Giancarlo Stanton hit a tie-breaking two-run home run with one out in the sixth inning, lifting the New York Yankees to a 4-2 victory over the visiting Boston Red Sox on Saturday afternoon.
Stanton homered for the second consecutive game when he hit a 437-foot drive into the left-field bleachers on an 0-1 slider off Boston right-hander Nick Pivetta (0-1).
Anthony Rizzo also hit a home run for the second straight game as the Yankees improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2018 — the first season under manager Aaron Boone.
Alex Verdugo hit a two-run homer for the Red Sox, who dropped to 0-2 for the second straight season.
Angels 2, Astros 0
Home runs by Jared Walsh and Mike Trout accounted for the only runs in a matchup of two pitchers returning from Tommy John surgery, lifting host Los Angeles past Houston.
Astros veteran Justin Verlander (0-1) took the loss in his first start since July 24, 2020, but his night was otherwise a success. He gave up one run and three hits and three walks in five innings, striking out seven.
However, the two-time Cy Young award winner was outpitched by another Tommy John project in Angels starter Noah Syndergaard (1-0), who missed all of the 2020 season and pitched just two innings at the end of last season. The former New York Mets star pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings and gave up just two hits.
Royals 1, Guardians 0 (10)
Adalberto Mondesi lined a single into center field to score Kyle Isbel with the winning run with none out in the 10th inning as Kansas City defeated visiting Cleveland.
Collin Snider (1-0), making his major league debut, was the winning pitcher. Emmanuel Clase (0-1) took to the loss without recording an out.
Isbel started as the runner on second in the bottom of the 10th. Hunter Dozier hit a line drive to right, too hard to score Isbel. But Mondesi delivered with his first hit of the season on the next pitch.
Mariners 4, Twins 3
Ty France went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs, including a go-ahead single in the ninth inning, to lead Seattle to a win over Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Tom Murphy homered and scored two runs and J.P. Crawford and Murphy each finished with two hits for the Mariners, who have won the first two games of the season-opening four-game series.
Byron Buxton and Luis Arraez, the latter celebrating his 25th birthday, homered for the Twins, who finished with just four hits. Tyler Duffey (0-1) took the loss, allowing two runs on three hits.
Cardinals 6, Pirates 2
Nolan Arenado went 4-for-4 with three doubles and three RBIs to drive St. Louis past Pittsburgh.
Paul DeJong hit a two-run homer and Corey Dickerson added an RBI single for the Cardinals.
Yoshi Tsutsugo drove in the Pirates’ runs with a sacrifice fly in the first inning and an RBI single in the third. Ke’Bryan Hayes was 2-for-4 with a walk and a run scored after recovering from forearm cramping that knocked him out of the opener in the first inning.
White Sox 5, Tigers 2
Dylan Cease continued to baffle Detroit hitters, Yasmani Grandal had a two-run homer and visiting Chicago downed Detroit.
Cease (1-0), who entered with an 8-0 record and 2.10 ERA in nine career starts against the Tigers, tossed five-plus innings and gave up one run on two hits while striking out eight. Aaron Bummer collected the save after allowing two baserunners.
Detroit starter Casey Mize (0-1) gave up four runs on seven hits in five-plus innings. Jeimer Candelario supplied an RBI double.
Braves 2, Reds 1
On the night when Atlanta received its 2021 World Series rings in a pregame ceremony, Kyle Wright made sure to mark the occasion in style.
The Atlanta right-hander limited visiting Cincinnati to two singles over six shutout innings and Marcell Ozuna doubled twice and singled to lead the Braves at the plate.
Reds starter Vladimir Gutierrez (0-1) allowed six hits and two runs over 4 1/3 innings, striking out four and walking two.
Cubs 9, Brewers 0
Justin Steele pitched five scoreless innings and Seiya Suzuki drove in three runs to lead Chicago to a win over visiting Milwaukee.
Ian Happ went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and three runs scored, while Rafael Ortega and Willson Contreras scored two runs apiece as the Cubs knocked off the Brewers for the second straight game.
Brandon Woodruff (0-1) took the loss for Milwaukee by allowing seven earned runs on six hits with two strikeouts and three walks in just 3 2/3 innings.
Marlins 2, Giants 1
Jesus Sanchez delivered a tiebreaking single after Pablo Lopez threw five strong innings, and visiting Miami spoiled Carlos Rodon’s San Francisco debut.
Rodon, a 13-game winner and first-time All-Star for the Chicago White Sox in 2021, allowed a run, three hits and struck out 12 with two walks over 89 pitches in five innings.
Lopez, who posted a 3.07 ERA in 20 starts last season for the Marlins, also yielded a run and three hits over five innings. He fanned six and walked two.
Padres 5, Diamondbacks 2
Eric Hosmer lined an eighth-inning single off the glove of second baseman Ketel Marte to drive in the go-ahead run and lead San Diego past Arizona in Phoenix.
The Padres scored a second run in the inning on a sacrifice fly, giving reliever Steven Wilson (1-0) the victory in his major league debut. Left-hander Taylor Rogers, whom the Padres acquired from Minnesota in a trade on Opening Day, collected his second save in as many nights.
Joe Musgrove started for the Padres on the first anniversary of throwing a no-hitter, the first in the team’s history. The right-hander pitched six innings and allowed two runs on five hits with no walks and eight strikeouts.
Rays 5, Orioles 3
Reserve catcher Francisco Mejia had a homer and three RBIs as Tampa Bay beat Baltimore in St. Petersburg, Fla., its 14th consecutive win over its American League East rival.
Mejia (2-for-4, two runs) singled in his club’s first run in the second inning then added the two-run shot in the following frame. Josh Lowe was 2-for-4 with two runs and his first career triple. The winless Orioles got a two-run homer from Ryan Mountcastle,
Lefty reliever Josh Fleming (1-0) pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the victory, and J.P. Feyereisen and Andrew Kittredge closed it out for the Rays, who are 26-2 in their past 28 meetings with Baltimore. Free agent acquisition Jordan Lyles (0-1) allowed five runs and seven hits over five innings for the Orioles.
Blue Jays 4, Rangers 3
Pinch hitter Santiago Espinal drove in the go-ahead run with a double in the sixth inning and host Toronto made it two straight over Texas to start their three-game series to open the season.
Bo Bichette hit a solo homer for the Blue Jays, and Jordan Romano pitched a perfect ninth to earn his second save of the season. He converted his 25th consecutive save opportunity dating to last season to match Tom Henke’s club record set in 1991.
Toronto’s Trevor Richards (1-0) pitched around a single and a walk in the sixth to pick up the win. Espinal, batting for Cavan Biggio, hit an RBI double in the bottom of the sixth against reliever Brett Martin (0-1), who took the loss.
Rockies 3, Dodgers 2
Connor Joe hit a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning, and Colorado beat Los Angeles in Denver.
Joe had two hits and two RBIs, and Ryan McMahon added two hits for Colorado. Carlos Estevez (1-0) got the win after retiring the only batter he faced. Rockies closer Daniel Bard struck out the side in the ninth to pick up the save.
Austin Barnes had two hits, including a home run, for the Dodgers, who beat the Rockies 5-3 on Friday in both teams’ season opener. Blake Treinen (0-1) took the loss after allowing Joe’s homer.
Mets 5, Nationals 0
Pete Alonso hit a grand slam for his first home run of the season, Chris Bassitt tossed six innings in his Mets debut and visiting New York shut out Washington.
Bassitt (1-0), acquired in a March trade with the Oakland Athletics, allowed three hits, walked one and struck out eight in his first career appearance against the Nationals. Travis Jankowski and Brandon Nimmo each had two hits and a walk for New York, which is 3-0 for the first time since they started 4-0 in 2012.
Juan Soto had two hits for the Nationals, who are off to their worst start since they lost the first seven games in 2009. Joan Adon (0-1), in his second major league start, gave up four runs on four hits and four walks in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out three.
Phillies 4, Athletics 2
Nick Castellanos, Rhys Hoskins and Jean Segura hit home runs and Kyle Gibson threw seven innings of two-hit ball as Philadelphia made it two straight over visiting Oakland.
Acquired last season at the trade deadline from the Texas Rangers, Gibson (1-0) struck out 10 and pitched with a lead in every inning after the first. The Phillies went up for good with two outs in the opening inning when Oakland starter Cole Irvin (0-1) hit Bryce Harper with two outs and Castellanos followed with a two-run homer to center field.
Irvin, who began his career with the Phillies, rebounded to match zeroes with Gibson until the last of the sixth, when Hoskins and Segura led off the inning with back-to-back solo shots in a span of three pitches. Irvin was pulled one batter after the Segura homer and charged with four runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings.
-Field Level Media
