HOUSTON (AP) – – Ramon Laureano hit a two-run homer, rookie Seth Brown hit his first homer in the majors and the Oakland Athletics beat the Houston Stars 7-3 on Saturday to win the series.
Houston took the win in the first duel, Thursday night, to snatch five straight wins over the Athletics, whom it swept in a four-game series that marked the start of the campaign.
But the Oakland strike, harmless during a 1-7 start, woke up on Friday, in a 6-2 win, by connecting three volleys.
It continued shining at the end of the series, when accumulating 11 hits, its greater number in the campaign. The Athletics and Stars will have a break this Sunday.
There were two outs in the fifth act, when Mark Canha beat a single for Oakland. The Dominican Laureano continued with his firewood.
The ball bounced off the railroad tracks behind the left field, to put the board at 4-0.
Frankie Montas (1-1) made a good start, accepting 06:00 hits and a run in just over six innings, to cut a streak of three consecutive ups and downs, which dates back to September.
The loser was Mexican Jose Urquidy (0-1), after receiving seven hits and four runs in six innings, during which he received 7 strikeouts.
For Atlético, the Dominican Laureano 4-3 with two goals and two rebounds. Venezuelan Elvis Andrus 3-1.
For the Stars, the Venezuelan José Altuve 4-2 with one scored and one produced. The Puerto Ricans Carlos Corretja 4-1, Martín Maldonado 4-1. The Cubans Yordan Alvarez 4-1, Yuli Gurriel 3-1, Aledmys Diaz 3-1.
BOSTON 6, BALTIMORE 4
BALTIMORE (AP) – – Dominican Rafael Devers fired a homer and the Boston Red Sox scored two goals in the 10th inning thanks to an uncontrolled throw and a simple producer from Puerto Rican Christian Vázquez to impose Saturday 6- 4 in the Baltimore Orioles.
Boston extended its winning streak to five games.
Baltimore gardener Trey Mancini connected on his first flyby since returning from cancer surgery that sidelined him from the 2020 season. The quadrangular was Mancini’s first since Sept. 28, 2019.
The Orioles scored twice in the eighth inning to take a 4-3 lead with a play of choice by the Dominican Maikel Franco and a single producer of the Venezuelan Freddy Galvis against Adam Ottavino. Boston tied in the ninth with another selection play by Bobby Dalbec against Dominican Cesar Valdez, who had made his two previous saves.
Michael Chavis, promoted from the alternative training post hours earlier, entered as an emerging runner in the 10th chapter and scored with a low throw from Dillon Tate (0-1) that went to the bottom. Vázquez secured the win by producing a run with a single against Wade LeBlanc.
Matt Barnes (1-0) struck out two in the ninth and Matt Andriese got Boston’s first save in the campaign.
For the Orioles, the Dominicans Franco 3-1, one produced, and Pedro Severino 1-0. Venezuelan Freddy Galvis 5-1, a boost.
For the Red Sox, the Puerto Ricans Enrique Hernández 5-2 and Christian Vázquez 5-1, a tow. Mexican Alex Botxí 4-0, two scored. The Dominicans Devers 5-2, one scored, two rebounds, and Frenchy Be 1-1. Venezuelan Marwin González 5-2, one scored.
INDIAN 11, TIGERS 3
CLEVELAND (AP) – – Aaron Civale tolerated just three hits during a dominant seven-inning, two-thirds run, and the Cleveland Indians connected on a 5:00 home run to beat the Detroit Tigers 11-3 on Saturday.
One of the home runs produced three runs and was the work of Jordan Luplow, who came close to getting another identical home run. He had to settle for a two-run double to finish with five tackles, the highest figure in his career.
Civale (2-0), who doubled to the Tigers a week ago, as he debuted in the campaign, continued with a streak of good pitching from Cleveland. The right allowed two singles and faced as few batters as possible for six innings, before Robbie Grossman connected on a home run in the seventh.
Civale’s job included six strikes and not a single ticket. Manager Terry Francona ordered him relieved in the eighth inning, after making 90 pitches.
Dominican Jeimer Candelario of Detroit hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning.
The Dominican Franmil Reis got his third home run in two days. The Puerto Rican Roberto Pérez and the Venezuelan Andrés Giménez added two flights of two races.
Another Venezuelan, César Hernández, provided a solitary beating for Cleveland.
For the Tigers, Puerto Rican Willi Castro 4-0. The Dominicans Candelario 4-1 with one scored and two drives, Nomar Mazara 2-1. The Venezuelans Miguel Cabrera 3-0, Harold Castro 2-0, Víctor Reis 3-0.
For the Indians, the Venezuelans César Hernández of 5-3 with one scored and one push, Andrés Giménez of 3-1 with two scored and two produced. The Dominicans José Ramírez 4-0, Reyes 4-1 with a score and a tow. The Puerto Ricans Eddie Rosari 3-0, Roberto Pérez 1-1 with four scored and two driven.
MARLINS 3, METS 0
NEW YORK (AP) – – Jazz Chisholm Jr. beating a long home run against a dominant Jacob deGrom; Trevor Rogers beat the two-time Cy Young winner for the second time, and the Miami Marlins beat the New York Mets 3-0 on Saturday.
DeGrom equaled the best total of his career with 14 strikeouts in eight innings. Rogers struck out 10 in six and the two teams combined for 28 strikeouts.
Rogers (1-1), 23, beat deGrom for the second time in nine openings in the big ones. The left-hander defeated him for the first time on August 31 last year.
Rogers strolled in his third outing against the Mets, isolating three hits and two hits and reaching 11 batters in a row.
DeGrom (0-1) looked intractable until Chisholm dropped a 402-foot pipe on a 100.4 mph straight. That was the only thing he tolerated.
The right allowed 5:00 hits and gave no tickets and made 76 of his 95 throws for strikes.
For the Marlins, the Venezuelan Jesús Aguilar 4-1, a push. His compatriot Miguel Rojas 4-2, a push. The Dominican Starling Mart 4-2, one scored.
For the Mets, Puerto Rican Francisco Lindor 3-0. Dominican Jonathan Villar 3-0.
D-BACKS 8, RED 3
PHOENIX (AP) – – Riley Smith resolved 6 p.m. innings effectively in the first opener of her career and the Arizona Diamondbacks cooled the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday, doubling them 8-3.
Tim Locastro beat 4 unstoppable to support Smith’s impressive debut (1-0), which he tolerated just two unstoppable runs-eight against a Reds who had won six duels in a row.
The 26-year-old right-hander took the turn to rotate as a replacement for left-hander Caleb Smith, who was sent to the bullpen after passing predicates on his first outing.
Riley Smith knew how to dominate the hot lineup of Cincinnati. His only problem came in the second act, when the first four batsmen were hit by a ball, a double and a pair of singles. The hits, by Nick Senzel and Jonathan India, produced races.
GIANT 4, ROCKIES 3
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – – Brandon Crawford provided the decisive hit for the second day in a row, a three-run homer in the sixth inning, for the San Francisco Giants to beat the Colorado Rockies 4-3 on Saturday.
On Friday, Crawford had responded with a two-run double, with full bases in the seventh inning, and the Giants won 3-1 in the first duel in the series.
Ben Bowden (0-2) relieved Chi Chi González and handed out consecutive tickets to Alex Dickerson and emerging Venezuelan Wilmer Flores, before Crawford got his second homer in the campaign.
PARES 7, RANGERS 4
ARLINGTON, Texas, USA (AP) – – Trent Grisham connected on the home side’s lead in the seventh inning and the Parents defeated the Texas Rangers 7-4 on Saturday a day after San Diego got the first game without a hit nor career of its history.
A day after Joe Musgrove achieved the feat, the Parents won their seventh straight game against Texas. Eric Hosmer and Ha-Seong Kim also flew around San Diego.
Grisham put San Diego up 5-4 with a two-run home run against reliever Wes Benjamin (0-1). The central gardener, first on the batting shift, was born in Burleson, Texas, about 48 miles (30 miles) from Globe Life Field.
BRAVOS 5, FILIS 4
ATLANTA (AP) – – Freddie Freeman shook off a two-run home run and pushed the lead to a run in the seventh inning by the Atlanta Braves, who beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 on Saturday.
Atlanta, which opened the season with four straight losses, have recovered with a streak of four wins, including the two duels in this series against the Phillies, their rivals in the Eastern Division of the National League.
The Braves’ 0-4 start to the season included three defeats in Philadelphia.
Venezuelan Ehire Adrianza entered the duel as an emerging runner-up against Archie Bradley (0-1), to kick off the seventh inning. Another Venezuelan, Ronald Acuña Jr., hit a single that placed Adrianza in the anteroom.
Freeman hit a roll with an out. The Venezuelan leftist José Alvarado fildeo on the mound.
Alvarado looked second but, given that the box was playing forward with the aim of making some play on the plate, no one was covering that pad. The pitcher threw late to man and Adrianza scored without even a slip.
PIRATES 8, DOGS 2
PITTSBURGH (AP) – – Mitch Keller worked efficiently for five innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates took advantage of an early attack to hurt Zach Davies and defeat the Chicago Cubs 8-2 on Saturday .
Phil Evans hit his third home run of the campaign, to be the Pirates’ leader in this category. Pittsburgh thus cut a six-game losing streak.
Keller (1-1) bounced back from a poor debut in 2021, allowing just one run. The 25-year-old pitcher, who has had control issues since the preseason, received 7 strikeouts and issued a single ticket.