Cardinals rout Nationals, avoid three-game sweep
WASHINGTON, April 13, (AP): Mike Leake outpitched 2016 NL Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, Stephen Piscotty homered and had five RBIs, and the St Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals 6-1 on Wednesday to avoid a three-game sweep.
Leake (1-1) gave up four hits, struck out seven and walked none over seven shutout innings. The right-hander allowed hits to the first two batters, then picked off a runner before getting 19 straight outs. The streak ended when Daniel Murphy singled with two outs in the seventh.
By that time, St Louis had taken a 3-0 lead against Scherzer, who yielded only one earned run. He did, however, throw three wild pitches two in the third inning after tossing only two all last year while going 20-7.
Scherzer (1-1) allowed three runs and four hits in six innings. He struck out 10, the 50th time in his career he reached double figures in strikeouts.
White Sox 2, Indians 1
In Cleveland, Derek Holland held Cleveland hitless until the sixth inning and late fill-in Matt Davidson had a two-run single for Chicago.
Holland (1-1) gave up a leadoff double to Francisco Lindor in the sixth. The White Sox lefty struck out four, walked four and threw 101 pitches in six innings. Holland is 4-0 with a 1.02 ERA in five starts at Progressive Field. He is 6-1 with a 2.35 ERA in 10 career starts against Cleveland.
David Robertson pitched the ninth for his first save.
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Danny Salazar (0-1) went six innings and struck out 11, matching a career high.
Yankees 8, Rays 4
In New York, Jordan Montgomery showed power and poise in his major league debut after allowing Rickie Weeks’ two-run homer in the first inning, and New York rallied past sloppy Tampa Bay to get back to .500.
New York’s Brett Gardner and Weeks both left the game after a collision at first base in the sixth inning. Both fell to the field as Chase Headley came home with the go-ahead run.
Gardner was diagnosed with a bruised jaw and strained neck, and Weeks with neck and right shoulder soreness.
Bryan Mitchell (1-0) got the win in relief of Montgomery, who struck out seven in 4-2/3 innings. Aroldis Chapman earned his first save.
Jumbo Diaz (0-1) took the loss.
Tigers 5, Twins 3
In Detroit, Andrew Romine hit his first career grand slam and Detroit rallied from an early three-run deficit to beat Minnesota.
The Tigers trailed 3-0 before scoring five runs in the fourth inning, with Romine delivering the key blow.
Michael Fulmer (1-0) allowed three runs and four hits in six innings, striking out seven. Detroit’s maligned bullpen pitched three hitless innings, with Alex Wilson working the final two for his third career save and first this season.
Detroit has won five of six to take sole possession of first place in the AL Central.
Padres 6, Rockies 0
In Denver, Zach Lee and four relievers combined on a three-hitter, Ryan Schimpf homered as part of a four-run first inning and San Diego blanked Colorado.
Lee (1-0) earned his first major league win in his second career start.
The other one came on July 25, 2015, with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The righty was filling in for Luis Perdomo, who went on the disabled list before the game with shoulder inflammation.
Lee allowed two hits in 5-1/3 innings before the Padres’ bullpen completed the first shutout of the Rockies at Coors Field since July 2015.
Reds 9, Pirates 2
In Pittsburgh, Reds rookie Amir Garrett threw another gem, taking a shutout into the seventh inning and leading Cincinnati over Pittsburgh for a three-game sweep.
Garrett (2-0), the former St. John’s basketball player, blanked the Pirates until David Freese hit a two-run homer.
Garrett gave up five hits, walked none and struck out five in 6-2/3 innings. In his major league debut last week, the 24-year-old lefty pitched six scoreless innings to win at St Louis.
Cincinnati has won seven of eight since losing to the Phillies on opening day.
Mets 5, Phillies 4
In Philadelphia, Zack Wheeler earned his first win in 2-1/2 years, Michael Conforto hit a solo homer and New York held off Philadelphia to complete a three-game sweep.
Yoenis Cespedes and Asdrubal Cabrera each drove in two runs for the Mets. Wheeler (1-1) left with a shutout intact but was charged with three runs and four hits over 5-2/3 innings. The right-hander missed the last two seasons following Tommy John surgery and had not won since Sept 19, 2014, against Atlanta.
Wheeler was pulled with a 5-0 lead and the bases loaded in the sixth. Maikel Franco hit the first pitch from Hansel Robles for a grand slam that cut it to 5-4.
Brewers 2, Blue Jays 0
In Toronto, Chase Anderson and two
relievers combined on a four-hitter, Jonathan Villar homered and Milwaukee handed Toronto its fifth straight loss.
The last-place Blue Jays are off to the worst start in team history at 1-7.
Anderson (1-0) allowed three hits in seven innings. He walked two and struck out seven. Corey Knebel pitched the eighth and Neftali Feliz finished for his third save. Domingo Santana doubled in the second and scored on a two-out double by Keon Broxton. Villar hit a leadoff drive in the sixth, his third home run this season.
Braves 5, Marlins 4
In Miami, Ender Inciarte hit two home runs and Tyler Flowers had a goahead single in the ninth inning to help Atlanta break a five-game losing streak by rallying past Miami.
Giancarlo Stanton hit a pair of tworun homers for the Marlins, his first of the year. Freddie Freeman hit his third homer for the Braves.
The Braves went 2-6 on a seasonopening trip before heading home to open their new ballpark Friday. They can only hope for the kind of success they’ve had at Marlins Park, where they’re 32-15.
Atlanta also hopes for a glitch-free day at Sun Trust Park in the opener against San Diego. The retractable roof at Marlins Park couldn’t prevent a 27-minute delay in the fourth inning during a thunderstorm, which caused several banks of lights to go out.
Dodgers 2, Cubs 0
In Chicago, Brandon McCarthy pitched four-hit ball over six innings, Andrew Toles hit his first leadoff homer and Los Angeles blanked Chicago after the Cubs received their championship rings.
The Cubs put the finishing touches on a celebration that started when they beat Cleveland in Game 7 last November to win the World Series for the first time since 1908. They raised the banner
Monday night and got 14-karat white gold rings with a total of 214 diamonds in a ceremony Wednesday that drew more roars from the fans at Wrigley Field.
Orioles 12, Red Sox 5
In Boston, Trey Mancini hit two of Baltimore’s five home runs, all in the first three innings against Boston.
A night after the Red Sox put up eight runs, the Orioles returned the favor against knuckleballer Steven Wright by tagging him for six in a first inning that included back-to-back homers from Mancini and Jonathan Schoop. Adam Jones and Chris Davis each added a solo shot in the second.
Mancini hit his second home run in the third, marking the first multihomer game of his career. He finished with four RBIs.
Athletics 8, Royals 3
In Kansas City, Missouri, Andrew Triggs pitched six shutout innings, Jed Lowrie drove in three runs and Oakland defeated Kansas City.
Triggs (2-0) scattered four hits and a walk, striking out three. It was the former Royals farmhand’s second solid start this season, having allowed one unearned run over 5-1/3 innings against the Angels.
Triggs combined with Ryan Dull to extend Kansas City’s scoreless streak to 19 innings before Lorenzo Cain and Eric Hosmer drove in runs against reliever Liam Hendricks in the eighth. Raul Mondesi homered in the ninth.
Rangers 8, Angels 3
In Anaheim, California, Joey Gallo hit a go-ahead, two-run triple in the fifth, and Texas prevented a third straight late-inning comeback by Los Angeles.
Mike Napoli, Elvis Andrus and Carlos Gomez homered for the Rangers, and A.J. Griffin (1-0) pitched six innings of four-hit ball to pick up his first victory in six starts dating to last September.
Astros 10, Mariners 5
In Seattle, Jose Altuve hit three singles and drew two walks, helping Houston overcome an early five-run deficit against Seattle.
Four relievers combined for five scoreless innings after Astros starter Mike Fiers got knocked around. Tony Sipp, Brad Peacock (2-0), Luke Gregerson and Jandel Gustave allowed just three hits.
Giants 6, Diamondbacks 2
In San Francisco, Matt Cain allowed one run over five-plus innings for his first win since last August in San Francisco’s victory against Arizona.
Denard Span had two hits and drove in the go-ahead run in the fifth off Diamondbacks starter Shelby Miller (1-1). Jarrett Parker added a two-run triple to help the Giants win a series for the first time this season.