Braves sweep Nats
WASHINGTON >> Atlanta pinch-hitter Pablo Sandoval drove a tworun homer to the deepest part of the ballpark off a Washington reliever who took over after Stephen Strasburg’s six scoreless innings Wednesday, lifting the Braves to a 2-0 victory over the Nationals and a doubleheader sweep.
In the opener, Ronald Acuña Jr. led the way with a double and a pair of singles to help Atlanta snap a season-starting four-game losing streak by edging Washington 7-6.
REDS 11, PIRATES 4 CINCINNATI >> Tyler Naquin hit another leadoff home run and the high-scoring Cincinnati Reds kept rolling, backing Luis Castillo to rout the Pittsburgh Pirates for their fifth straight win.
INDIANS 4, ROYALS 2 CLEVELAND >> José Ramírez’s second two-run homer of the game snapped a tie in the eighth inning and sent the Cleveland Indians to a win over the Kansas City Royals after Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber struck out 12.’
RED SOX 9, RAYS 2
BOSTON >> Christian Vázquez homered, Xander Bogaerts had three hits and J.D. Martinez went for extra bases for the seventh game in a row to help the Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays and complete a three-game sweep. TWINS 3, TIGERS 2 DETROIT >> Jorge Polanco hit a tworun double in the sixth inning and the Minnesota Twins held off Akil Baddoo and the Detroit Tigers. RANGERS 2, JAYS 1 ARLINGTON, TEXAS >> Kyle Gibson rebounded from a horrendous opening day start for Texas by striking out eight over six scoreless innings, and the Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays in the rubber game of their three-game series. BREWERS 4, CUBS 2 CHICAGO >> Lorenzo Cain hit his second homer of the game, a three-run shot in the 10th inning and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs. Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff had a no-hit bid going until Ian Happ led off the seventh with a clean single. ATHLETICS 4, DODGERS 3 OAKLAND, CALIF. >> Mitch Moreland hit an RBI single with one out in the 10th inning and the Oakland Athletics rallied to beat the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers for their first win of the season.
GIANTS 3, PADRES 2
SAN DIEGO >> Alex Dickerson scored on Donovan Solano’s sacrifice fly in the top of the 10th inning and the San Francisco Giants beat the San Diego Padres to take two of three. Cardinals 7, Marlins 0
MIAMI >> Yadier Molina hit a tworun homer and Dylan Carlson added a grand slam, leading the St. Louis Cardinals over Miami for a three-game sweep that dropped the Marlins to 1-5 for the first time since 2015.