Twins’ Cruz misses slam, gets it anyway
Nelson Cruz hit a drive just foul down the line in right field, narrowly missing a grand slam.
The play was reviewed and the call was upheld — but Cruz could have saved everyone some time if he’d known what would happen on the very next pitch.
Cruz cleared the bases with a home run — this time pulling the ball to left — and the Twins were well on their way to a 156 rout of the Tigers on Monday at Comerica Park.
“I think a lot of guys hit foul homers and then get emotional,” Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli said. “You don’t normally see guys do that back to back.”
Cruz added a solo homer and a double, and Matt Shoemaker held Detroit hitless into the fifth inning.
Akil Baddoo hit a grand slam for the Tigers in the ninth, but by then, the game was well out of hand. The 22yearold made his bigleague debut Sunday and homered on the first pitch thrown to him.
Cruz came up with the bases loaded in the second and the Twins already up 20. After his close call, he connected to cap a fiverun inning. Minnesota added five runs in the fifth, when Cruz hit his solo shot.
Limited to pinchhitting duty in Minnesota’s opening series at Milwaukee, Cruz was back in his normal role as designated hitter. After hitting his two homers, he doubled and scored in the sixth.
Cruz hit a towering fly that was caught on the warning track in the ninth inning, when Tigers infielder Harold Castro pitched a hitless inning.
“That was the cleanest inning we had,” Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said.
Blue Jays 6, Rangers 2: Steven Matz struck out nine in his Toronto debut, Marcus Semien and Cavan Biggio hit back-toback homers and the Blue Jays spoiled Texas’ home opener, the first MLB game before a full house since the pandemic began. Phillies 5, Mets 3: A throwing error by New York third baseman Luis Guillorme allowed the go-ahead runs to score, and host Philadelphia rallied for five runs in the eighth inning after starter Jacob deGrom had shut down the Phillies through six.
Cubs 5, Brewers 3: Willson Contreras, Javier Baez and David Bote homered during a four-run fourth inning to lift host Chicago over Milwaukee. Trevor Williams pitched perfectly until Omar Narvaez’s leadoff single in the sixth inning; Narvaez also broke up a no-hit bid in the eighth Saturday against Minnesota.
Reds 5, Pirates 3: Nick Castellanos hit a go-ahead homer in the seventh for host Cincinnati, which won its third straight game. Reds starter Jose De Leon, once a top prospect who’s had injuries the past few years, gave up two solo home runs in the first inning but tied a career high with nine strikeouts over five innings. Yankees 7, Orioles 0: Giancarlo Stanton hit a grand slam over the visitors’ bullpen that landed in the left-field bleachers 471 feet from home plate, helping host New York deal Baltimore its first loss this season.
Red Sox 11, Rays 2: Xander Bogaerts had four hits, including a Little League home run — a double, with two ill-advised throws to let him score — and host Boston got its first win of the season. Cardinals 4, Marlins 1: Yadier Molina hit a bases-loaded double during a three-run first inning, and Daniel Ponce de Leon and the bullpen protected the lead for visiting St. Louis.
Royals 3, Indians 0: Danny Duffy allowed two hits in six innings to beat a longtime nemesis, and Whit Merrifield drove in all of visiting Kansas City’s runs with a homer and sacrifice fly. Duffy improved to 5-12 against the Indians in his career. Braves-Nationals, postponed: The game in Washington, postponed because of the Nationals’ coronavirus outbreak, will be made up in a doubleheader Wednesday.