Cubs rout Pirates 10-0 in home opener after Lester departs
CHICAGO (AP) — Kyle Schwarber hit a two-run homer and Chicago's beleaguered bullpen stepped up after Jon Lester departed with left hamstring tightness, leading the Cubs over the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-0 in their home opener on Monday.
Brad Brach, Brandon Kintzler, Randy Rosario and Pedro Strop combined for seven innings of four-hit ball after Lester was removed with two on and no outs in the third. Brach (1-0) pitched two innings for his first win with the Cubs.
Pittsburgh had won four in a row, but it hurt itself with four errors, including three by shortstop Kevin Newman. Jameson Taillon (0-2) was charged with six unearned runs and four hits in two innings.
BALTIMORE (AP) — Chris Davis went 0 for 5 to set a major league record for the longest hitless streak by a position player, extending his drought to 49 consecutive at-bats in Baltimore's rout of Oakland.
Davis hit three flyballs before striking out in the seventh and eighth innings, leaving him 0 for 28 this season and 0 for 49 since hitting a double early in a game Sept. 14. The previous longest drought by a non-pitcher was 46 at-bats, by Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Eugenio Vélez.
Jonathan Villar homered and had four RBIs, Trey Mancini went 3 for 3 with a homer, Cedric Mullins hit two triples and drove in three runs and rookie shortstop Richie Martin's first multiple-hit game included a triple and a pair of singles.
Still seeking his first victory with Oakland, Marco Estrada (0-1) gave up six runs in four innings.
Andrew Cashner (2-1) allowed three earned runs in 5 1/3 innings to help Baltimore snap a four-game losing streak.
HOUSTON (AP) — Jose Altuve hit a long home run and Carlos Correa's broken-bat RBI infield single in the eighth inning helped Houston rally past New York for its fourth straight victory.
Aaron Judge homered off Astros ace Justin Verlander as New York built a 3-1 lead in a matchup between AL powerhouses. Robinson Chirinos tied it with a two-run double in the seventh against Zack Britton.
The game was tied with one out in the eighth when Adam Ottavino (1-1) walked Alex Bregman before a single by Michael Brantley sent Bregman to third. Correa then shattered his bat on a grounder that dribbled down the first base line, allowing Bregman to score.
Ryan Pressly (1-0) extended his scoreless streak to 22 1/3 innings with a perfect eighth to get the win and Roberto Osuna pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his third save.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Mike Trout made a leaping catch to steal a potential homer from Christian Yelich, and Los Angeles beat Milwaukee for its fourth straight victory.
Tommy La Stella and Justin Bour each hit a two-run homer. Andrelton Simmons also went deep and Trevor Cahill (1-1) pitched six strong innings in his home debut for the Angels, who have rebounded from a 1-6 start to the season.
Trout's personal streak of four consecutive games with a homer ended when he went 0 for 2 with two walks, but the Angels superstar jumped high on the warning track to take away an extra-base hit from Yelich, his fellow MVP.
Mike Moustakas hit his 150th career homer in the Brewers' first game at Angel Stadium since June 16, 2010. Jhoulys Chacin (2-1) pitched three-hit ball into the seventh inning but took the loss.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Rhys Hoskins hit two solo homers, Odubel Herrera hit a two-run shot and Philadelphia beat Washington.
Kurt Suzuki and Brian Dozier went deep for the Nationals.
Bryce Harper was 0 for 3 with a walk in his third game against his former team but helped prevent a run with a perfect relay throw.
Phillies right-hander Vince Velasquez allowed two runs and four hits in five innings in his first start this season. Seranthony Dominguez (1-0) tossed a perfect sixth. Pat Neshek pitched out of trouble in the ninth for his first save.
Anibal Sanchez (0-1) gave up three runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings in his second start against Philadelphia in five days.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Edwin Encarnacion homered twice during an eight-run sixth inning, two of five homers for hot-hitting Seattle against Kansas City.
Daniel Vogelbach, Jay Bruce and Dylan Moore also connected for the Mariners. They have scored five or more runs in 11 of their first 12 games and have 32 homers in that span, the most by one team a dozen games into a season.
Encarnacion became the first Mariners player to go deep twice in an inning since Bret Boone and Mike Cameron both did it May 2, 2002, against the White Sox. Cameron tied a major league record with four homers in that game. The last player with a multihomer inning was Mark Trumbo of the Angels on April 15, 2016, at Texas.
It's the second time in his career Encarnacion has homered twice in one inning. He also accomplished the feat in July 2013 with Toronto. He's the fifth player to homer twice in an inning more than once, joining Alex Rodriguez, Jeff King, Andre Dawson and Willie McCovey, per STATS.
The Mariners improved to 10-2, the first team in the majors with double-digit victories.
Roenis Elias (1-0) pitched three hitless innings in relief, helping Seattle cover when Felix Hernandez left after one inning with an illness.
Homer Bailey (0-1) allowed seven runs in five-plus innings.
Whit Merrifield extended his hitting streak to 29 games dating to last season. Merrifield's streak is one shy of George Brett's club record for the Royals.
CARDINALS 4, DODGERS 3
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Marcell Ozuna homered to back a solid start by Miles Mikolas, and St. Louis ended Los Angeles' five-game winning streak.
Mikolas (1-1) allowed three runs on five hits in six innings, working around three hit batters in the first five innings. He had never hit more than one batter in a game.
For the Dodgers, the loss could be painful because of another groin injury to starting pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu, who left with two outs in the second inning.
St. Louis rallied with two runs in the seventh. Jose Martinez singled off Joe Kelly (1-2) to drive in Matt Carpenter, who had singled off Scott Alexander. Paul Goldschmidt later scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch by Kelly.
John Gant worked two scoreless innings in relief and Jordan Hicks pitched the ninth for his second save.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Pinch-hitter Franmil Reyes connected for a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning, and San Diego rallied from five down against Madison Bumgarner to beat San Francisco.
Fernando Tatis Jr. also hit a two-run homer and Wil Myers had a solo shot for the Padres.
Kevin Pillar hit his first career grand slam but Bumgarner and the Giants' bullpen couldn't hold a 5-0 lead.
San Francisco's Gerardo Parra went down in the seventh after being hit in the face by a 93 mph fastball from Brad Wieck. Parra was eventually able to walk off holding a towel to his face.
Bumgarner didn't allow a hit until Tatis' homer in the fifth. Tatis was twice hit by pitches from Bumgarner, including to start the seventh.
Eric Lauer (2-1) struck out eight over six innings. He allowed four hits and five runs. Kirby Yates finished for his sixth save.
Reyes Moronta (0-2) lost in relief.
DENVER (AP) — Ronald Acuna Jr. homered, Dansby Swanson drove in three runs and Atlanta held off Colorado for its first road win of the season.
Nick Markakis added three hits and two RBIs for the Braves, swept in their season-opening trip to Philadelphia.
Julio Teheran (1-1) allowed six runs and five hits — all in the fifth inning — but benefited from a Braves bullpen that delivered four scoreless frames. A.J. Minter got three outs for his first save.
Pinch-hitter Mark Reynolds and Trevor Story homered for the Rockies, who have lost eight of nine.
Kyle Freeland (1-2) gave up seven runs and seven hits in five innings for his first loss at Coors Field since June 10 against Arizona.
Teheran was staked to a 7-0 lead and held the Rockies hitless until Josh Fuentes singled to start the fifth.
CHICAGO (AP) — Blake Snell (2-1) struck out 11 over six innings, giving up one run and six hits as Tampa Bay improved to 8-3 and kept pace with its best start since 2010.
Avisail Garcia had two hits, including an RBI single in the second that made it 4-0. He also struck out three times against his former team. Tommy Pham scored two runs and extended his club-record on-base streak to 43 games. Hunter Wood, recalled from Triple-A Durham, threw three scoreless for his first big league save.
Carlos Rodón (1-2) gave up four runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings.
