Astros lose game and Verlander
The Houston Astros surrendered a tiebreaking tworun single to rookie Kyle Lewis in the eighth inning of a 7-6 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Sunday, and then announced ace Justin Verlander will be shut down for at least two weeks with a strained right forearm.
Astros manager Dusty Baker denied a report that said the injury would end Verlander’s season. He said Verlander would be evaluated after two weeks.
Lewis and Shed Long Jr. each had two hits and two RBIs for the Mariners, who had dropped their last 15 games against Houston.
Rays 6, Blue Jays 5 — Kevin Kiermaier’s first hit of the season, a two-run triple into the right field corner in the 10th inning, gave Tampa Bay the win.
Tampa Bay’s defensive whiz delivered the second game-ending hit of his career after the Rays scored twice in the ninth to force extra innings, then fell behind again 5-4 when Blue Jays pinch-runner Santiago Espinal stole third base and scored on Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s sacrifice fly off Chaz Roe.
Indians 9, Royals 2 — More than a year since being stricken with leukemia, Carlos Carrasco struck out 10 in six-plus innings to help Cleveland take two of three in the delayed season-opening series.
Jose Ramírez hit a threerun homer left-handed in the fourth and added a solo shot from the right side in the sixth for the Indians.
Athletics 6, Angels 4 — Shohei Ohtani failed to record an out in the two-way star’s return to the mound, allowing the first six Oakland batters to reach base.
The right-hander from Japan gave up Marcus Semien’s leadoff single and three straight walks and Mark Canha’s two-run single. Robbie Grossman singled in another run, and Angels manager Joe Maddon replaced Ohtani (0-1) with Matt Andriese down 4-0.
The Angels wasted a big day by Mike Trout, who hit a three-run homer in the third and a sacrifice fly in the fifth.
Twins 14, White Sox 2 — Nelson Cruz homered twice and drove in seven runs, helping Kenta Maeda win his debut with Minnesota.
Jake Cave hit a grand slam in the first inning for Minnesota, which belted a major league-record 307 homers last season. Marwin Gonzalez added a solo shot in the ninth.
National League
Marlins 11, Phillies 6 — Miami scratched right-hander José Ureña from its victory at Philadelphia and delayed its postgame trip home amid concerns about a possible coronavirus outbreak within the team.
No reason was given for Ureña being scratched. Manager Don Mattingly said the Marlins decided to wait until Monday to leave Philadelphia, and they planned to arrive in Miami hours before their home opener against Baltimore. The trip might be made while multiple players remain in Philadelphia.
Brian Anderson and Miguel Rojas each hit a three-run homer for the Miami.
Braves 14, Mets 1 — Dansby Swanson tied his career high with five RBIs and Atlanta chased an erratic Rick Porcello during the third inning of his New York debut.
Atlanta had 17 hits, 11 for extra bases.
Swanson, Marcell Ozuna and Austin Riley all went deep against Corey Oswalt.
Ozzie Albies had three hits and three RBIs, including a two-run homer off Paul Sewald.
Pirates 5, Cardinals 1 — Pittsburgh’s Derek Shelton staged baseball’s first major, socially distanced umpire argument, then got his first victory as a big league manager.
Colin Moran and Jose Osuna homered for the Pirates.
Cubs 9, Brewers 1 — Tyler Chatwood pitched three-hit ball over six innings, Willson Contreras homered and the Cubs beat the Brewers to take two of three in their opening series.
Diamondbacks 4, Padres 3 — Ketel Marte hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly off Kirby Yates, and Arizona rallied for four runs off San Diego’s vaunted bullpen after the Diamondbacks’ Torey Lovullo became the first manager to be ejected in the COVID-19 era.
San Diego’s Garrett Richards left with a 1-0 lead after holding Arizona to one hit in five innings, but the Diamondbacks, who struggled offensively in their first two games, came alive three innings after the masked Lovullo was ejected for arguing with plate umpire Mark Ripperger, who wasn’t wearing a cloth facemask.
Interleague
Yankees 3, Nationals 2 — Gleyber Torres homered to help the Yankees rally for the victory.
Torres and Luke Voit connected in the seventh, tying it at 2. Torres then singled in Hicks in the eighth against Sean Doolittle (0-1).
The Nationals wasted a terrific performance by Patrick Corbin, who struck out eight in 6 1/3 innings.
Tigers 3, Reds 2 — C.J. Cron hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the ninth inning, and Detroit got to Cincinnati’s bullpen for the second straight day.
Cincinnati played without second baseman Mike Moustakas and center fielder Nick Senzel after each player was scratched. Moustakas was placed on the injured list because he wasn’t feeling well, according to manager David Bell. Senzel also reported feeling sick.
The moves came a day after Reds infielder Matt Davidson went on the injured list because he tested positive for the coronavirus.
Rockies 5, Rangers 2 — Trevor Story homered twice for Colorado after Corey Kluber left his Texas debut with shoulder tightness after just one inning and 18 pitches.
Texas slugger Joey Gallo hit the first home run in the club’s new $1.2 billion retractable roof stadium.