Aaron Judge launched two home runs in his first game at Oracle Park, Marcus Stroman was effective into the eighth inning and the New York Yankees beat the San Francisco Giants 6-2 in the first of a three-game road series Friday night.
The Yankees trailed 1-0 when Anthony Volpe and Juan Soto hit back-to-back singles against Giants starter Jordan Hicks (4-2) in the third inning. Judge, who is a native of Northern California, followed with a three-run homer to left field.
New York broke the game opener later in the inning. Gleyber Torres singled and Anthony Rizzo doubled, and both scored on a passed ball by Patrick Bailey. Rizzo scored from second when reliever Taylor Rogers mishandled Bailey’s throw to the plate.
Hicks was charged with both of those runs, one of which was unearned. He allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings with four strikeouts and no walks. Stroman (5-2) gave up two runs and six hits in 7 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out two.
Phillies 4, Cardinals 2
Edmundo Sosa hit a two-run homer to lift host Philadelphia past St. Louis.
Phillies starter Aaron Nola (7-2) allowed three hits and two runs with six strikeouts and two walks in 6 1/3 innings. Jeff Hoffman struck out two batters in a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his fifth save.
Brandon Crawford hit a home run and single and Nolan Arenado also went deep for the Cardinals, who had won two straight. Crawford and Arenado accounted for all three of the Cardinals’ hits.
Marlins 8, Rangers 2
Jesus Sanchez smacked a three-run homer and doubled twice to lead host Miami to a victory over Texas in the opener of a three-game set.
Nick Gordon hit a two-run homer as part of a three-RBI night for the Marlins, who have won 10 of 15 games following a horrendous 11-32 start. Jake Burger had three hits and two runs and Otto Lopez also had three hits.
Josh Smith homered for Texas, which had a three-game winning streak halted and has dropped 13 of its past 18. Corey Seager doubled in the ninth to reach base in his 23rd consecutive game. But he failed to homer after going deep eight times over the previous eight games.
Guardians 7, Nationals 1
David Fry’s three-run homer broke open a tight game after Tanner Bibee allowed one run over 6 1/3 innings, and Cleveland won its eighth straight at home by beating Washington.
Bibee (4-1) struck out seven and held the Nationals to three hits. In the top of the seventh, Luis Garcia knocked his second of three singles and eventually scored on Eddie Rosario’s one-out double into the right field corner, which chased Bibee.
The Guardians led 2-1 entering their half of the seventh and added a run when Josh Naylor beat out a potential inning-ending double-play ball with the bases loaded. Fry followed with his eighth home run of the season.
Orioles 3, Rays 1
Jorge Mateo hit a tiebreaking, two-out double in the sixth inning as Baltimore defeated visiting Tampa Bay to open a three-game series.
Ryan Mountcastle, Anthony Santander and Mateo each had two hits for the Orioles, who have won seven of their past eight. The Rays, who scored on Ben Rortvedt’s RBI single, lost their fourth consecutive series opener and failed in a bid to return to .500.
Orioles starter Albert Suarez gave up one run on four hits in five innings. Cionel Perez (1-0) threw one shutout inning in relief to earn the win, and Craig Kimbrel worked the ninth for his 13th save.
Braves 4, Athletics 2
Atlanta right-hander Reynaldo Lopez, working on an extra day of rest, threw six strong innings in defeating visiting Oakland in the opener of a three-game series.
Lopez (3-2) allowed one run on four hits and two walks, and struck out a season-high eight. It was the sixth time he has allowed no more than one run this season. Pierce Johnson and Joe Jimenez pitched scoreless innings, and Raisel Iglesias allowed a run in the ninth and earned his 14th save.
Oakland starter JP Sears (4-4) when seven innings, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts. Left-hander Brady Basso, recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas earlier in the day, made his big-league debut in the eighth inning and fanned the first batter he faced, National League home run leader Marcell Ozuna.
Blue Jays 5, Pirates 3 (14 innings)
Davis Schneider hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the 14th inning and Toronto defeated visiting Pittsburgh.
Schneider hit his seventh homer of the season with two outs against Kyle Nicolas (0-1) on a blast to right to extend Toronto’s winning streak to four games. The Blue Jays opened a seven-game homestand with their first walk-off win of the season.
Each team tallied a run in the 11th and 12th innings to keep the game going. Toronto’s Genesis Cabrera (2-1) pitched 1 2/3 perfect innings to earn the win. Pittsburgh’s loss in the opener of the three-game series dropped them to 1-2 on their five-game road trip.
Padres 11, Royals 8
Jake Cronenworth’s go-ahead two-run single sparked a nine-run eighth inning as San Diego held off host Kansas City.
With the bases loaded, Cronenworth’s hit put the Padres ahead 4-3. He also delivered an RBI double as San Diego set a club record with 11 hits in the inning. Luis Arraez had four singles — two in the eighth — and scored three runs. It was his fifth four-hit game of the year, and his 82 hits lead the majors.
Padres starter Dylan Cease gave up three runs on five hits with five strikeouts and one walk in 5 1/3 innings. Robert Suarez got the final out for his 17th save. Bobby Witt Jr. went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and Nelson Velazquez hit a solo homer in a five-run ninth for the Royals, who have lost five of six.
Brewers 12, White Sox 5
Christian Yelich had five hits, including his 300th career double, and drove in five runs to pace host Milwaukee to a comeback victory over Chicago, which has lost a season-high nine games.
Yelich went 5-for-6 with two doubles and three singles. His second double, the 300th of his 12-year career, keyed a six-run seventh inning when the Brewers went in front 10-5. Yelich also singled home one of Milwaukee’s two runs in the eighth.
Tommy Pham and Paul DeJong each had two hits for the White Sox, who have lost 13 of their past 14 and 15 of 18.
Rockies 4, Dodgers 1
Ezequiel Tovar had a home run among his three hits, Dakota Hudson pitched into the eighth inning and Colorado earned a victory in the opener of a three-game road series against Los Angeles.
Kris Bryant and Brendan Rodgers each delivered an RBI during a three-run third as the Rockies held on to win for the fourth time in their past five games and for the 13th time in their last 20. The Rockies ended a seven-game road losing streak against the Dodgers, including an 0-6 mark in 2023.
Rookie Andy Pages had two hits for the Dodgers but also had an error in center field that allowed one of Colorado’s third-inning runs to score. Los Angeles right-hander Walker Buehler (1-3) gave up four runs (three earned) on six hits over six innings in his fifth start after a nearly two-year absence following elbow surgery.
Mariners 5, Angels 4
Ty France hit a tiebreaking home run in the bottom of the eighth inning as Seattle defeated visiting Los Angeles in the opener of a three-game series between the American League West rivals.
France went 3-for-3 and added a double and three RBIs for the division-leading Mariners, who won for the fifth time in their past six games. Angels pinch hitter Jo Adell hit a grand slam with two outs in seventh to tie the score at 4-4. Los Angeles has lost six of seven.
France’s homer, on a 2-2 changeup from Angels left-hander Matt Moore (1-2), hit the facade of the second deck in left field at T-Mobile Park and was measured at 417 feet. Ryne Stanek (3-0) got the victory and Andres Munoz worked the ninth for his 12th save. Munoz picked off Kevin Pillar at first base for the final out with Adell at the plate.
Twins 6, Astros 1
Pablo Lopez twirled seven strong innings while Trevor Larnach and Carlos Santana slugged home runs as visiting Minnesota maximized its five extra-base hits en route to a victory over Houston.
Lopez (5-5) snapped a three-start skid by matching his season high for innings pitched. He allowed one run on six hits and one walk while recording six strikeouts to earn his first victory since May 9.
The Twins won for the eighth time in 10 games by making Astros starter Ronel Blanco (5-1) work. Carlos Correa hit an RBI double before Alex Kirilloff delivered a sacrifice fly that supplied the Twins a 2-0 lead in the third. Larnach clubbed a two-run homer off Blanco with one out in the fifth.
Mets 10, Diamondbacks 9
Starling Marte had two hits and four RBIs for New York, which ended its worst May in more than three decades with a win over visiting Arizona in the second game of a four-game series.
Mark Vientos, who became New York’s starting third baseman when Brett Baty was demoted to Triple-A Syracuse earlier Friday, had three singles and two RBIs as the Mets won their final two games of the month to finish 9-19 in May — their worst record in May since the 1993 team went 9-18 on its way to finishing 59-103.
The Diamondbacks, who have lost five straight to fall a season-worst seven games under .500, almost came back from a 10-5 deficit in the ninth, when Joc Pederson hit a three-run home run and Christian Walker went deep on the next pitch. Reed Garrett then struck out Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to end the game.
Red Sox 7, Tigers 3
Ceddanne Rafaela recorded his first career multi-homer game and drove in five as host Boston pulled away from Detroit.
David Hamilton went 3-for-4 while Dominic Smith and Connor Wong each had two hits as the Red Sox finished with 12 hits. Boston starter Tanner Houck (5-5) gave up one run on three hits with six strikeouts and two walks in seven innings. He lowered his ERA to 1.85.
Riley Greene went 2-for-4 with a double, and Colt Keith hit a two-run home run for the Tigers.
Reds 5, Cubs 4
Santiago Espinal hit a pinch-hit, two-run home run and Elly De La Cruz threw out the tying run at the plate in the ninth to help visiting Cincinnati beat Chicago.
Reds relief pitcher Fernando Cruz (2-5) didn’t allow a hit in 1 1/3 innings and Alexis Diaz allowed one run on two hits in the ninth for his 11th save.
Ian Happ homered and finished the game with three RBIs for Chicago. Cubs reliever Drew Smyly (2-3) allowed two runs on one hit, walking three and striking out three.
–Field Level Media