Kyle Tucker punctuated his second career multi-homer game with his second career grand slam as the Houston Astros matched a major league record en route to a 13-4 road victory over the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday.
Tucker hit the second of five second-inning home runs as Houston became the eighth team to club five homers in an inning. The Astros did their damage against Red Sox right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (1-2), the third pitcher to allow five home runs in an inning.
Yordan Alvarez, Jeremy Pena, Michael Brantley and Yuli Gurriel also went deep in Houston’s nine-run second.
Eovaldi, who had surrendered a league-leading nine homers through seven starts before Tuesday, allowed nine runs (six earned) on eight hits while recording just five outs.
White Sox 3, Royals 0 (Game 1)
Jose Abreu’s two-run double in the fifth inning helped Chicago defeat host Kansas City in the first game of a doubleheader. The Royals struck out 14 times and left 12 men on base.
Dylan Cease (4-1) earned the win, allowing no runs in 5 2/3 innings while walking two batters and striking out nine. Liam Hendriks picked up his 11th save.
Royals designated hitter Salvador Perez left the game in the seventh inning with a left thumb sprain.
Royals 2, White Sox 1 (Game 2)
Brady Singer fired seven scoreless innings as Kansas City defeated Chicago in a pitchers’ duel to earn a split of a day-night doubleheader.
Royals rookie catcher MJ Melendez recorded his first career home run in the sixth inning. He led the minor leagues with 41 home runs last season.
Singer (1-0), recalled from Triple-A Omaha after the day game, finished with a career-high nine strikeouts while allowing four hits and no walks. White Sox starter Davis Martin (0-1), making his major league debut, allowed just one run on five hits in five innings.
Mets 3, Cardinals 1 (Game 1)
Five Mets pitchers held the visiting Cardinals to six hits and one run in the opener of a doubleheader.
Jake Reed (1-0), making his season debut, earned his first big league victory by walking two and striking out two over two hitless innings of relief. Edwin Diaz registered his ninth save, striking out three batters in the ninth inning.
Jeff McNeil and Dominic Smith had RBI doubles in the third inning for the Mets. Eduardo Escobar also had two hits, working his way out of a 2-for-31 slump over his previous eight games.
Cardinals 4, Mets 3
Tyler O’Neill salvaged a rough doubleheader by beating out the go-ahead infield single with two outs in the top of the ninth inning for visiting St. Louis, which beat New York to earn a split of the twin bill.
Ryan Helsley (2-0) got the win despite allowing the tying run in the eighth, and Giovanny Gallegos pitched out of a two-on, one-out jam in the ninth for his seventh save. O’Neill struck out three times in each game of the doubleheader before his key hit.
Mark Canha (first inning) and Eduardo Escobar (fourth inning) hit solo homers for the Mets.
Dodgers 7, Diamondbacks 6 (Game 1)
Mookie Betts, Trea Turner and Justin Turner all hit home runs in a five-run sixth inning as the Dodgers rallied over the visiting Diamondbacks in the opener of a day-night doubleheader.
Betts had three hits to give him at least one hit in 17 of his last 20 games. Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts was ejected in the ninth for arguing a non-call on a check-swing appeal.
Justin Bruihl (1-1) picked up the win by allowing just one hit and no walks in 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Christian Walker and Alek Thomas each hit home runs for the Diamondbacks.
Dodgers 12, Diamondbacks 3 (Game 2)
Edwin Rios hit a three-run home run in a six-run second inning and Los Angeles earned a doubleheader sweep of visiting Arizona in the nightcap.
Freddie Freeman had three hits and three RBIs while Trea Turner had two hits and drove in four as the Dodgers won their fourth consecutive game following a four-game losing streak.
Jordan Luplow and Christian Walker hit first-inning home runs in Game 2 for the Diamondbacks, who have taken a multiple-run lead in all three games of the four-game series but have lost each one. Walker has homered in all three games of the series, giving him 14 long balls in 55 career games against Los Angeles.
Cubs 7, Pirates 0
Jonathan Villar homered and had two RBIs and Keegan Thompson threw five strong innings as host Chicago beat Pittsburgh for its fourth straight win.
Seiya Suzuki’s two-run double highlighted a five-run fourth and Christopher Morel homered during his first career at-bat in the eighth for the Cubs, who rolled to a 9-0 win over Pittsburgh on Monday.
Thompson (3-0) yielded four hits but no walks while striking out five to help Chicago post consecutive shutouts for the first time since May 2019. Pittsburgh’s JT Brubaker (0-4) lasted 5 2/3 innings, allowing six runs, four earned.
Rays 8, Tigers 1
All three Tampa Bay outfielders homered and had two RBIs, Shane McClanahan crafted seven strong innings and the Rays toppled Detroit in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Kevin Kiermaier went 3-for-4 and drove in lone runs in the second and fourth innings with a long ball and a single, respectively, as the Rays pulled out to a 6-1 lead after five frames. Tampa Bay’s Brett Phillips and Randy Arozarena hit solo blasts.
McClanahan (3-2) yielded four hits, a run and no walks while striking out seven. Jeimer Candelario homered and Robbie Grossman had two hits, but the Tigers saw their season-best, four-game winning streak end.
Braves 3, Brewers 0
Tucker Davidson pitched five scoreless innings in his first start of the season and Marcell Ozuna ripped a two-run homer to lead visiting Atlanta to a victory over Milwaukee.
Davidson (1-0), recalled earlier in the day from Triple-A Gwinnett, allowed three hits in five innings, walking three and striking out three. Atlanta scored an unearned run in the fifth and Ozuna made it 3-0 with two outs in the eighth with his sixth homer.
Brewers starter Adrian Houser (3-4) allowed just one unearned run on four hits in six innings, striking out six and walking two. Milwaukee has scored just one run in the first two games of the series but managed to win the opener 1-0 on a run-scoring wild pitch.
Yankees 5, Orioles 4
Aaron Judge went 4-for-5 with two home runs and drove in three runs to lead New York over host Baltimore.
With the game tied 3-3 in the sixth, the Yankees took the lead when Gleyber Torres scored on DJ LeMahieu’s groundout to shortstop. The Yankees extended their edge to 5-3 in the seventh when Josh Donaldson, who had doubled, scored on an error by shortstop Ramon Urias.
Jameson Taillon (4-1) picked up the win by allowing three runs on six hits with two strikeouts and a walk over five-plus innings. Michael King struck out six of the nine batters he faced while holding the Orioles scoreless for the next three innings.
Blue Jays 3, Mariners 0
Jose Berrios pitched seven-plus scoreless innings, George Springer hit a three-run bloop triple and Toronto defeated visiting Seattle.
The Blue Jays have taken the first two games of the three-game series to end a streak of four straight losing series. Berrios (3-2) allowed six hits and two walks while striking out four.
The Mariners are 2-3 halfway through a 10-game road trip. They were shut out for the sixth time this season. Seattle starter Logan Gilbert (4-2) allowed three runs, six hits and two walks in seven innings. He matched his career best with nine strikeouts.
Padres 3, Phillies 0
Trent Grisham hit an RBI double, Mike Clevinger tossed five scoreless innings and San Diego defeated host Philadelphia.
Robinson Cano added two hits for the Padres. Clevinger (1-0) gave up just one hit to go along with five strikeouts and no walks. Taylor Rogers threw a scoreless ninth inning for his 14th save in 15 opportunities.
The Phillies managed only five hits, two of them from Nick Castellanos, who filled in for Bryce Harper at DH. Harper was held out of the lineup after receiving an injection in his right elbow before the game.
Rangers 10, Angels 5
Nathaniel Lowe delivered a go-ahead, RBI single and Eli White hit a two-run single and scored on a three-base error to punctuate a seven-run eighth inning that rallied Texas past Los Angeles in Arlington, Texas.
Corey Seager and Kole Calhoun homered for Texas. Dennis Santana (1-1) picked up the win after throwing one scoreless inning.
Mike Trout (3-for-4), Taylor Ward and Anthony Rendon homered for the Angels. Rendon drove in three runs.
Reds 5, Guardians 4 (10 innings)
Cincinnati pushed across the winning run on a bases-loaded walk to Mike Moustakas to defeat host Cleveland in 10 innings.
After Cleveland tied the game in the bottom of the ninth on a two-run homer from Owen Miller, Guardians reliever Nick Sandlin (3-2) retired the first Reds batter on a ground ball, but walked the next three batters in the 10th. Moustakas’ free pass drove in ghost runner Matt Reynolds for the go-ahead run.
The win went to Reds reliever Art Warren (2-1), who blew a save opportunity in the ninth. The lost lead wasted a strong effort by 28-year-old Reds rookie Connor Overton, who gave up two runs in 7 2/3 innings.
Marlins 5, Nationals 1
Six Miami pitchers combined on a seven-hitter and Miguel Rojas and Jesus Sanchez homered as the Marlins beat visiting Washington.
Marlins starter Cody Poteet threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and issuing one walk. He struck out four. Anthony Bender (1-3), Steven Okert, Anthony Bass, Tanner Scott and Cole Sulser followed in relief.
Nationals starter Joan Adon (1-7) gave up one run on five hits with no walks and two strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings. The Marlins have won back-to-back games for the first time this month, while the Nationals have lost seven of their past nine games.
Giants 10, Rockies 7
Tommy La Stella hit the second pitch of the game for a home run, Mike Yastrzemski and Darin Ruf combined for five hits, five runs and five RBIs, and San Francisco made it two straight against Colorado in Denver.
Alex Cobb (3-1) allowed seven runs in 5 1/3 innings but was staked to a big enough lead to beat the Rockies for a second straight start. San Francisco earned a fifth consecutive win over Colorado in the past nine days.
Randal Grichuk had a three-run home run during a five-run sixth for the Rockies, who took their eighth loss in the past nine games.
Athletics 5, Twins 2
Kevin Smith belted a two-run homer and Sean Murphy had a two-run single as Oakland snapped a three-game skid with a win over visiting Minnesota.
Reliever Zach Jackson (1-1) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for his first career victory. Dany Jimenez recorded the final five outs for his seventh save. Oakland, which entered the game batting .199 on the season, outhit Minnesota 11-7 and broke a 2-2 tie with three runs in the seventh against Josh Winder (2-2).
Gary Sanchez and Royce Lewis homered for the Twins, who had won their first four meetings against Oakland this season. Minnesota starter Dylan Bundy pitched three scoreless innings in his return from the COVID-19 injured list.
–Field Level Media