Top rookies spark Cardinals to a win
Nolan Gorman hit his first major league homer and Matthew Liberatore earned his first major league win, helping St. Louis beat the visiting Milwaukee Brewers, 8-3.
Liberatore (1-0), the organization’s minor league player of the year for last season, pitched around a couple of Gorman errors in five scoreless innings. He allowed two hits, struck out six and walked three.
“It looked like the game was slow to him, which was good to see the first time at home,” manager Oliver Marmol said. “Good crowd, didn’t make the moment any bigger than it was.”
Gorman and Liberatore have been friends since playing T-ball together in the Phoenix suburbs.
Other games
Marlins 4, Braves 1: Sandy Alcantara matched his career high with 14 strikeouts, dominating host Atlanta for the second time in a week and leading Miami to a victory.
Nationals 13, Rockies 7: Victor Robles homered, singled twice and drove in a career-high six runs as host Washington beat Colorado in the first game of a split doubleheader.
Reds 3, Giants 1: Right fielder Aristides Aquino threw out pinch-runner Joey Bart at the plate to end the game, and Cincinnati held off visiting San Francisco.
Rays 3, Yankees 1: Corey Kluber and Gerrit Cole dueled evenly for six impressive innings before host Tampa Bay scored a pair of late runs to beat New York.
Red Sox 5, Orioles 3: Nathan Eovaldi pitched a seven-hitter for his first career complete game, and Boston beat visiting Baltimore in the opener of a day-night doubleheader.
Royals 7, Twins 3: Rookie Bobby Witt Jr. delivered three more doubles for his second consecutive three-hit game and visiting Kansas City beat Minnesota.
Rangers 11, Athletics 4: Marcus Semien hit a grand slam for his first home run after signing with Texas in the offseason and the visiting Rangers routed Oakland.
Guardiams 8, Tigers 1: José Ramírez homered and drove in five runs, leading Shane Bieber and visiting Cleveland past Detroit.