MLB roundup: Down to final strike, Braves stun Marlins

Apr 14, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Atlanta Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna (20) hits an RBI double against the Miami Marlins during the seventh inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

With the Atlanta Braves down to their final strike, Marcell Ozuna hit a three-run home run to give his club a stunning 9-7 win over the host Miami Marlins on Sunday.

Ozuna finished 3-for-5 and drove in four runs, the final three coming off Marlins closer Tanner Scott (0-3) for his seventh homer of the year. Braves closer Raisel Iglesias then retired all three Miami batters in the bottom of the ninth to pick up his third save of the year.

A.J. Minter (2-1) earned the win after striking out three batters in a scoreless bottom of the eighth inning.

After Ronald Acuna led off the ninth with a single, Scott retired the next two batters. But he walked Matt Olson on four pitches then gave up Ozuna’s game-winning homer an 0-2 count. Olson also recorded three hits.

Orioles 6, Brewers 4

Jackson Holliday picked up his first major league hit as part of a two-run seventh inning and Baltimore rallied past visiting Milwaukee.

Cedric Mullins, Ryan O’Hearn and Colton Cowser homered for the Orioles, who salvaged the finale and have not been swept in 96 series dating back to May 2022. Blake Perkins had three hits, including a homer, and William Contreras also homered for the Brewers.

Baltimore’s Jordan Westburg singled leading off the seventh against Abner Uribe (1-1). Holliday snapped an 0-for-13 stretch to begin his career, getting a single to right that sent Westburg to third. Gunnar Henderson singled, scoring Westburg to tie it 4-4 and Holliday scored the go-ahead run on Adley Rutschman’s double-play grounder.

Guardians 8, Yankees 7 (10 innings)

Andres Gimenez’s walk-off sacrifice fly capped a three-run 10th inning and sent Cleveland past visiting New York, allowing the Guardians to avoid a three-game sweep.

After Anthony Rizzo put New York up 7-5 with a two-run single in the top of the inning off Tyler Beede (1-0), the Yankees’ Caleb Ferguson (0-2) couldn’t hold the lead in the bottom of the frame.

Cleveland placement runner Bo Naylor scored on a fielder’s choice and brother Josh came home with the tying run when second baseman Gleyber Torres bobbled a grounder and threw late to the plate. Then with runners on first and third, Gimenez lined a fly ball to right field that was plenty long to score David Fry.

Apr 14, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Willy Adames (27) slides into second base while Baltimore Orioles second base Jackson Holliday (7) catches the ball during the seventh inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-USA TODAY Sports

Diamondbacks 5, Cardinals 0

Zac Gallen improved to 3-0 and Christian Walker went 3 for 4 with a run as Arizona blanked St. Louis in Phoenix.

Corbin Carroll had a two-RBI single in the Diamondbacks’ five-run fifth inning en route to winning two of the three games in the series. The hit came just after Andre Pallante relieved Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas (1-2), who was charged with five runs on four hits in 4 2/3 innings with three strikeouts and two walks.

Apr 14, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians second baseman Andres Gimenez (0) heads back to the dugout following the third out of the fifth inning against the New York Yankees at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

Gallen allowed four hits in six innings while striking out seven and walking two. Joe Mantiply relieved Gallen to start the seventh inning and did not allow a hit in 1 1/3 innings. He had a strikeout and a walk. Bryce Jarvis pitched a hitless 1 2/3 innings to close the game for the Diamondbacks.

Red Sox 5, Angels 4

Tyler O’Neill, Triston Casas and Masataka Yoshida all homered and Boston held on to beat visiting Los Angeles.

O’Neill and Connor Wong each had two hits while Yoshida drove in a pair of runs as the Red Sox managed their second straight win. Boston closer Kenley Jansen got into and out of trouble in the ninth to clinch the win for Brayan Bello (2-1), who struck out eight and allowed two runs on six hits and two walks in 5 1/3 innings.

Anthony Rendon and Brandon Drury each had two hits and an RBI for the Angels.

Pirates 9, Phillies 2

Jack Suwinski hit a go-ahead grand slam and Andrew McCutchen belted his 300th career home run to power visiting Pittsburgh past Philadelphia.

McCutchen clubbed his milestone homer in the top of the ninth, a two-run shot that closed the scoring. McCutchen finished with two hits and also stole home. Pirates starter Mitch Keller (2-1) went seven innings, giving up two runs on eight hits and striking out four without walking a batter.

Apr 8, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zac Gallen (23) pitches in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Trea Turner led the Phillies with three hits, including his first home run of the season. Zack Wheeler (0-3) pitched five-plus innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on five hits. He walked three and tied his season high with 10 strikeouts.

Apr 14, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox right fielder Tyler O’Neill (17) taggs home plate after hitting a home run against the Los Angeles Angels in the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Mets 2, Royals 1

Harrison Bader snapped a scoreless tie with an eighth-inning RBI single and four pitchers combined on a three-hitter for host New York, which beat Kansas City in the rubber game of a three-game interleague series.

Neither starter factored into the decision despite tossing six scoreless innings apiece. Mets rookie right-hander Jose Butto gave up two hits and walked one while striking out nine. Royals left-hander Cole Ragans allowed five hits and walked one with eight strikeouts, but Chris Stratton (1-1) gave up two runs on a hit and four walks in the eighth.

Brooks Raley (1-0) threw a 1-2-3 eighth for the Mets before Edwin Diaz notched his third save despite giving up a two-out homer to Vinnie Pasquantino.

Blue Jays 5, Rockies 0

Right-hander Jose Berrios continued his stellar start to the season as Toronto defeated visiting Colorado.

In his fourth start of the season, Berrios (3-0, 1.05 ERA) allowed only two hits, struck out seven, walked two and hit two batters in seven innings for the Blue Jays.

Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland (0-3) allowed four runs, seven hits and two walks while striking out three in five innings.

Tigers 4, Twins 3

Spencer Torkelson’s go-ahead single capped a four-run eighth as host Detroit rallied past Minnesota to split the four-game series.

Javier Baez hit his first homer of the season and Mark Canha supplied a two-run double earlier in the inning for the Tigers. Will Vest (1-0) picked up the win in relief, and Jason Foley survived a pair of two-out walks to close out the ninth for his fourth save.

Twins starter Bailey Ober tossed six scoreless innings. Griffin Jax (1-1), Minnesota’s third reliever, was charged with the final run and took the loss. Christian Vazquez homered and Ryan Jeffers drove in the other two runs for the Twins.

Rays 9, Giants 4

Amed Rosario and Rene Pinto swatted home runs off San Francisco starter Blake Snell to spoil his return to central Florida, leading Tampa Bay to a win in St. Petersburg, Fla.

A five-year member of the Rays which included his 2018 American League Cy Young-winning campaign, Snell (0-2) was battered for seven runs on six hits in four innings as his ERA rose to 12.86. He fanned four and walked two.

Tyler Alexander (1-0) tossed six innings of two-run ball behind opener Shawn Armstrong to win for the first time in his third outing with the Rays.

Reds 11, White Sox 4

Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Nick Martini belted two-run homers as Cincinnati completed a three-game sweep of host Chicago.

Jake Fraley reached base four times on two hits and two walks and scored three runs for the Reds, who outscored the White Sox 27-5 in their first-ever sweep of the White Sox in interleague play. Graham Ashcraft (2-1) allowed five hits and two runs — one earned — over 5 2/3 innings. He struck out eight and walked two.

The White Sox fell to 2-13 on the season, the worst 15-game start in their 124-year history. Chicago starter Michael Soroka (0-2) struggled with his control all day, issuing a career-high six walks. He gave up five runs on five hits with four strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.

Cubs 3, Mariners 2

Michael Busch homered for a fourth consecutive game and Javier Assad pitched 5 2/3 solid innings as Chicago defeated host Seattle.

Assad (2-0) gave up two runs on four hits, with one walk and six strikeouts. Seiya Suzuki went 2-for-4 with a double as the Cubs took two of three games in the interleague series.

Mariners ace Luis Castillo (0-4) put together his first quality start of the season, but it wasn’t quite enough. The right-hander went six innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits, with no walks and nine strikeouts. Jorge Polanco slugged a two-run homer for the Mariners.

Astros 8, Rangers 5

Jose Altuve smacked two home runs as part of a three-hit game as host Houston topped Texas in the rubber match of a three-game series.

Altuve drilled a pair of solo shots off Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi (1-1) for his 11th career multi-homer game. Altuve, who had his fourth three-hit game of the season, added a leadoff single in the seventh inning that kickstarted a three-run frame for the Astros. Altuve went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and clubbed his fourth and fifth homers in the first and third innings, respectively.

Marcus Semien belted a three-run home run with two outs in the ninth for the Rangers.

Athletics 7, Nationals 6

Abraham Toro had a two-run single to cap a six-run sixth inning to help host Oakland overcome a five-run deficit and win its series against Washington.

Oakland’s Lawrence Butler had an RBI single and joined JJ Bleday with three hits as the A’s won for the sixth time in eight games after losing seven of their first eight to start the season.

Washington’s Lane Thomas belted a solo homer and had two RBI singles. He was 1-for-17 with five strikeouts in his previous four games.

Padres 6, Dodgers 3

Jurickson Profar drilled a three-run double in the seventh inning Sunday and visiting San Diego beat Los Angeles to win two of three in their weekend series.

The score was tied at 3 when Xander Bogaerts walked, Fernando Tatis Jr. singled and Jake Cronenworth walked for the Padres to load the bases with no outs. After Manny Machado popped out, Profar ripped a high fastball from J.P. Feyereisen (0-1) off the top of the center-field wall to clear the bases.

Yuki Matsui (2-0) retired all four hitters he faced to pick up the win for San Diego, and Robert Suarez pitched the ninth to garner his fifth save in as many chances. Machado homered and finished with two hits and two runs, while Max Muncy belted a two-run homer for the Dodgers.

–Field Level Media