Bader, Wacha help send Cardinals by Nationals
CARDINALS 6, NATIONALS 3
WASHINGTON — Harrison Bader homered to spark a six-run fifth inning as the surging St. Louis Cardinals rallied past Patrick Corbin and the Washington Nationals 6-3 on Monday night in the opener of a four-game series.
Marcell Ozuna put the Cardinals ahead 4-3 with a two-run single. Jose Martinez had an RBI double and Yadier Molina added a run-scoring single off Corbin, who took a 3-0 lead into the fifth.
Michael Wacha (2-0) went five innings after being activated from the 10-day injured list earlier in the day. The right-hander allowed 3 runs and 4 hits while striking out 5.
Jordan Hicks pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his ninth save.
St. Louis has won three consecutive and eight of nine, while Washington fell to 1-9 in series openers this year.
After yielding one hit through the first four innings, Corbin (2-1) let the Cardinals bat around in the fifth. He gave up 6 runs — 5 with 2 outs — in his first loss since joining the Nationals as a $140 million free agent from Arizona.
Following Bader’s solo home run, Corbin got Wacha to ground out but then allowed the next six batters to reach. Matt Carpenter walked and later scored on a wild pitch to Ozuna.
Molina’s single extended his hitting streak to 16 games, tying a career high.
Washington took a 3-0 lead in the second on a bases-loaded walk to Corbin and a two-run single by Adam Eaton.
BREWERS 5, ROCKIES 1 Struggling slugger Jesus Aguilar hit his first two home runs of
the season and Milwaukee beat Colorado with NL MVP Christian Yelich sidelined by lower back soreness. Zach Davies allowed an unearned run in 51/3 innings, and Milwaukee opened a 10game homestand with a breakout game from its beefy first baseman.
BRAVES 3, PADRES 1 Ozzie Albies homered and drove in two, Mike Soroka gave up one run in six innings and Atlanta beat San Diego. Soroka (2-1) allowed four hits, struck out a career-high eight and walked one. The 21-year-old right-hander lowered his ERA to 1.62. Rookie right-hander Jacob Webb recorded the final two outs for his first save, one day after his first win. REDS 5, METS 4 Jesse Winker homered off All-Star closer Edwin Diaz with two outs in the ninth inning, and Cincinnati beat New York after wasting a four-run lead. Left-handed batters had been 0 for 15 this year against Diaz (0-1) before Winker drove a fastball over the right-center field fence for his career-high eighth home run, the most by a Reds player this season.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
TWINS 1, ASTROS 0 Jake Odorizzi pitched seven solid innings to outduel Justin Verlander, Ehire Adrianza homered off Houston’s ace and the Minnesota Twins beat the Astros 1-0 on Monday night. Odorizzi (3-2) gave up four hits while beating Houston for the second time in two starts. He walked one and struck out seven, and Minnesota won for the eighth time in 10 games. Blake Parker (Fayetteville, Arkansas Razorbacks) recorded his sixth save.
RED SOX 9, ATHLETICS 4 Xander Bogaerts hit a tying two-run double that sailed over the head of center fielder Ramon Laureano, who made a bad read during a six-run third inning. Rookie Michael Chavis drove in three and Mookie Betts had three singles for Boston, which had lost two straight to AL East-leading Tampa Bay. Ryan Brasier (1-0) got four outs and was credited with the victory. RAYS 8, ROYALS 5 Tommy Pham, Yandy Diaz and Ji-Man Choi each drove in a pair of runs, sending the hot-hitting Tampa Bay Rays over the Kansas City Royals. Michael Perez and Kevin Kiermaier also drove in runs for the Rays (19-9), who have won five of six to build upon the best record in baseball. They also moved to 10-2 on the road. Yonny Chirinos went 52/3 innings in relief of effective opener Ryne Stanek, allowing two earned runs on two hits and a walk. Chirinos improved to 4-0 after going 0-3 last season. The Rays did most of their damage against Brad Keller (2-3), who struggled in his return from a five-game suspension.
WHITE SOX 5, ORIOLES 3 Tim Anderson and Yonder Alonso each hit a two-run homer, sending Manny BaNuelos and the Chicago White Sox over the slumping Baltimore Orioles. Banuelos (2-0) pitched five-hit ball into the sixth inning in his first start since replacing Ervin Santana in the rotation. The rookie left-hander has two victories in his last three games after he went 1-4 in 2015 with Atlanta — his last season in the majors before this year.