Cardinals beat winless Marlins 3-1

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The winless Miami Marlins, who are off to the worst start in the 33-year history of the franchise, dropped their ninth consecutive game on Saturday, losing 3-1 to Steve Matz and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Iván Herrera and Brendan Donovan each had two hits for St. Louis. Jordan Walker contributed an RBI double.

Matz (2-0) surrendered four hits in five scoreless innings. Ryan Helsley pitched the ninth for his third save.

Miami’s Trevor Rogers (0-1) was charged with three runs, two earned, and five hits in five innings. He struck out three and walked three.

The 0-9 Marlins are the only winless team in baseball. The New York Mets, who dropped their first seven games, beat the Detroit Tigers 2-1 on Thursday for their first win.

Baltimore holds the big league record with 21 losses to start the 1988 season.

Miami has lost 10 consecutive games dating to last season. It has dropped 13 of its last 16 at Busch Stadium.

ATHLETICS 4, TIGERS 0

DETROIT (AP) — Brent Rooker homered, Paul Blackburn pitched six sparkling innings and Oakland earned their second win of the season, beating Detroit.

Zack Gelof walked and scored three times as Oakland ended a four-game losing streak.

Detroit only got two runners to second base in the first seven innings. The Tigers are off to a 6-2 start, but their lineup has been shaky so far.

Blackburn (1-0) continued his strong start to the season. The right-hander allowed three hits, struck out four and walked none.

Using a five-pitch repertoire, Blackburn has given up six hits and one walk in 13 scoreless innings this season.

Detroit’s Kenta Maeda (0-1) allowed three runs on two hits and four walks in 5 1/3 innings.

GUARDIANS 3, TWINS 1

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — David Fry hit a three-run homer and seven Cleveland pitchers combined on a two-hitter, helping them beat Minnesota.

On a day when they lost ace Shane Bieber to season-ending elbow surgery, the Guardians showcased their pitching depth while improving to 7-2 this season.

Carlos Carrasco worked three innings of one-run ball. The 37-year-old right-hander struck out six and walked three before he was pulled after 78 pitches.

Nick Sandlin (2-0), Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis, Scott Barlow, Tyler Beede and Emmanuel Clase combined to blank Minnesota over the final six innings. Clase worked the ninth for his fourth save.

Joe Ryan (1-1) struck out seven over six innings for Minnesota, but he paid dearly for a hanging sweeper that Fry deposited into the second deck in left field in the second.

PHILLIES 5, NATIONALS 2

WASHINGTON (AP) — J.T. Realmuto followed an intentional walk to Bryce Harper by driving a hanging curveball over the wall for a three-run homer, helping Philadelphia beat Washington.

Phillies starter Ranger Suárez (1-0) allowed two runs and four hits in six innings. José Alvarado, Philadelphia’s fourth pitcher, threw the ninth for his second save in two chances this season.

Realmuto, who singled and scored on Alec Bohm’s triple in the first, took advantage of a poor 0-2 pitch by Jake Irvin (0-1) to give the Phillies a 4-0 lead in the third inning. Trea Turner got things going with a two-out double, before two-time NL MVP Harper was put aboard.

As Realmuto circled the bases, Irvin bowed his head and put his hands on his hips. Irvin wound up going six innings, giving up four runs and five hits, along with just one of the Nationals’ three walks — a day after the team’s pitchers issued nine free passes.

REDS 9, METS 6

CINCINNATI (AP) — Spencer Steer hit a three-run homer during Cincinnati’s five-run eighth inning, helping them knock off the New York Mets.

Cincinnati trailed 5-4 before Elly De La Cruz singled home pinch-runner Bubba Thompson. Steer followed with a drive to left-center against Yohan Ramírez (0-1) for his third homer of the season.

The Reds sent 10 batters to the plate in the eighth. Ramírez threw 53 pitches in two innings.

The Mets used four relievers in Friday’s win, and they were without Edwin Díaz after the closer pitched each of the previous two days.

Omar Narváez had three hits and two RBIs for New York.

DODGERS 4, CUBS 1

CHICAGO (AP) — Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched out of two early jams in five scoreless innings for his first career major league victory, Max Muncy hit a two-run single and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs.

Shohei Ohtani had two hits and reached base three times to help the Dodgers improve to 8-3 with their fifth victory in six games.

There was a standing-room-only crowd to see the Cubs play Ohtani and the Dodgers on a cool, sunny, late afternoon game.

Cody Bellinger had two of Chicago’s seven hits against his former team as the Cubs had their five-game winning streak snapped.

PIRATES 5, ORIOLES 4, 11 INNINGS

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Oneil Cruz singled home the winning run in the 11th inning to give Pittsburgh a victory over Baltimore.

Cruz drove in automatic runner Henry Davis from second base. Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins temporarily kept the game tied when he made a diving catch of Ke’Bryan Hayes’ line drive, but Cruz followed with a single to right off Jonathan Heasley (0-1).

Josh Fleming (1-0) retired the side in order in the top of the 10th. Joey Bart homered in his first at-bat with the Pirates, and starter Bailey Falter pitched six shutout innings.

Both teams scored a run in the 10th inning. Adley Rutschman hit a sacrifice fly for Baltimore, and Edward Olivares drew a bases-loaded walk with none out for Pittsburgh. But the Pirates failed to push across another run in the 10th.

The Orioles trailed 3-0 after six innings but tied it 3-all in the ninth when Jordan Westburg scored on Mullins’ one-out grounder, beating first baseman Rowdy Tellez’s throw to the plate. That pinned closer David Bednar with his second blown save in three opportunities this season.

ROYALS 3, WHITE SOX 0

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Michael Wacha threw seven innings of two-hit ball and MJ Melendez launched a two-run homer as Kansas City Royals beat the slumping Chicago White Sox.

Wacha (1-0) struck out eight, walked one and allowed just one runner past first base. Royals pitchers have eight quality starts, most in the majors.

Melendez drove Chris Flexen’s first-pitch fastball to straightaway center field to snap a scoreless tie in the seventh. Maikel Garcia knocked in another run with an infield single as Kansas City batted around in the inning.

Flexen (0-2) permitted a pair of singles to start the first, then retired 12 straight. He gave up three runs on six hits and two walks in 6 1/3 innings, his longest outing since July 4, 2022.

Both starters worked quickly; the first five innings were played in 57 minutes.

Nick Anderson allowed one hit in the eighth and Chris Stratton completed the three-hitter for his first save since July 19 last year with St. Louis.

Maikel Garcia and Bobby Witt Jr. each had a pair of singles for Kansas City (5-4), which climbed above .500 for the first time since April 9, 2022.

MARINERS 5, BREWERS 3

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Jorge Polanco and Luis Urias homered, helping Bryce Miller and Seattle beat Milwaukee.

Miller (1-1) struck out seven in seven shutout innings. The right-hander allowed three hits and walked one, bouncing back nicely after he struggled in his first start of the season against the Red Sox.

Milwaukee scored three runs in the eighth on Jackson Chourio’s two-run homer and a pinch-hit sacrifice fly by Rhys Hoskins. But Trent Thornton escaped the jam when pinch-hitter Joey Ortiz bounced into a fielder’s choice.

Urias hit a leadoff homer in the ninth and Andrés Muñoz got three outs for his second save.

It was the second homer of the season for the 20-year-old Chourio. But the rookie outfielder also struck out twice, including the final out of the game.

BRAVES 9, DIAMONDBACKS 8

ATLANTA (AP) — Austin Riley had three hits, the last an eighth-inning single that drove in the go-ahead run, and Atlanta overcame a six-run, first-inning deficit to beat Arizona.

The Diamondbacks failed to hold a 6-0 lead after they blew a 5-2 advantage in Atlanta’s 6-5 win in 10 innings Friday night.

Jarred Kelenic, who had three hits, led off the eighth with a double off Luis Frias (0-1) before scoring on a single to right field by Ronald Acuña Jr. to tie it at 8. Acuña moved to second on right fielder Jake McCarthy’s throwing error and scored on Riley’s single to give Atlanta the lead.

Ketel Marte’s homer sparked the six-run first inning off Max Fried that added to a day of bad news for Atlanta’s starting pitchers.

Fried gave up eight runs, seven earned, on 10 hits and one walk in 4 1/3 innings.

RANGERS 7, ASTROS 2

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Marcus Semien hit a tiebreaking single, six Texas relievers limited Houston to three hits over 5 1/3 innings, and the Rangers overcame Corey Seager’s two-run error to beat the Astros.

Seager was one of five consecutive Rangers with hits off Houston closer Ryan Pressly as the World Series champs broke open a close game with a four-run eighth.

The Rangers beat the Astros at home for a second night in a row after losing all three games at Globe Life Field while still winning last year’s seven-game AL Championship Series between the Texas rivals.

The Astros, defending AL West champions with six division titles in the past seven years, dropped five games under .500 just nine games into the season.

Houston hasn’t been that far under .500 since June 2016, the year before the club’s current MLB-record run of seven consecutive ALCS appearances.

The Astros took a 2-1 lead in the third inning when Seager fumbled a routine two-out grounder by Yainer Diaz with the bases loaded and threw wide to first, allowing Alvarez and Kyle Tucker to score.

YANKEES 9, BLUE JAYS 8

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo homered, and the New York Yankees chased Kevin Gausman in the second inning of a victory over Toronto.

Judge and Stanton went deep in a three-run first against Gausman (0-1), and Rizzo added his first of the season in the fifth against Mitch White. Juan Soto had a pair of RBI singles as the Yankees opened a 9-2 lead by the sixth inning and Stanton had three hits after starting the season 3 for 24.

Luke Weaver (3-0) allowed three runs over two innings and became the major leagues’ first three-game winner despite totaling only 5 2/3 innings over three outings.

Before a loud crowd of 42,250 on a rare Saturday night game in the Bronx, New York boosted its record to 7-2 and improved to 32-4 when Judge and Stanton homer in the same game, including the postseason.

With Toronto trailing by seven runs, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered off Weaver leading off a three-run seventh. He pointed to a crowd that had booed him, took a hop near shortstop and put a finger to his lips when rounding third.

After the Blue Jays closed to 9-6, Clay Holmes got two outs for his fourth save, allowing Alejandro Kirk’s RBI grounder and pinch-hitter Cavan Biggio’s run-scoring single before striking out George Springer.

PADRES 4, GIANTS 0

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jurickson Profar hit an early grand slam and Michael King pitched seven sharp innings to lead San Diego to a victory over San Francisco.

Xander Bogaerts and Manny Machado singled in the first before Ha-Seong Kim walked to load the bases for Profar, whose drive landed just inside the right-field foul pole for his third career slam and first since April 10, 2022. It was San Diego’s first grand slam of the season.

King (2-0) supplied the fourth straight quality start for the Padres, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out four. Acquired from the New York Yankees in December as part of the trade package for star slugger Juan Soto, the right-hander matched the longest outing of his career.

Padres manager Mike Shildt visited the mound with two outs and two on in the seventh, but kept King in the game. He struck out Tom Murphy with a changeup, as his off-speed stuff was effective all night.

Keaton Winn (0-2) didn’t give up another hit after Profar’s grand slam. The 26-year-old rookie went six innings, allowing three hits and three walks.

RAYS 8, ROCKIES 6

DENVER (AP) — Yandy Díaz hit a go-ahead two-run single to cap a five-run eighth inning and Tampa Bay rallied to beat Colorado.

The Rays overcame home runs by Ryan McMahon, Michael Toglia and Brenton Doyle in winning on the road for the first time this season.

Rockies starter Ryan Feltner, bidding for his first win since missing most of last season after his skull was fractured when he was struck in the head by a comebacker, struck out a career-high 10 batters in six innings and left with a 6-1 lead.

But the Rays rallied against the Rockies’ bullpen. Ben Rortvedt hit a two-run double off Jake Bird in the seventh to pull the Rays to 6-3. Paredes, who had an RBI single in the first, then homered off Tyler Kinley to touch off the Rays’ rally in the eighth that also featured Amed Rosario’s tying RBI single and Diaz’s go-ahead two-run single off reliever Justin Lawrence that shot past first baseman Toglia into right field.

The Rays sent 10 men to the plate in the eighth against three relievers during a game in which the teams had to contend with wind gusting to 33 mph.