Robinson remembered at all Major League parks
Guardians blank Red Sox at Fenway on Patriots Day
LOS ANGELES — Major League Baseball marked the 77th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the sport’s color barrier on Monday.
Robinson started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947, beginning the end of the racial segregation that had relegated Black players to the Negro Leagues for decades.
“Jackie Robinson became the most vilified, targeted subject of verbal abuse and malicious treatment in the sports arena since Jack Johnson had the audacity to become heavyweight champion of the world in 1908,” sociologist and civil rights activist Harry Edwards said at Dodger Stadium. “Like Jack Johnson, Jackie Robinson stood alone.”
Members of Robinson’s family, including his 101-year-old widow, were at ballparks from coast-to-coast to honor him.
At Citi Field, Rachel Robinson rode in a golf cart to the Mets dugout, where she was given flowers by manager Carlos Mendoza, and retired players Mookie Wilson and Butch Huskey, the last Mets player to wear Robinson’s No. 42.
“She’s the legacy of perseverance,” said David Robinson, the youngest son of Jackie and Rachel Robinson.
Every team playing Monday wore No. 42 jerseys.
Monday’s games
GUARDIANS 6, RED SOX 0: In Boston, Will Brennan hit a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the seventh inning and Cleveland beat the Red Sox in Boston’s traditional Patriots’ Day game.
José Ramirez and Gabriel Arias each added an RBI double for Cleveland, which has started 8-2 on the road.
Wearing their white jerseys with red letters that read “Boston” across the front, which was inspired by the first game back after the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013, the Red Sox were held to three hits.
Boston left fielder Tyler O’Neill had to leave the game in the eighth after colliding with third baseman Rafael Devers when the two were chasing a shallow pop up.
ORIOLES 7, TWINS 4: In Baltimore, Cedric Mullins saved a run with an exceptional diving catch in deep left-center, then homered and drove in three runs for Baltimore in a victory over Minnesota.
Jordan Westburg drove in two runs during his third career three-hit day, which came two days after his second. Ryan O’Hearn and Gunnar Henderson also homered for the Orioles, who have won five of their six series openers.
RANGERS 1, TIGERS 0: In Detroit, Michael Lorenzen pitched five spotless innings in his debut and three relievers completed a five-hit shutout as Texas topped Detroit.
Lorenzen gave up three hits and walked five while notching four strikeouts against his former team. Lorenzen represented the Tigers at the All-Star Game last season before he was traded to Philadelphia.
GIANTS 4, MARLINS 3: In Miami, Jung Hoo Lee had two hits, including a tying single in the seventh inning, and San Francisco overcame an early three-run deficit to beat Miami.
Kyle Harrison (2-1) allowed three runs in six innings. The rookie left-hander gave up eight hits, walked one and struck out two.
ANGELS 7, RAYS 3: In St. Petersburg, Fla., Mike Trout’s two-run homer highlighted a five-run outburst in the eighth inning and the Los Angeles Angels beat Tampa Bay.
Trout gave the Angels a 2-1 lead with his seventh homer, a 111.1 mph, 420-foot shot down the left-field line off Pat Maton (0-1). Matt Thaiss extended the Angels’ lead to 5-1 with three-run double.
BLUE JAYS 3, YANKEES 1: In Toronto, Chris Bassitt pitched into the seventh inning to win his second straight start, Alejandro Kirk reached base three times and Toronto beat New York.
Bassitt (2-2) allowed one run and four hits in 6 1/3 innings. The right-hander walked two and struck out five, ending his outing by fanning Gleyber Torres.
METS 6, PIRATES 3: In New York, Harrison Bader drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning for the second day in a row, hitting a two-run double off an angry Aroldis Chapman that lifted the New York Mets over Pittsburgh.
Chapman (0-1) was ejected by plate umpire Edwin Moscoso for arguing balls and strikes after Bader’s double. The Mets stole three bases in the eighth against the Pirates, who have allowed 13 steals this season without throwing out a runner.
PHILLIES 2, ROCKIES 1, 10 INNINGS: In Philadelphia, Cristian Pache hit a walk-off single with one out in the 10th inning after Bryce Harper made a leaping, run-saving catch in the top of the frame to lift Philadelphia to a 2-1 win over Colorado.
Colorado Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland appeared to injure his right, non-throwing shoulder while being used as a pinch-runner in the ninth inning. Harper also had an RBI single.
ROYALS 2, WHITE SOX 0: In Chicago, Seth Lugo pitched seven crisp innings, Vinnie Pasquantino homered and Kansas City beat Chicago.
Lugo (3-0) allowed four hits — all singles — in his third straight win. The righthander struck out four and walked one.
PADRES 7, BREWERS 3: In Milwaukee, Jackson Merrill went 3 for 5 and singled home two runs during a six-run rally in the fifth inning as San Diego defeated the Brewers.
The game featuring two heralded 20-year-old rookies with the first name of Jackson — San Diego’s Merrill and Milwaukee’s Chourio — included big performances from both.
Chourio went 2 for 4, homered and scored twice. The outfielder’s two-run shot in the second inning gave the Brewers an early 3-0 lead.
BRAVES 6, ASTROS 1: In Houston, Austin Riley had three hits, including an RBI single in a four-run ninth inning as Atlanta pulled away for a victory over the Astros.
Alex Bregman hit an RBI single for Houston in the first inning.
HOLTZMAN DIES: Ken Holtzman, MLB’s winningest Jewish pitcher who threw two no-hitters for the Chicago Cubs and helped the Oakland Athletics win three straight World Series championships in the 1970s, has died, the Cubs announced Monday on social media. He was 78.
Holtzman’s brother, Bob Holtzman, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he died Sunday night after being hospitalized for three weeks. He had been battling heart issues.
Holtzman grew up in the St. Louis area and starred at the University of Illinois before becoming a two-time All-Star. The left-hander posted a 174-150 record and 3.49 ERA from 1965 to 1979 with the Athletics, Cubs, New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioes.
Holtzman won nine more games than the Dodgers’ great Sandy Koufax, who was 165-87 over 12 seasons.