorko lined a single to left with one out in the fifth inning. The left-hander gave a first-inning unearned run, struck out seven and walked one.
Braves 12, Mets 4 — Preston Tucker drove in a careerhigh five runs, Matt Wisler allowed two hits in seven innings after being called up from the minors, and host Atlanta beat Matt Harvey and New York.
Wisler (1-0), recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett before the game for what appeared to be a fill-in start, may have earned a longer stay in Atlanta. The righthander allowed one run on two hits with no walks.
Kurt Suzuki had three hits and drove in three runs, including a two-run homer off Harvey in the first inning.
Phillies 7, Pirates 0 — Jake Arrieta flashed the All-Star form that made Philadelphia covet the free agent ace, striking out 10 and tossing one-hit ball over seven innings to lead the Phillies to a win over visiting Pittsburgh.
Rhys Hoskins homered and Cesar Hernandez had a three-run single to pace the Phillies in their first game back from a 4-2 trip.
The Phillies got vintage Arrieta (2-0) in his best outing since he left the Chicago Cubs for a $75 million, three-year contract that made him the immediate ace of the rotation.
Elsewhere in baseball — The Reds’ worst start since the Great Depression prompted a quick hook for Bryan Price.
Cincinnati fired its fifthyear manager because of a 3-15 start, the first managerial change in the major leagues this season. The Reds hadn’t changed managers so early in a season since Tony Perez was fired after 44 games in 1993.
It’s the first time since 2002 that a manager has been fired in April, according to ESPN.