Yankees defeat Marlins, match best start in history
NEW YORK — Juan Soto and Anthony Volpe each hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning off Jesús Luzardo, and the New York Yankees romped over the Miami Marlins 7-0 on Monday night.
New York improved to 9-2 and matched the best 11-game start in team history.
Soto was cheered by fans extending into the top of the following inning following his first Yankee Stadium home run in pinstripes. He turned to applaud them.
“Amazing how the crowd reacted. It was really cool. They really surprised me with that one,” Soto said. “They’re giving you a lot of love, so you got to give them some love back. Whenever I can, I just try to cheer for them, too.”
He is hitting .357 with two homers and 10 RBIs in his first season with the Yankees, who acquired the three-time All-Star from San Diego in December.
Soto was signing autographs before the game until just before Nestor Cortes threw his first pitch.
“I was thinking, hesitating, because the game was supposed to start at 6:08,” Soto said. “I have two minutes and turned around and Nestor is almost moving.”
A day after winning in St. Louis, the Marlins dropped to 1-10 for the first time since they lost 11 in a row after an opening victory in 1998 — when a selloff followed the team’s first World Series title.
“If you look at it as 1-10, you’re just going to dig yourself into a deeper hole,” Luzardo said. “It’s just more of going out there and trying to be your best every day.”
Cortes (1-1), pitching against his hometown team for the first time, allowed two hits, struck out six and walked none over eight innings. Cortes had his longest outing since May 2022 and the longest by a Yankees starter this year. After his 2023 season was cut short by a shoulder injury, Cortes won for the first time since May 30.
Josh Maciejewski, a 28-year-old lefthander, got three groundouts on four pitches in his major league debut as Miami was shut out for the first time this year.
Volpe put the Yankees ahead when he drove a flat slider over the fence in left-center, and Soto doubled the lead when he sent a first-pitch changeup high over the rightfield wall.
Alex Verdugo added an RBI single in the fifth off Luzardo (0-3), who allowed seven runs, eight hits and five walks in 4 2/3 innings. Luzardo has a 7.20 ERA this season and an 18.36 ERA in three career appearances against the Yankees.
“The walks just really killed me,” Luzardo said. Bryan De La Cruz had both Miami hits. First pitch was pushed back four hours last week to 6:05 p.m. to avoid the solar eclipse. At 3:30 p.m., several Yankees players stood on the field to watch an eerie light illuminate the diamond.
“The advice is we can’t be on the field for BP and that’s, from 2:10 to 4:40,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said earlier. “I don’t know if that’s advice or a mandate.”
“Eclipse” from Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” was played a few minutes before the national anthem.
DODGERS 4, TWINS 2: In Minneapolis, Shohei Ohtani had two doubles and a home run — his third in five games — to tie his career high with three extra-base hits and power the Los Angeles Dodgers past the Minnesota.
James Outman hit the go-ahead homer in the seventh inning and Freddie Freeman and Will Smith drove in runs and Evan Phillips picked up his fourth save to fuel another smooth victory for Dodgers newcomer James Paxton (2-0), who flashed a wide smile when asked afterward about Ohtani’s impact.
“If he puts the barrel on the ball, it’s coming off at 105-plus. It’s pretty amazing, just how hard he swings and just how hard he hits the ball,” said Paxton, who gave up two runs in six innings. “I’m glad to have him on my side.”
Manny Margot hit a two-run homer off his former team to give the Twins a third-inning lead, but the loaded Dodgers lineup was too much for their depleted bullpen after starter Bailey Ober deftly worked to depart with one run allowed in five innings.
Ohtani doubled off the first pitch of the sixth from Steven Okert and scored the tying run on a single by Smith. Byron Buxton made a leaping catch in center field of a sinking line drive by Teoscar Hernández to limit the damage for Okert, but But Outman skied a full-count slider from Jay Jackson (0-1) over the 23-foot wall in right field to begin the seventh.
Ohtani, who revealed in an afternoon interview session he’s been using a cricket-style bat with a paddle-like barrel for mechanical work before and during games, had a relatively quiet start to his Dodgers career after signing a record $700 million contract and losing his trusted interpreter in an alleged gambling scandal.
GUARDIANS 4, WHITE SOX 0: In Cleveland, José Ramírez hit a two-run homer — his 100th at Progressive Field — and Cleveland followed the total solar eclipse by winning first-year manager Stephen Vogt’s home debut, 4-0 over the Chicago White Sox on Monday.
It was Ramírez’s 174th homer, moving him past Al Rosen for the most by a third baseman in Cleveland history.
Triston McKenzie (1-1) pitched 5 2/3 innings for Cleveland, off to a surprising start and its best since 2011. The righthander combined with four relievers on a four-hitter.
The White Sox dropped their fifth straight to fall to 1-9. They were shut for the fourth time and have scored an MLBlow 16 runs, the club’s fewest in 10 games since 1968.
PIRATES 7, TIGERS 4: In Pittsburgh, Bryan Reynolds hit his 100th career home run, Connor Joe and Jared Triolo both had two hits and two RBIs and the Pirates beat Detroit.
Joey Bart also drove in two runs for the Pirates as Pittsburgh improved to 9-2, the best record in the National League.
Mitch Keller (1-1) allowed two runs on five hits with three walks and nine strikeouts to earn his first win of the season. The right-handed Keller has worked at least five innings in 34 straight starts, the longest active streak in the majors.
Colt Keith and Matt Vierling had two hits and each drove in a run for the Tigers. Riley Greene added an RBI double in the ninth.
REDS 10, BREWERS 8: In Cincinnati, Elly De La Cruz hit his first two homers of the season, a massive 450-foot solo drive and a sinking liner that turned into his first career inside-the-park drive, and Cincinnati held off Milwaukee.
De La Cruz had three hits and scored four times. Will Benson also homered for the Reds, and Spencer Steer had two RBIs.
The Reds led 8-0 after four innings and 9-3 after five. And the Brewers nearly rallied for an improbable win.
Milwaukee’s Brice Turang hit a two-run homer in the fifth and a two-run double in the sixth. Christian Yelich’s two-run shot in the seventh — his fourth homer of the season — got the Brewers within one.
BLUE JAYS 5, MARINERS 2: In Toronto, José Berríos pitched 6⅔ shutout innings, Davis Schneider hit a two-run single and Toronto won their home opener, beating Seattle.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had two hits and drove in a run as the Blue Jays won before a sellout crowd of 40,069 at their renovated stadium. The lower level of seats and both clubhouses were rebuilt over the offseason.
Berríos (2-0) allowed four hits, all singles, including three from Seattle’s Ty France. The right-hander walked one and matched a season-high by striking out six.
Mariners right-hander Luis Castillo (0-3) lost for the third time in three starts this season, allowing four runs and nine hits in five innings. Castillo’s earned run average rose from 6.75 to 6.89.
France went 3 for 4 after being activated off the paternity list before the game.
ASTROS 10, RANGERS 5: In Arlington, Texas, Yordan Alvarez homered for the second game in a row, among his three hits as Houston rallied from an early deficit to beat Texas after Astros scheduled starter Framber Valdez was scratched because of elbow soreness.
No. 9 batter Victor Caratini added a three-run homer as the Astros earned a split in the four-game series that was the first this season between the AL West rivals.
Seth Martinez (1-0) worked 3 2/3 scoreless innings in relief as the first of four pitchers after Blair Henley retired only one of the nine batters he faced when making his major league debut starting in place of Valdez, who returned to Houston to be evaluated by team doctors. Tayler Scott, Brandon Bielak and Bryan Abreu also didn’t allow any runs.
PHILLIES 5, CARDINALS 3: In St. Louis, Alec Bohm had an RBI double in the 10th inning and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-3.
Bohm’s hit off Ryan Helsley (1-1) drove in automatic runner Cristian Pache, and Bryson Stott followed with a sacrifice fly for the insurance run as the Phillies won for the third time in their last four games.
Gregory Soto got the last three outs for his first save.