Taillon leads Pirates over Rockies in comeback game
Jameson Taillon pitched five scoreless innings on his return from treatments for testicular cancer to help the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Colorado Rockies 7-2 in Major League Baseball on Monday night. Taillon (3-1) allowed five hits, walked two and struck out five. The 25-year-old had surgery May 8, four days after losing to the Reds at Cincinnati, then made three rehab starts in the minor leagues. Josh Harrison hit a two-run home run, his eighth, in the first inning off Kyle Freeland (7-4). Harrison, David Freese and Jose Osuna each had two hits for the Pirates. Freeland, a rookie, lost for the first time in seven road starts by giving up five runs (four earned) and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings. Freeland failed to pitch the past the sixth inning for just the second time in his last 10 starts and allowed a home run in a sixth consecutive outing.
METS 6, CUBS 1
Jacob deGrom pitched a five-hitter and Asdrubal Cabrera atoned for an embarrassing error by lining two home runs and turning four double plays as the Mets beat the Cubs. DeGrom (5-3) threw the Mets’ first complete game of the season as New York won its fourth in a row. Still under .500 but getting healthier, the Mets started a key two-week stretch where they face 14 straight games against teams that reached the NL playoffs last year. The Cubs dropped to 31-32 with their ninth straight road loss - the World Series champions haven’t won away from Wrigley Field in a month during their worst road skid since 2012. Mets star outfielder Yoenis Cespedes left the game because of a sore left heel. He went 1 for 3 before being pulled. On Saturday, Cespedes hit a grand slam at Atlanta in his return from a six-week stint on the disabled list. He had been out with a strained left hamstring, and also had been nagged by trouble with his quadriceps. John Lackey (4-7) fell to 0-4 in five starts.
BRAVES 11, NATIONALS 10
Tyler Flowers hit a go-ahead three-run home run off Matt Albers in the ninth inning as Atlanta came from three runs down to beat Washington and snap a three-game skid. Flowers had been hitless in his first four at-bats before he took Albers’ fastball to the opposite field and into the Nationals bullpen. Matt Adams hit a pair of homers, including one off starter Stephen Strasburg. The Nationals’ ace gave up six runs and three homers. Adams’ second homer, a solo shot, was the first of five runs scored against a Nationals bullpen that blew its 11th save and second during a four-game losing streak. Albers (2-1) allowed the final three runs in the ninth after entering to work out of an eighth-inning jam. Atlanta’s bullpen allowed two runs over 5 and 2/3 innings. Jason Motte (1-0) pitched a scoreless eighth and Jim Johnson allowed a run but completed the ninth for his 13th save.
RED SOX 6, PHILLIES 5, 11 innings
Dustin Pedroia singled home the winning run in the 11th inning to lift the Red Sox to a win over the Phillies. Pablo Sandoval opened the inning with a single off Casey Fein (0-1). Deven Marrero pinch-ran and moved up on a sacrifice. After Mookie Betts was intentionally walked, Pedroia hit a ground single to right and Marrero beat the throw from Aaron Altherr with a headfirst slide on a close play. Hanley Ramirez had tied the game 5-5 in the eighth with a homer. Betts had four hits with three doubles and a single, and Andrew Benintendi also hit a solo homer for Boston, which has won three of four. Tommy Joseph had a two-run single and former Red Sox player Daniel Nava three hits for the Phillies, who have lost 10 of their last 12 games in Fenway Park. Matt Barnes (5-2) pitched two scoreless innings of relief with five strikeouts.
WHITE SOX 10, ORIOLES 7
Kevan Smith hit his first career home run, Avisail Garcia celebrated his 26th birthday with three RBIs and the White Sox beat the Orioles. The White Sox opened a four-game series on a strong note after dropping nine of 11 and handed the Orioles their fifth straight loss. Smith set the tone with a two-run drive in the second against Wade Miley (2-4) and finished with a career-best three RBIs. Garcia added an RBI double in a four-run third and drove in two more with a single in the fourth to give Chicago an 8-2 lead. Matt Davidson had an RBI single and solo homer. Melky Cabrera had three of Chicago’s 14 hits. Jose Abreu added a single, a ground-rule double and scored twice. Jake Petricka (1-0) pitched one-hit ball over 2 1/3 innings after Mike Pelfrey struggled, and the White Sox picked up the win after a 2-7 road trip.
MARINERS 14, TWINS 3
Nelson Cruz drove in four runs and Mitch Haniger had four hits as the Seattle Mariners started a series against Minnesota with a football score for the second time in a week to beat the Twins. Danny Valencia and Mike Zunino hit back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning, the fifth such feat for the Mariners this season. Yovani Gallardo (3-6) sailed through six innings with the excess support, allowing three runs and seven hits. Twins rookie Adalberto Mejia (1-2) struggled from the start, allowing nine hits and nine runs and leaving with two outs in the fourth inning. The first two batters in the lineup, Ben Gamel and Haniger, reached base and eventually scored all three times they faced Mejia.
RANGERS 6, ASTROS 1
Yu Darvish pitched seven solid innings and Nomar Mazara hit a three-run homer to give the Rangers a win over the Astros. Darvish (6-4) allowed one hit and one run with three walks. He induced a season-best 12 groundball outs. The Rangers went up 2-0 on back-to-back triples by Rougned Odor and Joey Gallo in the third inning. The Astros got an RBI single by Alex Bregman in the fifth, but a run-scoring double by Adrian Beltre gave the Rangers some insurance in the sixth inning. Mazara provided more cushion with his shot to straightaway center field off Dayan Diaz with two outs in the eighth to make it 6-1. Houston starter Joe Musgrove (4-5) allowed five hits and two runs in 4 2/3 innings.