Berrios — 12 Ks, no hits — wins duel with Burnes

MILWAUKEE — Jose Berrios didn’t argue when Twins Manager Rocco Baldelli yanked him from a no-hitter, and for good reason.

He didn’t realize Milwaukee had no hits.

It was just about the only spot Berrios — or any pitcher — missed all night.

Berrios and three relievers combined on a one-hitter with 17 strikeouts as Minnesota beat Corbin Burnes and the Brewers 2-0 on Saturday in the season’s best pitchers’ duel so far.

Berrios (1-0) struck out 12 in six hitless innings but was pulled after Minnesota’s Byron Buxton broke a scoreless tie with a leadoff home run against Burnes (0-1) in the seventh inning — the first hit by either team. Only then did Berrios look at the scoreboard and realize he hadn’t given up any hits.

“I would have tried, but Rocco’s the manager,” Berrios said. “Whatever decision he’s going to make, I respect.”

The Twins wanted to make sure Berrios didn’t overexert himself in his first start of the season. He threw 84 pitches with 55 strikes.

“When guys are throwing no-hitters, it’s a double-edged sword,” Baldelli said. “It’s not a fun decision, probably one of the decisions I enjoy the least. But if your guys are throwing no-hitters at a certain point in the game, things are going pretty good, so you’re really happy about that.”

MARINERS 4, GIANTS 0 Chris Flexen returned to the big leagues with a win after a year in South Korea, Mitch Haniger and Ty France each hit a home run and Seattle beat San Francisco.

MARLINS 12, RAYS 7 Miami beat Tampa Bay for the first time in three years. After seven consecutive losses to the American League champions, the Marlins broke loose with 14 hits.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

DODGERS 6, ROCKIES 5 Zach McKinstry hustled for a go-ahead, inside-the-park home run in the eighth inning when left fielder Raimel Tapia reached over the fence to bring the ball back, only to have it bounce out of his glove and roll away as Los Angeles beat Colorado.

PADRES 7, DIAMONDBACKS 0 Joe Musgrove was brilliant in his debut for his hometown Padres, Manny Machado homered and Wil Myers drove in three runs on two doubles as San Diego beat Arizona. Musgrove (1-0) held the Diamondbacks to 3 hits in 6 innings while striking out 8 and walking none. After allowing a one-out single in the first, he retired 11 in a row, seven by strikeout.

PHILLIES 4, BRAVES 0 Zack Wheeler allowed only 1 hit and struck out 10 over 7 innings, and had 2 hits and 2 RBI to lead Philadelphia over Atlanta.

CUBS 5, PIRATES 1 Jake Arrieta pitched six solid innings in a triumphant return to the Cubs, Kris Bryant and Jason Heyward homered, and Chicago beat Pittsburgh. REDS 9, CARDINALS 6 Tucker Barnhart’s tworun home run ignited a six-run third inning for host Cincinnati in a game that saw a series of scuffles that included relievers shoving in the outfield. Nolan

Arenado connected for his first home run with the Cardinals.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

ANGELS 5, WHITE SOX 3 Justin Upton’s home run capped a three-run rally in the eighth inning and Los Angeles, helped by a flyball that bounced off the head of White Sox center fielder Luis Robert, beat Chicago.

ASTROS 9, ATHLETICS 1 Yordan Alvarez hit a three-run home run and Houston kept thriving through all the boos, slugging its way to a third consecutive win over Oakland.

ORIOLES 4, RED SOX 2 Maikel Franco drove in two runs after a Boston error, Pedro Severino had his second two-hit game in a row and Matt Harvey made his Orioles debut in the victory.

ROYALS 11, RANGERS 4 Michael A. Taylor homered and drove in three runs for the second consecutive game, leading Kansas City over Texas.

TIGERS 5, INDIANS 2 Julio Teheran pitched through trouble in his Detroit debut, and the Tigers beat Cleveland. YANKEES 5, BLUE JAYS 3 Gary Sanchez joined Elston Howard in 1963 as the only Yankees catchers to hit a home run in each of the first two games in New York’s victory over Toronto.