Stanton pleases fans with HR, Yanks romp
Giancarlo Stanton turned boos to cheers with his first Yankee Stadium home run in pinstripes, an emphatic go-ahead drive in the first inning yesterday that led New York over the Tampa Bay Rays, 7-2, to complete a two-game sweep.
Stanton turned on a high slider from Blake Snell (01), driving the ball 458 feet to left field at 117.9 mph for a two-run homer with the hardest-hit ball in the major leagues so for this young season.
Acquired from Miami in December, the major league home run champion was booed a day earlier when he struck out a career-worst five times in the Yankees’ home opener.
Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez also hit tworun homers as the Bronx Bombers lived up to their nickname.
Luis Severino (2-0) allowed two runs and five hits with seven strikeouts in 71⁄3 innings, the longest outing by a New York starter this year.
Angels 3, Indians 2 — In Anaheim, Calif., Shohei Ohtani hit his second homer in two games in the fifth inning, and Zack Cozart had a walk-off homer in the 13th inning of Los Angeles’ win over Cleveland.
One day after Ohtani hit an electrifying three-run homer in his first home plate appearance, the Japanese two-way rookie connected for a tying two-run homer off AL Cy Young winner Corey Kluber in his second game at the Big A.
White Sox 4, Blue Jays 3 — Matt Davidson hit his fourth home run of the season and Jose Abreu added a tiebreaking solo shot in the eighth inning and visiting Chicago snapped Toronto’s fourgame win streak.
Astros 3, Orioles 2 — Josh Reddick had three hits and Alex Bregman’s tiebreaking RBI single in the seventh inning lifted host Houston past Baltimore to complete a three-game sweep.
Royals-Tigers, ppd. — The game between Kansas City and host Detroit was postponed due to inclement weather. The game will be made up in a day-night doubleheader on April 20.
National League
Braves 7, Nationals 1 — Mike Foltynewicz outpitched Max Scherzer, Preston Tucker hit a three-run homer and host Atlanta walloped Washington.
Foltynewicz (1-0) snapped an eight-start skid during which he went 0-7 with a 7.34 ERA, ending the major leagues’ second-longest active losing streak.
Diamondbacks 3, Dodgers 0 — In Phoenix, Patrick Corbin shut out Los Angeles on one hit over 71⁄3 innings, striking out a career-high 12 in Arizona’s win.
The Diamondbacks swept the three-game series and won their ninth straight game against the Dodgers, going back to a pair of three-game series sweeps last season.
Cardinals 6, Brewers 0 — Carlos Martinez pitched into the ninth inning and struck out 10, Yadier Molina homered and visiting St. Louis beat error-prone Milwaukee.
Mets 4, Phillies 2 — Yoenis Cespedes homered, Amed Rosario hit a two-run triple and its bullpen faced the minimum batters over five scoreless innings as host New York downed Philadelphia.
Interleague
Giants 10, Mariners 1 — Pablo Sandoval blasted a three-run homer while making a rare start, Johnny Cueto earned his first win of the season and host San Francisco jumped all over Seattle ace Felix Hernandez in a rout.
Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford and Gorkys Hernandez also homered for the Giants.
Twins 7, Pirates 3 — Brian Dozier homered for the third straight game, Miguel Sano drove in a pair of runs and visiting Minnesota handed Pittsburgh its first loss of the season.
Elsewhere in baseball — NL batting champion Charlie Blackmon made a long-term commitment to the Colorado Rockies rather than test next season’s free agent market, agreeing to a contract that guarantees $108 million over six seasons.