Astros lose 7-6 to Mariners, announce Verlander injury

Updated Jul. 27, 2020 2:06 a.m. ET

Associated Press

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Astros surrendered a tiebreaking two-run single to rookie Kyle Lewis in the eighth inning of a 7-6 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Sunday, and then announced ace Justin Verlander will be shut down for at least two weeks with a strained right forearm.

Astros manager Dusty Baker denied a report that said the injury would end Verlander’s season. He said Verlander would be evaluated after two weeks.

Lewis and Shed Long Jr. each had two hits and two RBIs for the Mariners, who had dropped their last 15 games against Houston.

Dan Altavilla (1-0) got the win. Taylor Williams yielded an RBI double to Michael Brantley before striking out Alex Bregman for his first career save.

Martín Maldonado drove in two runs for Houston. Chris Devenski (0-1) got the loss.

MARLINS 11, PHILLIES 6

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Miami scratched right-hander José Ureña from its victory at Philadelphia and delayed its postgame trip home amid concerns about a possible coronavirus outbreak within the team.

No reason was given for Ureña being scratched. Manager Don Mattingly said the Marlins decided to wait until Monday to leave Philadelphia, and they planned to arrive in Miami hours before their home opener against Baltimore. The trip might be made while multiple players remain in Philadelphia.

Brian Anderson and Miguel Rojas each hit a three-run homer, and Stephen Tarpley (1-0) got two outs for the win. Jesús Aguilar and Corey Dickerson also went deep.

Bryce Harper hit a three-run shot for Philadelphia, and Adam Haseley finished with four hits. Cole Irvin (0-1) got the loss.

TIGERS 3, REDS 2

CINCINNATI (AP) — C.J. Cron hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the ninth inning, and Detroit got to Cincinnati’s bullpen for the second straight day.

Miguel Cabrera led off with a 10-pitch walk before Cron connected against Michael Lorenzen (0-1), sending an opposite-field drive deep to right.

José Cisneros (1-0) pitched the eighth for the win. Joe Jiménez got Joey Votto to bounce into a game-ending double play for his second save in two days.

Cincinnati played without second baseman Mike Moustakas and center fielder Nick Senzel after each player was scratched. Moustakas was placed on the injured list because he wasn’t feeling well, according to manager David Bell. Senzel also reported feeling sick.

The moves came a day after Reds infielder Matt Davidson went on the injured list because he tested positive for the coronavirus.

ROCKIES 5, RANGERS 2

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Trevor Story homered twice for Colorado after Corey Kluber left his Texas debut with shoulder tightness.

Kluber, who was acquired in an offseason trade with Cleveland, lasted just one inning and 18 pitches in his first start in almost 15 months.

The Rangers said Kluber reported feeling the tightness in the first few pitches and it got worse as the inning progressed. The two-time Cy Young Award winner was examined by a team doctor and will be further evaluated Monday.

Texas slugger Joey Gallo hit the first home run in the club’s new $1.2 billion retractable roof stadium. Joe Palumbo (0-1), who replaced Kluber, got the loss.

Colorado’s Kyle Freeland (1-0) gave up two runs in six innings. Wade Davis pitched a perfect ninth for his second save.

INDIANS 9, ROYALS 2

CLEVELAND (AP) — More than a year since being stricken with leukemia, Carlos Carrasco struck out 10 in six-plus innings to help Cleveland take two of three in the delayed season-opening series.

Jose Ramírez hit a three-run homer left-handed in the fourth and added a solo shot from the right side in the sixth for the Indians, who finally put some solid swings together against Kansas City’s bullpen.

With his rotation currently thin due to pitchers testing positive for COVID-19, Royals manager Mike Matheny started reliever Ronald Bolaños (0-1), who gave up two runs in the first and took the loss.

Carrasco allowed two runs and five hits before he was lifted after allowing a leadoff double in the seventh. It was his first start since his recovery from chronic myeloid leukemia, a blood disorder that threatened his life.

ATHLETICS 6, ANGELS 4

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani failed to record an out in the two-way star’s return to the mound, allowing the first six Oakland batters to reach base.

The right-hander from Japan gave up Marcus Semien’s leadoff single and three straight walks before a mound visit and Mark Canha’s two-run single. Robbie Grossman singled in another run, and Angels manager Joe Maddon replaced Ohtani (0-1) with Matt Andriese down 4-0.

The Angels wasted a big day by Mike Trout, who hit a three-run homer in the third and a sacrifice fly in the fifth. David Fletcher wound up with four hits.

Yusmeiro Petit (1-0) worked out of a fifth-inning jam in relief of Mike Fiers for the win, and Liam Hendriks earned a four-out save.

TWINS 14, WHITE SOX 2

CHICAGO (AP) — Nelson Cruz homered twice and drove in seven runs, helping Kenta Maeda win his debut with Minnesota.

Jake Cave hit a grand slam in the first inning for Minnesota, which belted a major league-record 307 homers last season. Marwin Gonzalez added a solo shot in the ninth.

Maeda (1-0), a Japanese right-hander who was acquired in a February trade with the Dodgers, allowed two runs in five innings.

Cruz finished with four hits and scored four times. He went 7 for 13 with 10 RBIs and three home runs in the opening series.

White Sox right-hander Reynaldo López (0-1) recorded just two outs before leaving with shoulder tightness. Left fielder Eloy Jiménez also departed early because he was feeling light-headed.

Highly touted rookie Luis Robert hit his first career homer for Chicago.

YANKEES 3, NATIONALS 2

WASHINGTON (AP) — Gleyber Torres homered to help the Yankees rally for the victory.

Torres and Luke Voit connected in the seventh, tying it at 2. Torres then singled in Hicks in the eighth against Sean Doolittle (0-1).

Chad Green (1-0) working two innings for the win. Zack Britton got three outs for his first save.

The World Series champion Nationals dropped two of three in the opening series. They wasted a terrific performance by Patrick Corbin, who struck out eight in 6 1/3 innings.

PIRATES 5, CARDINALS 1

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Pittsburgh’s Derek Shelton staged baseball’s first major, socially distanced umpire argument, then got his first victory as a big league manager.

Colin Moran and Jose Osuna homered for the Pirates, and Mitch Keller (1-0) pitched five solid innings.

Shelton came out to argue with plate umpire Jordan Baker in the third inning after pitcher Derek Holland was ejected from the dugout for arguing balls and strikes. Baker let Shelton say his piece, and the first-year skipper was not ejected.

Cardinals starter Dakota Hudson (0-1) gave up four runs, including two homers, in 4 1/3 innings.

DIAMONDBACKS 4, PADRES 3

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Ketel Marte hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly off Kirby Yates, and Arizona rallied for four runs off San Diego’s vaunted bullpen after the Diamondbacks’ Torey Lovullo became the first manager to be ejected in the COVID-19 era.

San Diego’s Garrett Richards left with a 1-0 lead after holding Arizona to one hit in five innings, but the Diamondbacks, who struggled offensively in their first two games, came alive three innings after the masked Lovullo was ejected for arguing with plate umpire Mark Ripperger, who wasn’t wearing a cloth facemask.

Archie Bradley (1-0) got the win despite allowing Greg Garcia’s tying RBI single in the eighth.

Yates (0-1), who had a major league-high 41 saves last year, got two outs and was charged with two runs and two hits.

CUBS 9, BREWERS 1

CHICAGO (AP) — Tyler Chatwood pitched three-hit ball over six innings, Willson Contreras homered and the Cubs beat the Brewers to take two of three in their opening series.

Chatwood (1-0) struck out eight and walked two in an impressive start for a pitcher who struggled with his control his first two years in Chicago.

Ian Happ added a two-run drive in the eighth for Chicago, and Anthony Rizzo belted a solo shot one out later.

The Brewers finished with just three hits. Freddy Peralta (0-1) was charged with four runs and three hits in three-plus innings.

RAYS 6, BLUE JAYS 5, 10 INNINGS

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Kevin Kiermaier’s first hit of the season, a two-run triple into the right field corner in the 10th inning, gave Tampa Bay the win.

Tampa Bay’s defensive whiz delivered the second game-ending hit of his career after the Rays scored twice in the ninth to force extra innings, then fell behind again 5-4 when Blue Jays pinch-runner Santiago Espinal stole third base and scored on Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s sacrifice fly off Chaz Roe (1-0).

Ji-Man Choi connected for Tampa Bay, hitting the first right-handed homer of his career.

Shun Yamaguchi (0-1) got the loss. Bo Bichette had a two-run single for Toronto.

ORIOLES 7, RED SOX 4

BOSTON (AP) — Rio Ruiz and Anthony Santander each hit a two-run homer, powering Baltimore to the win.

José Iglesias added four hits for the Orioles, who took the final two games of the season-opening series. Wade LeBlanc (1-0) worked 5 2/3 innings, and Cole Sulser got six outs for the save.

Boston starter Ryan Weber (0-1) lasted only 3 2/3 innings, walking three and allowing six runs and six hits. Christian Vázquez and Kevin Pillar homered for the Red Sox.

BRAVES 14, METS 1

NEW YORK (AP) — Dansby Swanson tied his career high with five RBIs and Atlanta chased an erratic Rick Porcello during the third inning of his New York debut.

Atlanta had 17 hits, 11 for extra bases, and took two of three in the season-opening series after losing 1-0 on Friday and coming within a strike of defeat Saturday before rallying.

Porcello (0-1) allowed seven runs — six earned — and got just six outs.

Swanson, Marcell Ozuna and Austin Riley all went deep against Corey Oswalt. Ozzie Albies had three hits and three RBIs, including a two-run homer off Paul Sewald.

Jhouyls Chacín (1-0) threw 3 2/3 scoreless innings of relief in his first appearance for the Braves since 2016.

GIANTS 3, DODGERS 1

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mauricio Dubon singled home the go-ahead run in the sixth inning and San Francisco beat Los Angeles.

The Giants gained a split of the four-game series under new manager Gabe Kapler to open the shortened season after the Dodgers took the first two.

The Dodgers left the bases loaded in the eighth and had the potential tying run at the plate in the ninth when Trevor Gott struck out Max Muncy for his first save.

Donovan Solano added an RBI single for the Giants.

Cody Bellinger hit a run-scoring single for the Dodgers, his first RBI of the season.

Wandy Peralta (1-0) got the win with a scoreless inning of relief. Brusdar Graterol (0-1) took the loss.

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