The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Mets win 4th in row, send Harper, Nats to 4th straight loss
WASHINGTON » Asdrubal Cabrera hit an RBI double and scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, helping the New York Mets come back to beat the Washington Nationals 3-2 Saturday for their fourth straight win despite Bryce Harper’s fifth homer.
Dave Martinez was ejected for the first time as a manager as the NL East champions lost their fourth consecutive game to fall to 4-4. Washington’s rookie skipper put on quite an oldschool show, too, throwing his cap and kicking at the dirt near home plate when he was tossed by umpire Marty Foster in the third.
Martinez came out to argue after third baseman Anthony Rendon was ejected when he flipped his bat in reaction to being called out on strikes by Foster. Rendon was one of a handful of Nationals batters who registered displeasure about called strikes in the early innings.
The score was 1-all when Harper led off the bottom off the sixth against reliever Hansel Robles (1-0) by taking a 94 mph fastball the opposite way, putting it in the back of New York’s bullpen.
That lead didn’t last long against a Mets club that is now 6-1 under new manager Mickey Callaway, a year after the team went 70-92.
Cubs 5, Brewers 2
MILWAUKEE » Ian Happ hit a tiebreaking two-run single during Chicago’s fourrun ninth, helping the Cubs beat the Milwaukee Brewers.
Happ struck out three more times, running his team-high total to a whopping 17 in seven games, but he came up with a clutch hit in his final at-bat. With one out and the bases loaded, he dumped a 0-1 pitch from Jacob Barnes into left-center to give the Cubs a 4-2 lead.
After Kris Bryant was intentionally walked, manager Joe Maddon sent starting pitcher Jon Lester to the plate to hit for reliever Pedro Strop (2-0). Lester got down a sacrifice that drove in Ben Zobrist from third for the final run.
Cadinals 5, Diamondbacks 3
ST. LOUIS » In the coldest home start in Cardinals’ history, Jose Martinez homered and drove in four runs as St. Louis ended the Arizona Diamondbacks’ four-game winning streak.
It was 37 degrees at gametime with a wind chill of 29. The previous recorded low in St. Louis was 37 degrees for the first pitch on April 16, 1961, against Cincinnati.
Michael Wacha (1-1) outpitched Zack Greinke (1-1) despite matching a career high with five walks in the chilly weather. Four of Wacha’s passes came in the first two innings.
Mariners 11, Twins 4
MINNEAPOLIS » Playing in a Twins-record low of 27 degrees, the Seattle Mariners eventually heated up at the plate as Kyle Seager and Guillermo Heredia homered in an win over Minnesota.
The first-pitch temperature at Target Field beat the Minnesota mark of 31 degrees for a game in 2014. Coors Field in Denver holds the major league low with a 23-degree day in April 2013 when Atlanta visited the Rockies.
Ryon Healy drove in three runs as the Mariners helped Mike Leake (2-0) win again.
Red Sox 10, Rays 3
BOSTON » Xander Bogaerts hit the first grand slam by a Boston player since the end of the 2016 season and drove in a career-best six runs to carry the Red Sox to a win over the Tampa Bay Rays for their seventh straight victory.
J.D. Martinez hit his first home run since signing a $110 million, five-year contract during spring training as a free agent. Rafael Devers also connected.
This is just the second time in franchise history that the Red Sox have lost their season opener and won the next seven. The other came in 1904 when Boston captured the AL pennant.
The Rays have lost seven straight and are off to their worst start ever after rallying for a win at home over the Red Sox on opening day.
Yankees 8, Orioles 3
NEW YORK » Sonny Gray pitched six effective innings, rookie Miguel Andujar hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly and the New York Yankees downed the Baltimore Orioles to snap a twogame skid.
New York broke a 3-all tie in the sixth on Andujar’s sacrifice fly, scoring Didi Gregorius with his first RBI of the season.
Austin Romine hit a soft pop to shallow right later in the inning that bounced out of first baseman Chris Davis’ glove, allowing Tyler Austin to score and chasing starter Chris Tillman (0-2).
The day after the Yankees used eight pitchers in an extra-inning marathon, Gray gave his team some much-needed length. The righty was charged with three runs on four hits, walking two and striking out four.
Tigers 6, White Shox 1
CHICAGO » Miguel Cabrera drove in three runs, Michael Fulmer pitched shutout ball into the sixth inning and the Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox.
Cabrera had a two-run single in the third and RBI groundout in the fifth after leaving Thursday’s game against the White Sox because of left hip flexor tightness. Dixon Machado had two hits and chased Lucas Giolito (0-1) with a two-run double in the sixth that made it 5-0, sending the Tigers to their second straight win after a 1-4 start.
Both starters struggled with their control on a day when the game-time temperature was 32 degrees. But Fulmer (1-1) pitched well enough, scattering six hits and walking three in 5 1/3 scoreless innings.
Royals 1, Indians 0
CLEVELAND » Lucas Duda homered off Trevor Bauer for the game’s only run and Ian Kennedy pitched six shutout innings, leading the Kansas City Royals to a win over the Cleveland Indians in frigid, footballlike weather conditions.
Duda’s shot in the seventh off Bauer (0-1) was one of only three hits by Kansas City and a rare highlight as the teams survived nine innings with the temperature hovering around freezing.