McMahon’s 5 RBIs, homer push Rockies
Ryan McMahon hit a threerun homer off Joe Musgrove and drove in five runs for the Rockies, who beat Juan Soto and the Padres 7-3 Thursday to avoid a five-game sweep in San Diego.
The Padres didn’t give the crowd a lot to cheer about compared with Wednesday night, when a sellout crowd gave Soto multiple ovations in his first game with San Diego since the blockbuster trade that brought him and Josh Bell from Washington on Tuesday. The Padres won that game 9-1 as fellow newcomer Brandon Drury hit a grand slam on the first pitch he saw with the Padres.
Soto did have a triple and double and scored one run
Thursday. The 23-year-old outfielder got a break on a triple off Kyle Freeland (7-7) leading off the sixth when right fielder Charlie Blackmon and center fielder Yonathan Daza let his flyball fall in between them while Soto chugged around the bases. Bell singled in Soto and eventually scored on Austin Nola’s single.
The Rockies jumped to a 6-0 lead, thanks mostly to McMahon, and the Padres didn’t come close to catching Colorado.
“Very easily with this crowd and with their guys, all the excitement over there, the momentum could shift their way pretty quickly,” McMahon said. “So to come out here, get the lead first and put up six on them before they could score,
that was big.”
Freeland won his third straight start, holding San Diego to two runs and six hits in 52⁄3 innings. He struck out seven and walked four.
Musgrove (8-5) struggled in his first start since signing a $100 million, five-year contract Monday and lost his fifth
straight decision over seven starts. The big right-hander allowed six runs and eight hits in 42⁄3 innings, the first time this season he didn’t make it through five innings. He struck out six and walked one.
Mets 6, Braves 4: Deadline acquisition Tyler Naquin homered twice in his home debut, Edwin Diaz locked down his first two-inning save as a pro and host New York beat Atlanta.
Astros 6, Guardians 0: Justin Verlander pitched six scoreless innings for his MLB-leading 15th victory, Chas McCormick and Martin Maldonado each homered and had three RBIs, and AL West-leading Houston beat host Cleveland.
Cardinals 4, Cubs 3: Lars Nootbaar hit a tying sacrifice fly in the seventh inning and a game-ending RBI single in the ninth, lifting host St. Louis to a win in the opener of a split doubleheader
Rays 6, Tigers 2: Brandon Lowe had a two-run homer among his three hits and drove in three runs as visiting Tampa Bay beat Detroit.
Pirates 5, Brewers 4: Bryan Reynolds raced home on a wild pitch with one out in the 10th inning as Pittsburgh completed a three-game home sweep.