Everything’s all left for Rays vs. Sox
Nate Lowe hit two homers and drove in four runs as Tampa Bay fielded a lineup of all lefties, Blake Snell worked 5 1/3 scoreless innings an visitingd the AL East-leading Rays routed the cellar-dwelling Boston Red Sox 11-1 on Friday night.
Tampa Bay became the first major league team since at least 1900 to use a batting order with only left-handed batters, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Snell (4-1) gave up five hits and two walks. He struck out five.
Yoshi Tsutsugo also homered for the Rays, who stopped a three-game skid.
Boston rookie Bobby Dalbec had his five-game home run streak end but had an RBI double in the ninth.
Rays manager Kevin Cash stacked his lineup with lefties against right-hander Andrew Triggs, who made his second start with Boston.
Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke quickly countered by removing Triggs after he allowed a hit and walk in a scoreless first. However, Tsutsugo started the second with a homer off lefty Matt Hall (0-3).
YANKEES 3, ORIOLES 1, GAME 1 >> Gerrit Cole pitched a seveninning two-hitter, andDJ LeMahieu led off the first inning with the first of three New York homers in the doubleheader opener.
Cole (5-3) opened with 4 2/3 hitless innings before Hanser Alberto singled.
The Yankees’ $324 million ace struck out nine and walked one, finishing his gem in 114 pitches. He induced 27 swings and misses. He got 11 misses with his fastball and 10 via slider.
Cole tied Cincinnati’s Trevor Bauer for the major league lead with two complete games, and neither of Cole’s lasted nine innings. The other was a rain-shortened, five-inning effort that beat Washington on opening night.
Renato Núñez got the Orioles’ second hit when he singled with two outs in the seventh inning.
Cole had lost three straight starts for the first time since 2018, including an outing last Saturday at Baltimore. He’s never lost four straight.
LeMahieu, Brett Gardner and Kyle Higashioka homered off starter Alex Cobb in his return from the injured list. YANKEES 10, ORIOLES 1, GAME 2>> Luke Voit hit a pair of three-run home runs, Masahiro Tanaka and two relievers combined for a four-hitter and New York completed a doubleheader sweep.
PHILLIES 11, MARLINS 0, GAME 1>> Aaron Nola struck out 10 and pitched all seven innings for the first complete game of his big league career to lead Philadelphia in the doubleheader opener.
Nola (5-3) didn’t allow a hit until Brian Anderson singled to cap a 10-pitch at-bat leading off the fifth. By then the Phillies had their 11-run lead.
Nola allowed two subsequent singles. He hit two batters, walked none, threw 106 pitches and reached double digits in strikeouts for the fourth time this year.
Andrew McCutchen drove in three runs with three hits, including his sixth homer. Rhys Hoskins hit a three-run homer, his 10th
METS 18, BLUE JAYS 1 >> Jacob deGrom, wearing an NYPD cap in honor of first responders on the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, pitched six strong innings and got plenty of backing in New York’s win.
DeGrom (4-1) struck out nine and held the Blue Jays to three hits, two walks and a first-inning run, his 13th straight start allowing no more than two earned runs, the most by a Mets pitcher since Johan Santana in 2008-09.
The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner lowered his ERA to a league-leading 1.67.
Dominic Smith hit his first career grand slam and Wilson Ramos had a three-run double in a 10-run fourth inning. Ramos hit a late solo homer.
Michael Conforto hit a three-run homer as the Mets scored four runs in the third.