Nido’s homers help Mets split series
Tomas Nido had his first two-homer game as a professional, hitting a two-run shot in the fourth and a grand slam in the fifth to lead the New York Mets to an 8-2 win over the Washington Nationals and a split of the fourgame series.
Nido, who entered Thursday with five homers and 26 RBI over 93 games in parts of four big-league seasons, is just the fifth catcher in Mets history to hit at least two homers and collect at least six RBI in a game.
Hall of Famers Gary Carter and Mike Piazza did it twice apiece and Todd Hundley and Paul Lo Duca once each.
Nido struck out in the seventh as he tried to match Carter, the only Mets catcher with a threehomer game.
Dominic Smith homered in the second and Pete Alonso had an RBI single in the eighth for the Mets, whose second straight win may have been a costly one. Left fielder Jeff McNeil was carted off after crashing into the wall while robbing Asdrubal Cabrera of a two-run extra-base hit to end the first inning.
Pirates 9, Reds 6: Adam Frazier hit the first of three homers off Anthony DeSclafani, who hasn’t beaten Pittsburgh in his last seven tries.
DeSclafani (1-1) didn’t allow a run in either of his first two starts this season. Frazier connected on the right-hander’s second pitch Thursday, and the Pirates surged to a 9-0 lead after two innings at Cincinnati
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Rays 17, Red Sox 8: Hunter Renfroe hit two homers and drove in three runs, Mike Zunino belted a three-run shot over the Green Monster and out of Fenway Park and surging Tampa Bay routed struggling Boston Red Sox to complete a four-game series sweep.
It was the sixth consecutive win for the Rays (12-8), who posted their eighth consecutive victory in Fenway.
INTERLEAGUE
Orioles 11, Phillies 4: Pedro Severino and Rio Ruiz hit homers to back Thomas Eshelman and Baltimore complete a three-game sweep at Philadelphia. J.T. Realmuto hit a pair of two-run homers for the Phillies.
Eshelman (1-0) allowed two runs and four hits in five innings to earn his second career win.
The right-hander was Philadelphia’s minor league pitcher of the year in 2017 but was traded to Baltimore last year for international slot money.
LATE WEDNESDAY
Rangers 7, Mariners 4: Veteran infielder Derek Dietrich, who signed with the Rangers on Tuesday, went 3-for-3 with a double and two runs scored and became the first player to reach safely four times in his Texas debut. The former Marlin sparked the decisive five-run eighth with a single and scored on a hit by Jeff Mathis, a former Marlins teammate.
ELSEWHERE
Indians: Pitcher Zach Plesac feels he and teammate Mike Clevinger have been unfairly portrayed as “bad people” in the aftermath of the pitchers being quarantined by the team for violating COVID-19 protocols last weekend in Chicago. Plesac said he posted a video on his Instagram page to “get out the truth” to fans about his situation. The 25-year-old acknowledged breaking team curfew last Saturday after he and Clevinger left the team hotel, went out to dinner and socialized with Plesac’s friends.
Dodgers: Pitcher Joe Kelly wasn’t on the Dodgers when they lost to the Houston Astros in the
2017 World Series, but he still holds a deep grudge against the players for shifting blame and avoiding punishment after cheating their way to a championship. Kelly was a guest on “The Big Swing,” a podcast co-hosted by Dodgers pitcher Ross Stripling, and didn’t mince words when discussing Astros players’ handling of the scandal during the offseason and in spring training. He said they became snitches and ratted. He railed against them for scapegoating management and the coaching staff, specifically Alex Cora, the Astros’ bench coach in 2017 and later his manager with Boston.