Lindor slam gives Indians opening sweep
Indians 9 Rangers 6
ARLINGTON, Texas — Francisco Lindor hit a go-ahead grand slam off closer Sam Dyson in the ninth inning and the defending AL champion Cleveland Indians completed a season-opening sweep with a 9-6 victory over the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night.
Lindor’s first career slam and second homer of the game came after he put the Rangers ahead in the fifth when the shortstop misjudged Joey Gallo’s speed, couldn’t beat the slugger to second base on an attempted two-out force play and allowed two runs to score on a throwing error.
Dyson (0-2) loaded the bases and walked in a run before Lindor’s homer down the right field line during a five-run Cleveland ninth. Dyson blew his first save after giving up three runs in a tie game in an 8-5 loss on opening day. He has allowed eight runs in one inning for the defending AL West champs.
RAYS 4, YANKEES 1
In St. Petersberg, Fla., Corey Dickerson homered and drove in two runs to lead Tampa Bay to a victory over New York.
Alex Cobb (1-0) pitched into the sixth inning, continuing his comeback from Tommy John surgery that sidelined him most of the past two seasons. Building on five starts he made late last year, the right-hander allowed one run and four hits in 5⅔ innings.
The Rays took two of three games from their AL East rivals to open a season with a series victory for the first time since 2012.
TWINS 9, ROYALS 1
In Minneapolis, Eduardo Escobar homered and drove in four runs and Miguel Sano added a bases-loaded triple to lead the Twins to a victory over Kansas City.
Hector Santiago (1-0) gave up one run and four hits and struck out four in five innings for the Twins. After starting last season 0-9 to set the stage for a miserable 103-loss season, the Twins are 2-0 for the first time since 2007.
Ian Kennedy (0-1) gave up three runs and three hits with five strikeouts and five walks in five innings for Kansas City. Paulo Orlando drove in the lone run for the Royals, who walked nine Twins batters on the day.
ORIOLES 3, BLUE JAYS 1
In Baltimore, Dylan Bundy struck out eight over seven impressive innings, and the Orioles used home runs by Adam Jones and Chris Davis to beat Toronto.
Making his 15th career start, Bundy (1-0) allowed one run and four hits. The 2011 firstround draft pick did not issue a walk and retired 14 of the last 15 batters he faced.
Bundy went 10-6 last year, his first full season in the big leagues. The 24-year-old is being counted on this season to build on that performance, and the right-hander certainly did not disappoint in his 2017 debut.
NATIONAL LEAGUE NATIONALS 6, MARLINS 4
In Washington, Bryce Harper had two RBIs and a nice ninth-inning catch, Ryan Zimmerman homered and Tanner Roark recovered from a shaky start to go six innings, leading the Nationals past Miami.
Roark (1-0) allowed two runs in the first inning, then hit two men and threw a wild pitch in the second, but he wound up retiring 13 of the last 14 batters he faced.
BREWERS 6, ROCKIES 1
In Milwaukee, Eric Thames, Travis Shaw and Jonathan Villar each homered, Wily Peralta pitched five effective innings and the Brewers beat Colorado.
Thames hit a 3-1 pitch 450 feet to deep center and Shaw teed off on a 1-0 pitch for a tworun homer job off Tyler Chatwood (0-1) in the bottom of the fourth.
Villar ended the Colorado bullpen’s scoreless streak at 9⅓ innings this season with a two-run shot in the eighth.
REDS 2, PHILLIES 0
In Cincinnati, Brandon Finnegan allowed only one hit in seven innings, retiring the last 19 batters he faced, and Joey Votto homered for his first hit of the season Wednesday night, sending the Reds to a victory over Philadelphia.
The Reds evened a series that concludes Thursday afternoon.
BRAVES 3, METS 1 (12 INNINGS)
In New York, Bartolo Colon drew all sorts of nods, taps and tributes in his return to Citi Field during a sharp debut for Atlanta, and Matt Kemp’s third double of the game in the 12th inning led the Braves over the Mets.
Kemp’s two-out, bases-loaded liner off Rafael Montero (0-1) gave Atlanta its first win of the season after losing on opening day. Jim Johnson (1-0) worked two scoreless innings.
INTERLEAGUE RED SOX 3, PIRATES 0
In Boston, Sandy Leon hit a three-run homer in the 12th inning — his third hit of the game — and Chris Sale pitched seven dominant innings in his Red Sox debut to lead Boston to a victory over Pittsburgh.
Leon also doubled in the third inning but got thrown out at the plate after running through third base coach Brian Butterfield’s stop sign. It was scoreless into the bottom of the 12th, when Antonio Bastardo (0-1) walked Jackie Bradley Jr. and Pablo Sandoval with one out.