Twins withstand Pirates, drone delay for 5th in row
INTERLEAGUE
TWINS 7, PIRATES 3
MINNEAPOLIS — Jose Berrios pitched six strong innings, Nelson Cruz had three hits, and the Minnesota Twins beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-3 Tuesday in a game briefly delayed when an unauthorized drone flew over Target Field.
The Twins won their fifth in a row, completed a 7-1 home stand and improved to 9-2 for the second time in the team’s 60-year history. The other was 2001.
“It was a great way to cap off a great home stand, and a memorable one at that,” Manager Rocco Baldelli said.
The game was delayed for nine minutes in the fifth inning, and players were pulled off the field when the drone flew over center field. A few pitchers in the bullpen threw balls at the flying intruder, but missed.
“Definitely a 2020 moment right there,” Baldelli said.
Pittsburgh lost its fifth consecutive game, and at 2-9 has baseball’s worst winning percentage at .182.
A bit wild early, Berrios settled down and allowed one run and four hits. He struck out six, walked three and threw 98 pitches.
“I know I had a rough inning in the second inning. After that we had a talk and we went out and tried to be more relaxed,” he said.
It was the second consecutive strong start for Berrios (1-1), who allowed 2 earned runs and struck out 6 in 5 innings last Thursday against Cleveland. Considered the team’s No. 1 starter, he was roughed up for 5 runs and 7 hits in 4 innings on opening day.
Tuesday’s games INTERLEAGUE
Minnesota 7, Pittsburgh 3
Cleveland 4, Cincinnati 2
Atlanta 10, Toronto 1
Miami 4, Baltimore 0
Chicago White Sox 3, Milwaukee 2
Chicago Cubs 5, Kansas City 4
Houston 8, Arizona 2
St. Louis at Detroit, ppd.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Tampa Bay 5, Boston 1
Oakland 5, Texas 1
LA Angels at Seattle, (n)
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Washington 5, NY Mets 3
Colorado 5, San Francisco 2
LA Dodgers 5, San Diego 2
MARLINS 4, ORIOLES 0 Francisco Cervelli and Jesus Aguilar hit home runs, Pablo Lopez threw five innings of two-hit ball, and visiting Miami beat Baltimore.
INDIANS 4, REDS 2 Shane Bieber overcame two solo home runs to pitch into the eighth inning, Franmil Reyes hit a tiebreaking, two-run home run, and visiting Cleveland snapped a fourgame skid with a victory over Cincinnati.
BRAVES 10, BLUE JAYS 1 Max Fried boosted Atlanta’s rotation by allowing only one run in six innings, Austin Riley hit a three-run home run, and host Atlanta beat Toronto.
CUBS 5, ROYALS 4 Willson Contreras and Jason Heyward had four of host Chicago’s nine hits as the Cubs built a three-run lead, but they had to hold on as Kansas City rallied for two runs in the top of the ninth inning.
WHITE SOX 3, BREWERS 2 Jose Abreu hit a tiebreaking single in the seventh inning, helping Lucas Giolito and Chicago edge Milwaukee.
ASTROS 8, DIAMONDBACKS 2 Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa hit solo home runs, George Springer added a two-run double, and Houston roughed up Madison Bumgarner in a victory over visiting Arizona.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
RAYS 5, RED SOX 1 Austin Meadows got two hits after missing the first 10 games of the season with covid-19, and host Tampa Bay stopped its losing streak at five, beating Boston.
ATHLETICS 5, RANGERS 1 Stephen Piscotty hit Oakland’s second game-winning grand slam of the year, and the Athletics beat visiting Texas for their fourth consecutive victory. Edinson Volquez (0-1) got into trouble quickly in the ninth inning when he walked two batters and gave up a hit to load the bases with nobody out. Volquez retired Robbie Grossman on a popup before Piscotty hit a first-pitch drive over the wall in center to match the opening night 10th-inning slam by Matt Olson against the Los Angeles Angels.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
ROCKIES 5, GIANTS 2 German Marquez struck out nine in efficiently throwing into the eighth inning, and benefited from an overturned home-run call as host Colorado beat San Francisco.
NATIONALS 5, METS 3 Howie Kendrick and Josh Harrison hit home runs as Washington defeated New York.
DODGERS 5, PADRES 2 AJ Pollock hit a pinch-hit, go-ahead double in the seventh inning and added a solo home run, and Dustin May struck out a career-high eight to help visiting Los Angeles beat San Diego.