High-priced offseason acquisitions Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto hit their first home runs for Philadelphia and sparked the Phillies to an 8-6 win over the visiting Atlanta Braves on Saturday.
Mar 30, 2019; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Bryce Harper (3) hits a solo home run in the seventh inning against the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports
Realmuto ripped a two-run shot into the center field bleachers that put the Phillies ahead to stay in the fifth inning, and Harper hammered a 465-foot solo homer in the seventh. Maikel Franco was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and homered for the second straight game.
The winning pitcher was Adam Morgan (1-0), who retired the only batter he faced in the fifth. The losing pitcher was rookie Wes Parsons (0-1), who surrendered the homer to Realmuto.
Atlanta’s offense was paced by Freddie Freeman, who went 4-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs. Dansby Swanson and Charlie Culberson each hit two-run homers, their first of the year.
Dodgers 18, Diamondbacks 5
Cody Bellinger hit two home runs, and Joc Pederson reached base six times, while Kenta Maeda pitched 6 2/3 much-needed innings, as host Los Angeles shook off the effects of a 13-inning loss on Friday to defeat Arizona.
Pederson and Austin Barnes also hit home runs as the Dodgers scored in double digits for the second time in three games. Pederson and Bellinger each have three home runs in the first three games. Jarrod Dyson, Alex Avila, Adam Jones and David Peralta all hit home runs for the Diamondbacks.
Dodgers catcher Russell Martin pitched a scoreless inning, and Diamondbacks catcher John Ryan Murphy pitched the final two innings, giving up seven runs on eight hits. Maeda (1-0) allowed three runs and five hits with two walks and six strikeouts.
Mariners 6, Red Sox 5
Jay Bruce hit a three-run homer, and right-hander Mike Leake (1-0) pitched six strong innings to help host Seattle defeat Boston.
Trailing 6-2, the Red Sox scored three times in the ninth on errors — two throwing errors and one fielding error — on three consecutive plays by rookie third baseman Dylan Moore. With closer Hunter Strickland injured, Mariners right-hander Nick Rumbelow caught Xander Bogaerts looking to end the game and record his first career save.
Leake allowed two runs on seven hits, with two walks and seven strikeouts. He walked two and struck out seven.
Orioles 5, Yankees 3
Jesus Sucre tied a career high with three RBIs, Mike Wright recorded his first career save and Brandon Hyde picked up his first managerial win as Baltimore held on at Yankee Stadium.
Baltimore’s Jimmy Yacabonis (1-0) worked three innings, following “opener” Nick Karns. Yacabonis gave up one run and three hits with two walks and two strikeouts. James Paxton (0-1) gave up two runs (one earned) and four hits in 5 2/3 innings for the Yankees. He struck out five and walked one.
Troy Tulowitzki hit his first home run for New York in the bottom of the ninth, when the Yankees scored twice but fell short.
Mets 11, Nationals 8
J.D. Davis lined a two-run single with the bases loaded to snap a tie in the eighth, and Jeff McNeil had four hits and drove in two runs as New York won at Washington.
The Nationals scored four in the ninth, including a three-run double by Ryan Zimmerman with two outs, before Edwin Diaz entered the game and got the last out by retiring Kurt Suzuki for his second save of the season.
The winning pitcher was Justin Wilson (1-0), who pitched a scoreless bottom of the seventh. Trevor Rosenthal (0-1) gave up the hit to Davis and didn’t record an out, allowing four runs on three hits and a walk.
Rangers 8, Cubs 6
Texas slugger Joey Gallo crushed a go-ahead three-run homer 433 feet, and host Texas scored a combined five runs in the seventh and eighth innings come from behind and knock off Chicago.
Asdrubal Cabrera had three hits, including a home run, and drove in two runs for the Rangers. Kyle Schwarber had three hits including a home run and drove in two runs for the Cubs, and Willson Contreras also had three hits and two RBIs.
Reliever Shawn Kelly (1-0) got the win, pitching 1 1/3 scoreless innings, and Jose Leclerc picked up his first save. Cubs reliever Carl Edwards Jr. (0-1) didn’t retire a batter, allowing three runs on two hits and two walks.
Brewers 4, Cardinals 2
Christian Yelich set a franchise record by homering for the third consecutive game to open the season, and host Milwaukee held on to beat St. Louis.
Travis Shaw and Mike Moustakas also homered for Milwaukee. Yelich, the reigning National League Most Valuable Player, has three homers in his first 10 at-bats. Kolten Wong went 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI to lead St. Louis at the plate.
Brewers right-hander Brandon Woodruff (1-0) limited the Cardinals to two runs on six hits in five innings. Cardinals right-hander Dakota Hudson (0-1) drew the loss in his first career start. He surrendered four runs (three earned) on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings. He walked two and fanned six.
Rays 3, Astros 1
Tyler Glasnow, who went 0-5 with a 10.38 ERA during spring training, allowed one run and six hits over five innings, and host Tampa Bay defeated Houston.
Glasnow (1-0) gave up a solo home run to Alex Bregman in the first inning before the 6-foot-8 right-hander blanked Houston over the next four. Michael Perez had two hits, a run scored and an RBI in the No. 9 spot to lead the Tampa Bay offense.
Astros starter Collin McHugh (0-1) allowed two runs and three hits over five innings, striking out nine and walking one.
Giants 3, Padres 2
After scoring one run in the season’s first 23 innings, San Francisco scored three times in the top of the sixth to defeat host San Diego.
Former Padre Yangervis Solarte doubled in a run and Evan Longoria and Joe Panik singled in a run apiece, while Manuel Margot and Eric Hosmer had RBI doubles for the Padres in the bottom of the inning.
Giants starter Dereck Rodriguez (1-0) went five innings, allowing two runs on four hits. Padres starter Nick Margevicius also went five innings, allowing one run on three hits. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out five.
Athletics 4, Angels 2
Left-hander Brett Anderson gave host Oakland its third straight scoreless outing by a starter, and Mark Canha belted a two-run home run in beating Los Angeles.
Anderson allowed three hits and two walks while striking out four in six innings. Stephen Piscotty also drove in two runs for the Athletics.
Mike Trout and Andrelton Simmons drove in runs for the Angels. Starter Felix Pena gave up four runs on four hits with a walk and three strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings.
Indians 2, Twins 1
Greg Allen lofted a tie-breaking sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth inning as Cleveland edged host Minnesota.
Carlos Santana began the winning rally when he singled with one out against Blake Parker (0-1). Santana advanced to third on a pair of wild pitches before Hanley Ramirez walked. Santana then trotted home after Allen flew out to center on a 2-0 pitch.
Jon Edwards (1-0) retired both batters he faced in the eighth to earn his first major league win in his 41st career appearance. Brad Hand gave up a wind-blown leadoff double in the bottom of the ninth to Byron Buxton and loaded the bases via a pair of two-out walks before he closed out his first save.
Marlins 7, Rockies 3
Leadoff batter Miguel Rojas drove in three runs as host Miami defeated Colorado for its first win of the season.
Rojas and Martin Prado each had three hits for Miami. The Marlins, who totaled just five hits in losing their first two games of the season, had 16. Ian Desmond and David Dahl had RBIs for Colorado.
Pablo Lopez (1-0), a 22-year-old right-hander making his 11th career appearance, allowed five hits and three runs in 5 1/3 innings to earn the win. He struck out seven, walked none and also lined a key hit on offense.
Blue Jays 3, Tigers 0
Justin Smoak hit a two-run home run, starter Aaron Sanchez pitched five scoreless innings and host Toronto defeated Detroit.
Sanchez (1-0) allowed three hits and three walks while striking out six in five-plus innings. Ken Giles pitched around a ninth-inning single to earn his first save of the season.
The Blue Jays have won two in a row after the Tigers won on Opening Day on Thursday. All three games have been shutouts. Detroit starter Spencer Turnbull (0-1) allowed four hits, two walks and three runs with five strikeouts in five innings.
Royals 8, White Sox 6
Jorge Soler had two doubles among his three hits and drove in three runs, and right-hander Jakob Junis pitched into the sixth inning as host Kansas City defeated Chicago.
Junis (1-0) finished with six hits and three runs in 5 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out six. Ian Kennedy pitched the ninth for the first save of his career.
White Sox right-hander Reynaldo Lopez (0-1) gave up four runs in and six hits in four innings, with four walks and two strikeouts. Jose Abreu hit a three-run homer, and Yoan Moncada had a two-run shot for Chicago.
Reds-Pirates PPD
The game between host Cincinnati and Pittsburgh was postponed due to rain and will be made up as part of a day-night doubleheader on May 27.
Scheduled starters Sonny Gray of the Reds and fellow right-hander Trevor Williams of the Pirates are expected to be pushed back to Sunday’s finale.
—Field Level Media