Alonso’s key hits sink Morton as Mets edge Braves in opener
Pete Alonso had two RBI singles as the Mets pounced early against Charlie Morton, and New York’s bullpen closed out a five-hitter to beat the Atlanta Braves 5-4 Tuesday in the opener of a doubleheader at Citi Field.
Four of the Mets’ first five batters reached against Morton, with the Mets taking a 2-0 lead on RBI singles by Alonso and Eduardo Escobar. Alonso added another run-scoring single during New York’s two-run second inning.
Morton (1-3) had 56 pitches through two innings but rebounded to cover 5 innings on 99 pitches, allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits. The 38-year-old right-hander lowered his ERA this season to 6.85.
Matt Olson hit a threerun homer in the fifth against starter David Peterson, his third of the season, to pull Atlanta within 5-4. The drive came one pitch after Peterson made his first career error when he whiffed on Ozzie Albies’ potential double-play grounder.
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Yankees 3, Blue Jays
Gleyber Torres homered early, then hit a go-ahead single in the ninth inning as New York won its 10th in a row.
Giancarlo Stanton singled off Yimi Garcia (0-2) to begin the New York ninth, ending a streak of four perfect innings by Blue Jays relievers. Pinch-runner Tim Locastro stole second, but Josh Donaldson grounded out and Aaron Hicks struck out before Torres lined a single to center field.
Clay Holmes (2-0) pitched 1 1⁄3 innings for the win and Chad Green worked a perfect ninth for his first save in three chances. The Yankees won for the 12th time in 13 games and improved their MLB-leading record to 17-8.
Twins 2, Orioles 1:
Chris Paddack pitched effectively into the sixth, and Carlos Correa hit a tiebreaking single that same inning to lift visiting Minnesota to its 10th win in 11 games.
The Twins were shut out in two of Paddack’s first three starts this season but got just enough run support to win this time. Paddack (1-2) allowed a run and four hits in 5 1⁄3 innings. Hardthrowing rookie Jhoan Duran pitched a perfect ninth for his first career save.
Astros 3, Mariners 0:
Yordan Alvarez hit a solo homer and rookie Jeremy Pena added a two-run shot to back up another solid start from Jake Odorizzi and help host Houston top Seattle.
Ryne Stanek got the last out of the seventh after Odorizzi (2-2) left the game. Odorizzi allowed four hits in 6 2⁄3
scoreless innings for his second straight win after dropping his first two decisions this season. Hector Neris and Rafael Montero pitched a scoreless inning each to complete the shutout.
Braves 5, Mets 2:
Austin Riley homered, Max Fried won his third straight outing and Atlanta cooled host New York in the first of 19 meetings between the NL East rivals this season.
Travis d’Arnaud had three hits and three RBI against his former team. Fried (3-2) settled in after a rocky start, outpitching Chris Bassitt (3-2) as the defending World Series champions took the opener of a four-game series with only their second comeback win of the year.
Rays 6, Athletics 1: Yandy Diaz led off the game with a home run to back right-hander Drew Rasmussen’s second straight winning start as Tampa Bay won at Oakland.