Rockies' Bard gets 1st big league win in more than 7 seasons

Updated Jul. 26, 2020 12:47 a.m. ET

Associated Press

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Daniel Bard won in his first major league game in more than seven years, pitching 1 1-3 scoreless innings in relief for the Colorado Rockies in a 3-2 win over the Texas Rangers on Saturday.

The 35-year-old Bard (1-0), whose control troubles ran him out of baseball, got the Rockies out of a jam when he took over for starter Jon Gray with two on and two outs in the fifth. The right-hander worked around two more base runners in the sixth, getting Willie Calhoun on an inning-ending flyout to cap an 11-pitch at-bat.

Wade Davis worked the ninth for his first save since July 25, 2019. He gave up a run.

Colorado went ahead to stay with two runs in the fourth off Mike Minor (0-1), helped by two fielder’s choice plays and two errors. Bard threw 20 of 25 pitches for strikes Saturday, including his first one before Elvis Andrus flied out to end the fifth.

ANGELS 4, ATHLETICS 1

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Dylan Bundy pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning in his Angels debut and Justin Upton homered to lead Los Angeles past Oakland.

Bundy (1-0) allowed one run, three hits, no walks and hit one batter in 6 2/3 innings as part of an impressive first start after being acquired from Baltimore in a trade last December.

Upton hit a solo homer off Sean Manaea, and Andrelton Simmons and David Fletcher also had run-scoring hits for Los Angeles.

Bundy had seven strikeouts and needed only 90 pitches in an efficient performance. He was replaced after allowing a two-out double to Stephen Piscotty in the seventh. Hansel Robles pitched the ninth for his first save after taking the loss in the opener.

Robbie Grossman hit an RBI single off Keynan Middleton to get the A’s on the board.

ASTROS 7, MARINERS 2

HOUSTON (AP) — 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.

Martín Maldonado drove in two runs with a double in the fourth that extended the lead to 5-0.

Seattle starter Taijuan Walker (0-1) allowed seven hits and five runs in 3 1/3 innings. Mariners rookie Kyle Lewis homered for the second straight game.

Houston closer Roberto Osuna pitched a scoreless ninth.

BREWERS 8, CUBS 3

CHICAGO (AP) — Christian Yelich and Justin Smoak hit long home 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 the dirt near their benches. Umpires jumped in and calmed things down quickly before players could cross the foul lines.

Milwaukee’s bats broke loose against Yu Darvish and the Cubs bullpen. Smoak launched a towering solo shot off the right-field scoreboard in the fifth. Yelich drove a two-run blast high into Wrigley’s center-field batter’s eye in the sixth.

Milwaukee’s Brent Suter (1-0) pitched 2 2/3 innings, giving up a two-run homer to Kyle Schwarber.

Darvish (0-1) failed to follow up on a strong finish in 2019, allowing three runs on six hits in four innings.

CARDINALS 9, PIRATES 1

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Paul Goldschmidt homered, Adam Wainwright pitched six solid innings and St. Louis cruised past 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.

John Gant, Tyler Webb and Daniel Ponce de Leon combined for three scoreless innings of relief as the Cardinals pitchers held the Pirates to just three hits.

Wainwright’s 163rd career victory moved him into a tie with Bob Forsch for third-most wins in Cardinals history.

Pirates starter Trevor Williams (0-1) gave up three runs in 4 2/3 innings. He gave up just two runs in two starts all last season against the Cardinals.

WHITE SOX 10, TWINS 3

CHICAGO (AP) — Leury García homered from both sides of the plate, helping Dallas Keuchel and Chicago pound Minnesota.

Edwin Encarnación hit a two-run drive as the White Sox bounced back nicely after losing 10-5 to the reigning AL Central champions on Friday night. Eloy Jiménez and James McCann also went deep on the second day of the pandemic-delayed 60-game season.

Keuchel allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings in his White Sox debut after agreeing to a $55.5 million, three-year contract in December. The veteran left-hander threw 73 pitches, 47 for strikes.

Nelson Cruz connected for Minnesota, which hit a major league-record 307 homers last year. Randy Dobnak (0-1) pitched four effective innings in a spot start after the Twins decided to give Rich Hill a couple more days to prepare for his debut with the team. The White Sox scored nine runs against the Minnesota bullpen.

Minnesota chased Keuchel (1-0) in the sixth, and Cruz hit a three-run shot off Steve Cishek.

ORIOLES 7, RED SOX 2

BOSTON (AP) — Anthony Santander and Renato Núñez each drove in two runs and Baltimore held off Boston to even their season-opening series.

Hanser Alberto finished with three hits. Austin Hays and José Iglesias added two apiece.

Alex Cobb (1-0) was steady in his first start since April 2019 after missing most of last season with a hip injury that required surgery. After Boston pounded out 17 hits in its 13-2 win on Friday, Cobb mostly kept the Red Sox off balance, allowing just four hits and one run while striking out six in 5 1/3 innings of work.

Martin Pérez (0-1) lasted just five innings in his Red Sox debut, giving up five runs on six hits and walking two.

ROYALS 3, INDIANS 2, 10 INNINGS

CLEVELAND (AP) — Greg Holland struck out the top of Cleveland’s batting order to strand the tying run at second base, and Maikel Franco hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning for Kansas City in the third major league game decided by the debated extra-inning 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.

The Royals could be heard whooping it up as they poured out of the dugout, with Mike Matheny posting his first win as Kansas City’s manager.

Holland’s performance provided a fitting ending for the Royals, who got an excellent start from Brady Singer in his big league debut. Scott Barlow (1-0) struck out two in the ninth.

The Indians got just one hit after the third inning and finished with four. James Karinchak (0-1) took the loss.

Jorge Soler and Salvador Pérez hit back-to-back homers in the first for Kansas City.

TIGERS 6, REDS 4

CINCINNATI (AP) — 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 (0-1), who set a Reds record for relievers with 12 losses last year.

Cabrera salvaged his four-strikeout day with a two-run 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.

The two RBIs boosted Cabrera past Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. and into 25th place on the career RBI list with 1,696.

Reds starter Luis Castillo struck out 10, including Cabrera swinging all three times. The 2019 All-Star allowed six hits and one run in six innings.

All three runs permitted by Detroit starter Iván Nova came on homers. Joey Votto hit his second in two days, and Freddy Galvis had a two-run shot. Nova gave up just one other hit in five innings.

Buck Farmer (1-0) pitched a scoreless eighth and Joe Jiménez got his first save.

RAYS 4, BLUE JAYS 1

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- Brandon Lowe’s two-run triple snapped an eighth-inning tie and sent Tampa Bay over Toronto.

Lowe, a first-time AL All-Star in 2019, hit a drive into the gap in right-center field off reliever Sam Gaviglio (0-1). The right-hander later balked, allowing Lowe to score the third run of the inning.

Ji-Man Choi drove in Tampa Bay’s other run with a sixth-inning double off Matt Shoemaker, who made his first start for the Blue Jays since injuring his left knee in April 2019.

Nick Anderson (1-0), the third of four Rays pitchers who followed starter Ryan Yarbrough, retired four of five batters he faced to get the win. Oliver Drake worked a perfect ninth for the save.

Toronto’s Cavan Biggio, whose three-run homer was the big blow in the Blue Jays’ 6-4 win on opening day, was 2 for 3 with a walk, extending his on-base streak to 31 consecutive games — the longest active stretch in the majors.

GIANTS 5, DODGERS 4

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Gabe Kapler got his first win as the San Francisco manager as Wilmer Flores homered for a win over Los Angeles.

After getting outscored 17-2 in the first two games, the Giants took advantage of Dodgers starter Alex Wood’s struggles to avoid their first 0-3 start since 2012. They scored in each of the first four innings to snap a six-game skid against their NL West rivals.

The Giants lined up near the mound and bumped elbows to celebrate. Kapler and his socially distanced coaching staff did so with a bottle of wine in the clubhouse afterward.

Flores led off the third with a shot to the left-field pavilion.

Cody Baragar (1-0) got the win in his major league debut with two scoreless innings of relief.

PHILLIES 7, MARLINS 1

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Phil Gosselin homered twice, J.T. Realmuto added a three-run drive and Didi Gregorius went deep again to back Zach Wheeler in Philadelphia's victory over Miami.

Wheeler (1-0) tossed five-hit ball and struck out four over seven innings after signing a $118 million, five-year deal in free agency. The 30-year-old Wheeler, who spent his first seven seasons with the New York Mets, pitched only days after his wife gave birth to their son.

Gosselin connected off Alex Vesia (0-1) for a two-run 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 multi-homer game and a 7-1 lead.

Gregorius hit his second homer in two days when he gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead on a shot to right in the second off Caleb Smith, who lasted just three innings.

BRAVES 5, METS 3, 10 INNINGS

NEW YORK (AP) — Marcell Ozuna hit a tying homer off shaky closer Edwin Díaz with two outs in the ninth inning, Dansby Swanson scored automatic runner Adam Duvall with a leadoff single in the 10th and Atlanta beat New York.

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 free agent 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.

Mets reliever Hunter Strickland (0-1) was charged with an unearned run on Swanson’s RBI in Major League Baseball’s new extra-innings rule that gives teams a free baserunner on second from the 10th on. Strickland also gave up an RBI double to William Contreras — the first big league hit for the younger brother of Cubs catcher Willson Contreras.

NATIONALS 9, YANKEES 2

WASHINGTON (AP) — Victor Robles had three hits and four RBIs, including a homer, helping Washington beat New York without scratched starter Stephen Strasburg and despite five errors.

Asdrúbal Cabrera and Michael A. Taylor also homered for Washington, which lost 2019 World Series MVP Strasburg to a nerve issue in his pitching hand two days after putting slugger Juan Soto on the COVID-19 injured list because he tested positive for the illness.

Filling in for Strasburg, Erick Fedde allowed a pair of runs in four innings, including Giancarlo Stanton’s second homer in two games.

Tanner Rainey (1-0) got three outs for the win.

The teams combined for seven errors — two by Nationals shortstop Trea Turner on a single play, one fielding and one throwing.

PADRES 5, DIAMONDBACKS 1

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Manny Machado and Wil Myers homered to back Dinelson Lamet, who pitched brilliantly into the sixth inning of San Diego's victory over Arizona.

Lamet (1-0) held the Diamondbacks to one run and five hits while striking out eight and walking one.

Myers’ three-run homer in the fourth was the Padres’ first of the year and highlighted a rough second time through the order for Arizona left-hander Robbie Ray.

Ray held San Diego to just a single and a walk in the first three innings before quickly getting into trouble in the fourth. Tommy Pham drew a leadoff walk and stole second. Ty France singled with one out and Myers drove a 2-2 pitch into the seats in left field for a 3-1 lead.

Ray (0-1) allowed three runs and four hits, struck out seven and walked three. He threw 97 pitches in 3 2/3 innings.

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