Orioles’ Chris Davis ends 0-for-54 skid in win over Red Sox
BOSTON (AP) — Chris Davis ended his record slump at 0 for 54 and drew applause from rival fans at Fenway Park, getting three hits and driving in four runs as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox 9-5 on Saturday to end a four-game losing streak.
Davis walked to the plate in the first inning to what mostly appeared to be mock cheers when he was announced. But many of those quickly changed when he lined a bases-loaded, two-run single over the head of second baseman Dustin Pedroia, ending the longest hitless streak ever by a position player. Once he safely reached first, Davis tipped his cap to the Orioles dugout and many of his teammates raised their arms and hollered in support. He smiled and made a motion that he wanted to ball, which he got.
Davis, a former two-time major league home run champion, later hit two doubles. He had been 0 for 33 this season. The all-time record for a hitless streak by any player is an 0-for-85 drought by pitcher Bob Buhl in 1962-63.
Christian Vázquez hit a two-run homer and drove in a career-best four runs for the World Series champion Red Sox, who had won their last two games.
Andrew Cashner (3-1) gave up three runs on three hits in five-plus innings. Rick Porcello (0-3) pitched into the fifth.
ASTROS 3, MARINERS 1
SEATTLE (AP) — Jose Altuve homered for the fifth straight game, Justin Verlander (2-0) struck out eight of the first 10 batters he faced and finished with a season-high 11, and the Houston Astros won their eighth straight.
Altuve homered for the sixth time in the past five games with a solo shot off Seattle starter Felix Hernandez (1-1) in the fifth inning. Altuve is the first Astros hitter to homer in five straight games since Morgan Ensberg set a franchise record with six straight in 2006. Robinson Chirinos also homered as Houston handed Seattle consecutive losses for the first time this season.
Mitch Haniger hit a solo home run with one out in the fourth inning, extending Seattle's MLB-record streak of 17 games with a home run to begin a season. Seattle has 38 homers in 17 games, but was held to a season low in runs. It was just the third time Seattle was held to less than six runs.
NEW YORK (AP) — CC Sabathia began his 19th and final big league season with five stellar innings, pinch-hitter Luke Voit came through with a broken-bat RBI single in the seventh and the Yankees ended a four-game slide.
Sabathia allowed one hit and no other baserunners in his return from the injured list, and Domingo German (3-0) followed by striking out four in two overpowering innings.
José Rondón had Chicago's only hit, but the second baseman also booted a likely double-play grounder to set up Voit's hit. With the bases loaded, New York's beefy, breakout slugger split his bat in two but still muscled a single to center against Ryan Burr for a 1-0 lead. Kyle Higashioka followed with a sacrifice fly to the warning track in right, and Tyler Wade brought in another run with a safety squeeze. Aaron Judge narrowly homered into the short right field porch in the eighth, his fourth of the season.
White Sox starter Ivan Nova (0-2) dueled with Sabathia, pitching four-hit ball into the seventh.
CHICAGO (AP) — Zack Cozart broke out of a slump with three hits and Cody Allen wiggled out of a jam in the ninth inning, helping Los Angeles win for the seventh time in its last eight games.
Ty Buttrey (1-0) earned his first major league win in his 23rd appearance, and Tommy La Stella reached four times against his former team. Allen struck out Daniel Descalso with two runners on in the eighth, and then closed it out for his fourth save.
Cozart went 1 for 33 in his first 13 games this season. But he hit an RBI single in Los Angeles' three-run second and singled again in the fourth and eighth.
Playing without Mike Trout once again because of a groin injury, the Angels stopped a five-game road slide. Trout is receiving treatment in Southern California and could rejoin the team during its next series in Texas.
Kyle Hendricks (0-3) allowed three runs, two earned, and six hits in five innings in his third consecutive loss to begin the year.
TWINS 4, TIGERS 3
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Michael Pineda labored through six innings, Eddie Rosario drove in two runs and the Twins edged the Detroit Tigers. Byron Buxton and Jorge Polanco added RBI singles for Minnesota.
Christin Stewart homered for Detroit, which has lost three of four.
In his third start, and longest outing of the season, Pineda (2-0) allowed three earned runs and eight hits, striking out five on a 37-degree day. The big righty, who had Tommy John surgery in July 2017 and did not play in 2018, has 15 strikeouts in 15 innings this season. Trevor Hildenberger and Taylor Rogers each pitched a scoreless inning, and Blake Parker got the last three outs for his third save.
Detroit starter Tyson Ross (1-2) allowed four earned runs and five hits in six innings.
GIANTS 5, ROCKIES
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Madison Bumgarner pitched into the eighth inning to give a weary bullpen much needed rest and the Giants beat Colorado to hand the Rockies their eighth straight loss.
After outlasting the Rockies 3-2 in an 18-inning game that took over 5 ½ hours and ended shortly before 1 a.m., the Giants came back about 12 hours later and wrapped up this win in 2 hours, 48 minutes.
Bumgarner (1-2) allowed two runs on six hits. The big lefty struck out seven, walked one and didn't allow a runner past first base until the sixth when Garrett Hampson doubled in Charlie Blackmon. Sam Dyson pitched the ninth for his first save.
Recently acquired Kevin Pillar homered off Kyle Freeland (1-3), his fourth in six days for the Giants. Buster Posey got two hits and drove in his first run this season — the star catcher had zero RBIs in 40 at-bats over his first 12 games.
Mark Reynolds homered for the Rockies (3-12), who are off to their worst start in franchise history.
TORONTO (AP) — Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a two-run double in the seventh inning to help the Blue Jays overcome reigning AL Cy Young winner Blake Snell's no-hit bid in a win over Tampa Bay, snapping the Rays' five-game winning streak.
Snell didn't allow a hit until Luke Maile singled with one out in the sixth.
With two runners on base and one out in the seventh inning, Gurriel Jr. drove a pitch from reliever Chaz Roe (0-2) off the center-field wall, giving the Blue Jays their first lead of the series.
Reliever Thomas Pannone (1-2) got the victory after pitching a scoreless seventh, while starter Clay Buchholz earned a no decision in his Blue Jays' debut. Ken Giles got the last three outs for his fourth save.
NATIONALS 3, PIRATES 2
WASHINGTON (AP) — Adam Eaton and Howie Kendrick homered on consecutive pitches in the eighth inning and the Nationals rallied past the Pittsburgh Pirates.
After Richard Rodriguez (0-1) retired the first two batters in the eighth, Eaton tied it with his first home run of the season. Kendrick then connected for his second.
Anthony Rendon doubled to break a Nationals record with at least one-extra base hit in 10 straight games. He had shared the mark with Ryan Zimmerman.
Wander Suero (1-0) pitched a perfect eighth and Sean Doolittle escaped his own first-and-second, one-out jam for his first save.
Melky Cabrera hit his first home run of the season, tagging Anibal Sanchez to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead in the fifth.
MIAMI (AP) — Newcomer Austin Dean had four hits and five RBIs, both career highs, to help the Marlins break a five-game losing streak.
Dean hit his first major league homer and also drove in two runs with his first career triple to complete a 4-for-4 night. The performance came in the outfielder's second game since being recalled from Triple-A to make his season debut with the Marlins.
The Marlins won for only the fourth time this year. They broke out of a slump with a season-high 18 hits after being outscored 30-2 in their previous four games.
Miami homered three times off Zach Eflin (2-1) in the third inning, including Dean's homer and back-to-back shots by Brian Anderson and Neil Walker. Caleb Smith (1-0) needed 29 pitches to get through the first but settled in to pitch six scoreless innings. The only hit he allowed was a double by Andrew McCutchen in the third.
REDS 5, CARDINALS 2
MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) — Derek Dietrich hit a tiebreaking homer off Adam Wainwright in the seventh inning and added a two-run triple as Cincinnati Reds won its fourth straight game, beating St. Louis in the raucous Estadio de Beisbol de Monterrey.
The start of the two-game series marked the first time either team had played in the regular season in Mexico.
Wainwright hit an RBI single in the second off Tanner Roark to give the Cardinals, who had won five in a row, a 1-0 lead. Jesse Winker's one-out homer in the sixth was the Reds' first hit off Wainwright (1-1).
Kolten Wong hit a leadoff home run against Zach Duke to begin the Cardinals ninth. Raisel Iglesias relieved and, after St. Louis put two runners on base, retired Paul Goldschmidt and Paul DeJong for his second save. Jared Hughes (1-0) got two outs for the win.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Homer Bailey (1-1) pitched seven innings of two-hit ball and the Royals won their second straight after a 10-game skid.
Ian Kennedy pitched a perfect eighth and Willy Peralta followed in the ninth for his first save to complete the two-hitter. Ryan O'Hearn homered, and Whit Merrifield and Adalberto Mondesi each had an RBI single for the Royals.
Jefry Rodriguez (0-1) gave up two runs and five hits over 5 2/3 innings in his first start with Cleveland.
BRAVES 11, METS 7
ATLANTA (AP) — Freddie Freeman hit a go-ahead RBI single in the second inning, Ronald Acuña Jr. had his fifth straight multihit game and the Braves snapped the New York Mets' three-game winning streak.
Dansby Swanson drove in three runs, while Acuña, Nick Markakis and Johan Camargo each added two RBIs. Josh Donaldson went 2 for 3 and hit his first homer with the Braves in the seventh.
Touki Toussaint (1-0), recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett earlier in the day, earned the win with six strong innings of relief of starter Sean Newcomb, who last just 1 1/3 innings. Toussaint allowed four hits, one unearned run and two walks with seven strikeouts.
Reliever Corey Oswalt (0-1) allowed six hits and five runs in 3 2/3 innings after replacing starter Jason Vargas, who gave up two hits, four runs and three walks in one-third of an inning.
PADRES 5, DIAMONDBACKS 4
PHOENIX (AP) — Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a two-run homer and Franmil Reyes had a tiebreaking solo shot to lift San Diego to its fourth straight win.
Tatis' two-run homer, the rookie shortstop's fourth of the season, off Merrill Kelly gave the Padres a 4-0 lead in the third inning. Reyes' go-ahead shot in the seventh pushed the Padres to the win after Arizona tied it with four runs in the sixth.
Craig Stammen (2-0) got the final two outs of the sixth inning for the victory. Kirby Yates gave up a leadoff double to Ketel Marte in the ninth inning before striking out the next three for his major league-leading ninth save. Matt Andriese (2-1) took the loss.
BREWERS 4, DODGERS 1
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mike Moustakas and Orlando Arcia homered, and the Milwaukee Brewers sent the Dodgers to their sixth straight loss.
The Dodgers didn't have a hit after Alex Verdugo's leadoff single in the fifth inning. Brewers pitchers retired the final 14 batters. Milwaukee turned three double plays behind Zach Davies (2-0), who allowed one run and eight hits in seven innings, struck out six and walked none. Junior Guerra earned his first save.
Cody Bellinger hit his NL-leading ninth homer on his bobblehead night. The Dodgers' 33 homers top the NL.
Caleb Ferguson (1-1) started in a bullpen game for the Dodgers, and allowed one run and four hits in 2 2/3 innings.
