Realmuto rebounds from injury, bangs out pair of hits
NATIONAL LEAGUE PHILLIES 4, CARDINALS 3
ST. LOUIS — J.T. Realmuto had two hits and scored two runs and Aaron Nola pitched six innings, leading the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday.
Realmuto was back in the starting lineup, hitting cleanup. He left Tuesday’s game after he was hit in the throat area on a Zack Wheeler wild pitch in the seventh inning.
“Going to bed last night, I wasn’t sure if the headache was going to continue through the night or if it was going to go away,” Realmuto said. “I woke up and felt fine. Just a sore throat today. My head felt fine.”
Seeing Realmuto play did not surprise Nola.
“That guy is a gamer,” Nola said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen J.T. come out of a game. For him to come out, it must have caught him good.”
Brandon Marsh and Nick Castellanos each drove in a run in the sixth to break a 2-2 tie.
The Phillies won the series to close a six-game road trip and even their record to 6-6. The Cardinals fell to 6-7.
The game began in a light rain as it was not raining hard enough for a delay. The grounds crew worked on the field after each side had batted.
“I’m sure they are going to be tired tonight,” Nola said about the grounds crew. “They were busting their butts. They were in our tunnel right there and they were on top of it. They did a good job every single inning.”
Nola, who signed a seven-year deal worth $172 million in the offseason, improved to 2-1. He allowed two home runs along with a single.
“I battled through it,” Nola said. “It was a grind for sure. We got through it and it was a good win. We’ve got a lot of ball left.” Nola impressed Realmuto. “You knew today was going to be tough with these conditions,” Realmuto said. “He had to grind. He did a good job of making pitches when he had to without his best stuff.”
Jeff Hoffman, the fifth Philadelphia pitcher, earned his first save in three opportunities by pitching the ninth.
BREWERS 7, REDS 2 Christian Yelich hit a two-run home run and Wade Miley came off the injury list to pitch four innings of one-hit ball to lift Milwaukee to a win over Cincinnati. DIAMONDBACKS 5, ROCKIES 3 Eugenio Suarez hit a two-out, two-run double in the ninth inning and Arizona came back to beat Colorado and win the series. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. added two hits and two RBI for the Diamondbacks, including an RBI double in the seventh inning to tie it at 3-all. GIANTS 7, NATIONALS 1 Nick Ahmed and Tyler Fitzgerald had three hits apiece and Jordan Hicks allowed one run in six innings as the San Francisco avoided a three-game series sweep with a win over Washington. Hicks (2-0) has allowed one earned run or less in each of his first three starts this season. The 27-year-old right-hander allowed four hits and had two strikeouts. PADRES 10, CUBS 2 Dylan Cease pitched six strong innings and Jurickson Profar had a goahead double and a two-run home run among his three hits for San Diego. Jake Cronenworth also homered to back Cease (1-1), who improved to 3-2 against the Cubs.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
MARINERS 6, BLUE JAYS 1 (10) Cal Raleigh hit a two-run home run in the 10th inning and Seattle beat Toronto to avoid a three-game sweep. Raleigh connected on the first pitch he saw from Blue Jays left-hander Tim Mayza (0-1). The homer was Raleigh’s second of the season.
ORIOLES 7, RED SOX 5 Jordan Westburg hit a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning and Baltimore erased a five-run deficit to beat Boston. Jackson Holliday, baseball’s top-rated prospect, made his major league debut for the Orioles and went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts and an RBI groundout.
RANGERS 6, ATHLETICS 2 Cody Bradford struck out seven in another strong start, Adolis Garcia had a two-run single among three hits and Texas beat Oakland, stopping a three-game losing streak.
RAYS 4, ANGELS 2 Jose Caballero homered, Tampa Bay scored two runs on a wild pitch in the first inning, and the Rays wrapped up their road trip with a victory over Los Angeles. Zack Littell allowed just one run despite giving up six hits and three walks while pitching into the fifth inning for Tampa Bay, which won four of five after losing the first game of the trip at Colorado last week.
ROYALS 11, ASTROS 2 Vinnie Pasquantino broke out of an early season slump with a home run and a career-high five RBI to lead Kansas City over Houston. Pasquantino went 3 for 3 with a single, double, home run and a walkI.
INTERLEAGUE
MARLINS 5, YANKEES 2 Jake Burger hit a three-run home run on his 28th birthday and Miami beat New York for just its second win this season. Ryan Weathers (1-1) allowed three hits and three walks in five scoreless innings for the Marlins, who at 2-11 had matched the team record for worst 12-game start set in 1998.