Diamondbacks prevail in slugfest with Rockies
Pederson hits two homers in LA win
PHOENIX — Kole Calhoun hit his first career inside-the-park homer with the help of a crazy bounce, David Peralta had four RBIs and the Arizona Diamondbacks used a nine-run burst in the fourth inning to beat the Houston Astros 14-7 on Wednesday night.
The Diamondbacks broke out of their extended early-season offensive slump by sending 14 batters to the plate in the fourth, turning a 4-0 deficit into a 9-4 lead. The offensive avalanche included four singles, three doubles, one triple, one walk, a hit by pitch and a strange inside-the-park homer that started the scoring.
Calhoun hit a pitch from Lance McCullers Jr. (1-1) down the rightfield line and the ball hit the metal base of the fence in the corner, which sent it ricocheting past George Springer and down the warning track into right center.
By the time Myles Straw could grab the ball and fling it towards the infield, Calhoun was rounding third and chugging for home. He scored standing up with a big grin across his face.
DODGERS 7, PADRES 6: In San Diego, Joc Pederson’s second home run of the game sailed an estimated 435 feet through two palm trees just beyond the center field fence at Petco Park, helping Los Angeles defeat San Diego to take two of three in an early series between NL West rivals.
Pederson drove in five runs on the two homers for the seventime defending division champion Dodgers, who won seven of nine on a three-city trip.
Kenley Jansen made it interesting in the ninth by allowing one run before the game ended on a double play. With runners on the corners, Manny Machado lined out to left fielder Chris Taylor, who threw out Trent Grisham trying to score the tying run. The Padres challenged but the play stood after review. Jansen earned his fourth save in as many chances.
CUBS 6, ROYALS 1: In Kansas City, Mo., Yu Darvish pitched seven sharp innings as Chicago beat skidding Kansas City for its sixth straight victory.
Javier Báez drove in two runs for the Cubs (10-2), who handed Kansas City its sixth consecutive defeat.
Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo each had two hits and scored twice.
BREWERS 1, WHITE SOX 0: In Chicago, Adrian Houser dominated over seven innings as Milwaukee beat the White Sox to snap Chicago’s six-game win streak.
Milwaukee held struggling star Christian Yelich out of the lineup, with the 2018 NL MVP and twotime defending NL batting champion mired in a season-opening 3-for-34 slump.
MARLINS 1-2, ORIOLES 0-1: In Baltimore, five pitchers combined on a four-hitter for Miami in a 2-1 victory that gave the Marlins a sweep of their doubleheader.
Brian Anderson homered in opener, and Miami won 1-0 despite getting only two hits. Marlins starter Elieser Hernandez worked 4⅔ innings. A day earlier, Miami beat Baltimore 4-0 after coming off a eight-day virus hiatus.
ATHLETICS 6, RANGERS 4: In Oakland, Calif., Matt Olson homered twice, Ramon Laureano also went deep as Oakland rallied to beat the Texas.
Austin Allen hit his first career homer, a go-ahead, two-run drive in the seventh inning, as the A’s stunned the Rangers late for a second consecutive night and won their fifth straight.
GIANTS 4, ROCKIES 3: In Denver, Rockies star Nolan Arenado homered for the third straight game, but it was a three-run home run from Giants first baseman Brandon Belt that proved to be the biggest hit of the night in San Francisco’s win.
PHILLIES 11-1, YANKEES 7-3: In Philadelphia, Luke Voit’s homer spurred New York to a 3-1 victory in the nightcap of a double header.
In the opener, the Phillies gave up four runs in the last inning, but hung on for an 11-7 victory.
TWINS 5, PIRATES 2: In Pittsburgh, Minnesota’s Randy Dobnak dominated in his homecoming, allowing three hits in six innings. RED SOX 5, RAYS 0: In St. Petersburg, Fla., Martín Pérez pitched out of trouble all night, and Alex Verdugo and Michael Chavis homered to help Boston stop a four-game skid. BLUE JAYS 2, BRAVES 1: In Atlanta, Hyun-Jin Ryu combined with four relievers on a three-hitter and Toronto beat Atlanta. INDIANS 2, REDS 0: In Cleveland, Mike Clevinger didn’t have his best stuff but did enough to pitch into the sixth inning and lead Cleveland METS 3, NATIONALS 1: In Washington, Nationals starter Max Scherzer left after laboring through just one inning, overshadowing Juan Soto’s eventful 2020 debut for the World Series champs, and Rick Porcello collected his 150th career win in New York’s victory over Washington.