Mets’ Conforto comes off DL to homer off Strasburg
WASHINGTON » Michael Conforto came off the disabled list to hit a tiebreaking, tworun homer off Stephen Strasburg, Yoenis Cespedes also went deep against the ace, and Jay Bruce tacked on an insurance gland slam, leading the New York Mets to an 8-2 victory Thursday in Washington’s chilly home opener.
Jacob deGrom (2-0) wiggled out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam to finish is six-inning outing with a flourish. After walking Bryce Harper to fill the bags, deGrom got Ryan Zimmerman to fly out to shallow right and Howie Kendrick to line out to shortstop, before Trea Turner looked at a 94 mph fastball for strike three. Turner argued and was ejected for the first time in the majors.
Zimmerman, who only got two at-bats in spring training, went 0 for 4 on Thursday and is 3 for 22 (.136) with six strikeouts this season. RED SOX 3, RAYS 2 » Hanley Ramirez blooped a basesloaded fly ball over the drawn-in outfield in right to break a 12th-inning tie after Boston overcame a tworun deficit in the ninth in the home opener.
It was the sixth straight victory for Boston and new manager Alex Cora, and the sixth loss in a row for Tampa Bay. Bobby Poyner (10) pitched two innings, striking out three for his first major league win. TIGERS 9, WHITE SOX 7 » Niko Goodrum hit a tworun homer after replacing the injured Miguel Cabrera, and Detroit rallied to beat Chicago in the White Sox’s cold home opener. 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. ORIOLES 5, YANKEES 2» Adam Jones hit a go-ahead home run, Andrew Cashner pitched six strong innings and beat New York to snap a five-game losing streak.
Jones’ third homer of the season was a two-run drive off Masahiro Tanaka (1-1) in a five-run seventh inning. It came shortly after Aaron Judge gave New York a 1-0 lead in the sixth with his second home run of the year. ROCKIES 3, PADRES 1» Ryan McMahon drew a basesloaded 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 Colorado. PIRATES 5, REDS 2» Gregory Polanco hit a two-run home run during a four-run fifth inning to lift Pittsburgh past Cincinnati. RANGERS 6, ATHLETICS 3 » Adrian Beltre singled and doubled to become the career hits leader among Latin-born players with 3,055 in Texas’ victory over Oakland.
Nationals GM Rizzo gets 2-year extension
WASHINGTON » In nearly a decade as general manager of the Washington Nationals, Mike Rizzo has proved adept at wheeling and dealing, at drafting and developing, to the tune of four NL East titles in the past six years.
When it came time to discuss his own contract — talks that resulted in a two-year extension through 2020, announced hours before Thursday’s home opener against the New York Mets — Rizzo joked that he wasn’t quite as tough at the table as usual.
“My negotiating skills are much better when I’m negotiating for a trade or with free agents than I was for myself; you don’t usually buy a house when you’re negotiating a contract. But like I do a lot of times, I made no bones about where I wanted to be and wanted to do,” Rizzo said, wearing a threepiece gray suit to mark the occasion.