Contreras hits rare 1st-inning slam as Cubs win
CHICAGO — Willson Contreras led off with a double and became a rare leadoff hitter with a first-inning grand slam as the Chicago Cubs burst to an eight-run lead and beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-0 on Monday night.
Contreras became the 10th leadoff hitter since 1901 with a first-inning slam, the first since Houston’s George Springer off Kansas City’s Edinson Vólquez on June 24, 2016. The slam was the 100th homer of Contreras’ career, making him the third Cubs catcher to reach that mark along with Gabby Hartnett and Jody Davis.
Wade Miley (1-0) retired his first 14 batters before Michael Chavis lined a single to left and ended a 13-inning hitless streak for Pittsburgh batters. Miley allowed just the one runner in seven innings and struck out six, throwing 83 pitches.
Miley’s previous win was on Sept. 7, 2021 at Wrigley Field when he beat the Cubs as a member of the Reds.
Michael Rucker finished with two-hit relief, and the Cubs won their third straight.
■ Red Sox 6, Astros 3: At Boston, Trevor Story homered to tie the game in the seventh inning and Xander Bogaerts hit a two-run shot in the eighth for Boston, which has won three of four. Houston starter Jake Odorizzi collapsed with a leg injury running to cover first base in the fifth inning.
■ Brewers 1, Braves 0: At Milwaukee, Hunter Renfroe scored on a wild pitch as Freddy Peralta (3-1) struck out 10 and retired his final 11 batters. Perlta recorded his 500th career strikeout in the seventh when he retired Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna on a called third strike.
■ Marlins 8, Nationals 2: At Miami, Sandy Alcantara retired his last 20 batters, pitching three-hit ball over eight innings to give Miami just its fourth win in 15 games. Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Bryan De La Cruz added three hits each.
■ Tigers 3, Rays 2: At St. Petersburg, Fla., Harold Castro hit his first home run of the year with two outs in the ninth inning, a tiebreaking shot that sent Detroit to its season-best fourth straight victory.
■ Dodgers 5, Diamondbacks 4: At Los Angeles, Chris Taylor hit a 2-run homer to back Tony Gonsolin (4-0), who struck out seven in six innings. Craig Kimbrel earned his sixth save of the season.
■ Blue Jays 6, Mariners 2: At Toronto, Bo Bichette and Matt Chapman each hit home runs to back Yusei Kikuchi (2-1), who allowed one hit over six shutout innings to beat his former team.
■ Yankees 6, Orioles 2: At Baltimore, Jose Trevino hit a three-run homer in the fourth to back Luis Severino (3-0), who allowed one hit in six innings.
■ Twins 3, Athletics 1: At Oakland, Calif., Gary Sanchez homered, and Royce Lewis scored twice for Minnesota. Oakland is batting .199 on the season, becoming the first team since the 1910 Chicago White Sox to be stuck below .200 after 38 games.
■ Rangers 7, Angles 4: At Arlington, Texas, Eli White had the first and last of five Texas hits during a six-run first inning off Noah Syndergaard (3-2).
■ White Sox 5, Royals 3: At Kansas City,Mo., Luis Robert hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning off Scott Barlow (2-1) with two outs, scoring the automatic runner as well.
■ Giants 7, Rockies 6: At Denver, Curt Casali hit 3-4 with two homers, drove in four runs and scored three times for San Francisco.