Ozuna helps Braves rally to beat the Mets
Free-agent prize Marcell Ozuna introduced himself to new fans back in Atlanta with a big swing when it counted most.
Just the sort of ingratiation still evading shaky Mets closer Edwin Díaz 1 1/2 years into his stint with New York.
Ozuna hit a tying homer off Díaz with two outs in the ninth inning, Dansby Swanson scored automatic runner Adam Duvall with a leadoff single in the 10th and the Atlanta Braves beat the New York Mets 5-3 on Saturday.
“He’s one of those guys that those situations don’t faze him,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said of Ozuna. “That guy can hit.”
New York loaded the bases in the bottom of the 10th with no outs against Luke Jackson (1-0). Pinch-hitter Dominic Smith managed a sacrifice fly, but Jackson recovered and retired Wilson Ramos to end it.
Ozuna, signed to an $18 million, one-year deal in January, energized Atlanta’s struggling offense with his opposite-field drive against Díaz. Ozuna went with a 3-2 fastball just off the outside corner and roped it out to right field for his first home run with the Braves.
“Today is not a day I’m going to lose my confidence over,” Díaz said through a translator, saying he located the 98 mph fastball exactly where he wanted.
Mets reliever Hunter Strickland (0-1) was charged with an unearned run on Swanson’s RBI in Major League Baseball’s second game featuring an unpopular, new extra-innings rule that gives teams a free baserunner on second from the 10th on.
PHILLIES 7-1, MARLINS 1 >> Phil Gosselin homered twice, Didi Gregorius went deep again and new dad Zack Wheeler won his Philadelphia debut in the victory over Miami. J.T. Realmuto added a threerun drive for Philadelphia.
Gosselin connected off Alex Vesia (0-1) for a tworun shot in the sixth inning to give the Phillies a 3-1 lead and send manager Joe Girardi on his way to his first win with the team. Gosselin homered again in the eighth for his first career multihomer game and a 7-1 lead. CARDINALS 9, PIRATES 1 >> Paul Goldschmidt homered and Adam Wainwright pitched six solid innings as St. Louis beat Pittsburgh. Wainwright (1-0) pitched out of a bases loaded, no-out jam in the second, giving up just one run. He retired 14 of the final 15 batters he faced as the Cardinals beat the Pirates for the 12th time in their last 13 games.
BREWERS 8, CUBS 3 >> Christian Yelich and Justin Smoak hit long runs, umpires intervened before a shouting match between the teams got too serious and Milwaukee powered past Chicago.
Without fans at Wrigley
Field, players from both NL Central rivals could be heard shouting toward each other from their dugouts before the start of the fourth inning.
All-star catcher Willson Contreras seemed to be barking the loudest from the warning track in front of the Cubs dugout, and several players from both sides popped out onto dirt near their benches. Umpires jumped in and calmed things down quickly before players could cross the foul lines. ROYALS 3, INDIANS 2 >> Greg Holland struck out the top of Cleveland’s order to strand the tying run at second base and Maikel Franco hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning to give Kansas City a 3-2 win over Cleveland n just the third major league game decided by the debated extrainning runner rule.
With Greg Allen on second, Holland fanned César Hernández and José Ramírez before getting All-star Francisco Lindor to chase strike three in the dirt for the final out and the most unique save of his career.
ASTROS 7, MARINERS 2 >> Lance Mccullers Jr. was solid in his return from Tommy John surgery, Yuli Gurriel and George Springer homered and Houston beat Seattle for the 15th straight time.
Mccullers (1-0) yielded five hits and two runs over six innings in his first game since the 2018 playoffs. He got double plays from his defense to escape jams in the first two innings before settling in to get the win, striking out six.
Houston went 18-1 against the Mariners last year and beat them 8-2 in the season opener Friday night. The Astros’ winning streak is their longest over one opponent in franchise history.
RAYS 4, BLUE JAYS 1 >> Brandon Lowe’s two-run triple snapped an eighth-inning tie and sent Tampa Bay to the victory.
WHITE SOX 10, TWINS 3 >> Leury García homered from both sides of the plate, helping Dallas Keuchel and Chicago pound Minnesota.
ORIOLES 7, RED SOX 2 >> Anthony Santander and Renato Núñez each drove in two runs as Baltimore held off Boston to even their season-opening series.
TIGERS 6, REDS 4 >> Miguel Cabrera passed two superstars with one home run, and JaCoby Jones hit a two-run shot in the ninth inning off Raisel Iglesias to rally Detroit past Cincinnati.
Jones snapped a 4-all tie with his drive off Iglesias (01), who set a Reds record for relievers with 12 losses last year.
Cabrera salvaged his fourstrikeout day with a tworun homer in the seventh that gave the Tigers a brief 4-3 lead and broke a tie with Adrian Beltre for 30th place on the career list.
Cabrera now has 478 home runs. Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig and Fred Mcgriff are tied for 28th with 493 each.