Severino shines as Yankees bash O's
BALTIMORE >> Luis Severino allowed one hit in six innings, and Jose Trevino became the first New York catcher with a home run this year when he hit a three-run drive in the fourth to lift the surging Yankees over the Baltimore Orioles 6-2 Monday night.
Josh Donaldson and Anthony Rizzo added backto-back solo homers in the ninth for the Yankees, who won for the 19th time in 22 games. New York (26-9) is off to one of the best 35game starts in franchise history. Only the 1939 and 1928 teams, at 28-7, were better at this point.
Anthony Santander homered from the left side of the plate off Severino (30) in the fourth, then from the right side off Aroldis Chapman in the ninth. The Orioles managed only one other hit.
Kyle Bradish (1-2) allowed four runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings in his fourth career start. He walked three and struck out six.
CUBS 9, PIRATES 0 >> Willson Contreras led off with a double and became a rare leadoff hitter with a first-inning grand slam as Chicago burst to an eight-run lead and beat Pittsburgh.
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.
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.
Contreras led off with a double off Dylan Peters (32) and scored Chicago's first run, then lined his fourth slam to left-center off Bryse Wilson on the first pitch of his second at-bat. BREWERS 1, BRAVES 0 Freddy Peralta dominated over seven innings, Hunter Renfroe scored on a wild pitch and Milwaukee twohit Atlanta.
Peralta (3-1) gave up two hits and a walk while striking out 10 and retiring his final 11 batters.
The Brewers broke through in the sixth against Ian Anderson (3-2). Renfroe doubled with one out and moved to third on Omar Narváez's groundout. Renfroe then scored on Anderson's wild pitch.
Devin Williams struck out the side in the eighth and Josh Hader did the same in the ninth for his 14th save in 14 appearances. BLUE JAYS 6, MARINERS 2 >> Yusei Kikuchi allowed one hit over six shutout innings against his former team, Bo Bichette and Matt Chapman backed the left-hander with home runs Toronto beat Seattle.
Bichette went 3 for 5 with two RBIs and scored twice.
Kikuchi (2-1) walked three and struck out six to win for the second time in three starts. Adam Cimber got two outs with two runners on for his fourth major league save and second this season.
Bichette and Chapman homered off Chris Flexen (1-6), who lost his fourth straight decision.
TIGERS 3, RAYS 2 >> Harold Castro hit his first home run of the year with two outs in the ninth inning, a tiebreaking shot that Detroit past Tampa Bay for its season-best fourth straight victory.
Castro connected off Andrew Kittredge (3-1) for his first long ball since going deep in consecutive games against Oakland in early September last year.
Michael Fulmer (2-2) got the win in relief and Gregory Soto pitched the ninth for his sixth save in seven tries.
MARLINS 8, NATIONALS 2 >> Sandy Alcantara retired his last 20 batters, pitching three-hit ball over eight innings to lead Miami past Washington.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Bryan De La Cruz had three hits each, and Avisaíl García homered for the Marlins, who had 16 hits and matched their second-highest total this season.
Alcantara (3-2) needed 43 pitches to get through the first two innings and 57 for innings three through eight. He struck out five, walked one and hit a pair of batters.
Aaron Sanchez (2-3) allowed four runs, eight hits and three walks in 2 2/3 innings.
RANGERS 7, ANGELS 4 >> Eli White had the first and last of five Texas hits during a six-run first inning off Noah Syndergaard, and the Rangers beat Los Angeles.
Jon Gray won his home debut despite allowing Shohei Ohtani's RBI double off the base of the center-field wall in a three-run first. The Rangers' immediate response knocked out Syndergaard, a local high school standout, after twothird of an inning.
Jonah Heim hit a solo home run to center in the seventh, just beyond the reach of Mike Trout, for his second RBI.
WHITE SOX 5, ROYALS 3 >> Luis Robert hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning after Johnny Cueto's impressive Chicago debut, and the White Sox defeated Kansas City in the opener of a fivegame series.