Michael Busch christened Sutter Health Park as a major league stadium with a first-inning home run, Carson Kelly hit for the cycle, and the Chicago Cubs spoiled the Athletics’ debut at their new home in West Sacramento, Calif., with an 18-3 shellacking on Monday.
Kelly drove in five runs, Busch four, and Dansby Swanson and Kyle Tucker (both of whom also homered) three apiece for the Cubs. Chicago banged out 21 hits, including 11 for extra-bases. Kelly became just the 17th catcher in major league history to hit for the cycle – and the first since J.T. Realmuto in June of 2023.
Making his first start of the season, Ben Brown (1-1) benefitted from the big-time offensive support to get the win, limiting the A’s to three runs and six hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out five. Nico Hoerner (3-for-4), Suzuki (2-for-5) and Pete Crow-Armstrong (2-for-5) also collected multiple hits for the Cubs.
Jacob Wilson, playing one day after his 23rd birthday, belted his first major league home run for the A’s, a solo shot in the third. Brent Rooker and Miguel Andujar each had a pair of singles for the A’s, who collected 10 hits. Starter Joey Estes (0-1) was charged with six runs on nine hits and four walks with two strikeouts in four-plus innings.
Reds 14, Rangers 3
Elly De La Cruz hit two tape-measure home runs, doubled, singled and drove in a career-high seven runs to lead Cincinnati Reds to a rout of visiting Texas.
De La Cruz matched Javier Valentin on July 17, 2005 for the most runs driven in by a switch-hitter in a single game in club history. Matt McLain added his third homer of the season and drove in three runs for the Reds, who scored three runs in each of the first two innings to coast to the win.
Making his Cincinnati debut, right-hander Brady Singer (1-0) fired seven shutout innings of one-hit ball. He walked two and struck out eight. Texas starter Kumar Rocker (0-1) was charged with six runs and seven hits over three innings, striking out three, walking two and giving up two home runs.
White Sox 9, Twins 0
Martin Perez threw six no-hit innings, and Andrew Vaughn, Andrew Benintendi, and Michael A. Taylor each homered to lead Chicago to a victory over visiting Minnesota.
Perez (1-0) retired the first 11 batters he faced before walking Ryan Jeffers with two outs in the fourth. He gave way to rookie right-hander Mike Vasil in the top of the seventh after striking out nine, walking three, and hitting a batter. Perez threw 93 pitches, 54 for strikes.
Chris Paddack (0-1) suffered the loss, allowing nine earned runs, tying a career-high, on six hits over 3 1/3 innings. He walked four and struck out two.
Padres 7, Guardians 2
Gavin Sheets drove in four runs and Kyle Hart earned his first major league win as San Diego opened the season 5-0 for the first time in franchise history with a victory over visiting Cleveland.
Making his first major league appearance in five years, Hart (1-0) lasted five innings, allowing five hits and two runs with a walk and four strikeouts. Luis L. Ortiz (0-1) took the loss after allowing seven runs on nine hits in 4 2/3 innings. His biggest problem was Sheets, who touched him for two-run doubles in a four-run second and a three-run fifth.
Hart’s only mistakes were a pair of fat pitches over the middle early in the game. Jose Ramirez drilled one into the left field seats in the first for his first homer of the season, and Austin Hedges jacked a solo shot in the third for his first homer.
Dodgers 6, Braves 1
Teoscar Hernandez hit a two-run home run in the first inning, Tyler Glasnow went five scoreless and Los Angeles remained perfect on the season with a home victory over sluggish Atlanta.
Hernandez had two hits and three runs scored while taking over the third spot in the order from Freddie Freeman, who aggravated his surgically repaired right ankle while slipping in the shower and had the day off against his former team. Enrique Hernandez also hit a home run for Los Angeles.
Michael Conforto and Will Smith added RBI hits for Los Angeles, which improved to 6-0 on the season. The Braves not only dropped their fifth consecutive game to start the season, but they saw their scoreless streak reach 29 innings before breaking through in the eighth inning on a home run from Michael Harris II.
Royals 11, Brewers 1
In his first start in nearly two years, Kris Bubic (1-0) gave up three hits and struck out eight batters over six scoreless innings as Kansas City spoiled Milwaukee’s home opener.
Jonathan India was 3-for-5 with two RBIs, Salvador Perez was 2-for-4 with a solo homer, and the Royals scored six runs in the seventh inning to grab a 10-0 lead. Maikal Garcia was 1-for-3 with a two-run shot in the second.
With the winless Brewers’ rotation already depleted by injuries, Elvin Rodriguez (0-1) made a spot start in his debut for Milwaukee on his 27th birthday. He allowed four runs on six hits in four innings. Jackson Chourio had an RBI double in the seventh to plate the lone run for the Brewers.
Orioles 8, Red Sox 5
Cedric Mullins smashed a two-run double during Baltimore’s four-run first inning and drove in two more runs later in the game as the Orioles won their home opener by defeating Boston.
Tyler O’Neill, who played for Boston last season, racked up four hits and scored two runs in his first home game with the Orioles. Mullins, Ramon Urias, Ryan Mountcastle and Jackson Holliday all added two hits in Baltimore’s 15-hit attack. Serathony Dominguez (1-0), who was the second reliever for Baltimore, was the winning pitcher.
Jarren Duran drove in three runs and joined Romy Gonzalez, who doubled in a run in the ninth, and Rob Refsnyder with two hits for the Red Sox. Sean Newcomb (0-1), making his debut for the Red Sox, was tagged for four runs on eight hits and two walks in four innings.
Phillies 6, Rockies 1
Edmundo Sosa hit a go-ahead, two-run double with two outs in the seventh inning and Kyle Schwarber followed with a two-run homer as Philadelphia celebrated its home opener with a win over Colorado.
Max Kepler and Nick Castellanos added back-to-back homers in the eighth inning for the Phillies, who recorded seven of their 11 hits in the seventh and eighth innings. Kepler finished with three hits and Sosa doubled twice.
Hunter Goodman homered and Brenton Doyle had three hits from the leadoff spot for Colorado, which has lost three of its first four games this season.
Tigers 9, Mariners 6
Riley Greene homered in a six-run first inning as Detroit defeated host Seattle for its first victory of the season.
Dillon Dingler, Trey Sweeney and Javier Baez, the bottom three batters in Detroit’s lineup, each went 3-for-5 to contribute to an 18-hit attack. Tyler Holton (1-0) got the victory in relief. Brant Hurter was charged with two runs in three innings but got his first big-league save.
Mariners starter Emerson Hancock (0-1) allowed six runs on seven hits in just two-thirds of an inning. Seattle’s Randy Arozarena, Luke Raley and Cal Raleigh homered.
Mets 10, Marlins 4
Pete Alonso hit a grand slam to power a seven-run fifth inning for New York, which rolled to a 10-4 win over host Miami in the opener of a three-game series.
Alonso’s homer was one of four by the Mets, who collected 11 hits. Starling Marte went deep in the third inning and Luis Torrens hit a two-run shot to cap the fifth-inning outburst before Brandon Nimmo closed out the Mets’ scoring with a two-run homer in the sixth.
Mets starter David Peterson (1-0) allowed two runs on five hits, including solo homers by Otto Lopez (3-for-5, two RBIs) and Eric Wagaman (2-for-5, two RBIs). He gave up three walks while striking out nine. Cal Quantrill (0-1) gave up six runs on eight hits with one walk and two strikeouts over four-plus innings in his Miami debut.
Rays 6, Pirates 1
Jake Mangum went 4-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and two stolen bases in his second big-league game, propelling host Tampa Bay past Pittsburgh.
The Southeastern Conference’s all-time hits leader while playing at Mississippi State, Mangum set numerous career firsts — first hit, double, run, RBI and stolen base. In Tampa Bay’s 10-hit attack, Jonathan Aranda was 2-for-3 with a double, a run and a walk as the Rays won for the third time in four games.
Rays starter Drew Rasmussen (1-0) was dominant in his first start of the season, facing only 17 batters in five shutout innings. The right-hander allowed two hits and no walks while striking out four. Adam Frazier had an RBI single as one of Pittsburgh’s four hits. Endy Rodriguez doubled and scored, but Pittsburgh took its fourth loss in five games.
Giants 7, Astros 2
Jordan Hicks twirled six shutout innings, Wilmer Flores socked his third home run and visiting San Francisco defeated Houston Astros in the opener of a three-game interleague series.
Hicks (1-0), a Houston native, retired 14 consecutive batters during one stretch. He allowed one hit, issued two walks and recorded six strikeouts. Before Flores deposited a 2-1 slider from reliever Luis Contreras into the left field seats with two outs in the sixth for a three-run shot, the Giants utilized their speed to carve out a 2-0 lead off Houston right-hander Ronel Blanco (0-1).
Isaac Paredes ended the Giants’ shutout bid with a two-run double off Spencer Bivens in the eighth. Matt Chapman got those runs back for the Giants with a two-run single in the ninth.
Angels 5, Cardinals 4 (10 innings)
Mike Trout hit two sacrifice flies as visiting Los Angeles rallied past St. Louis in 10 innings.
Kyren Paris went 1-for-2 with two walks, two runs and an RBI for the Angels, who erased 2-0 and 3-1 deficits. Starter Tyler Anderson allowed three runs on six hits and two walks in five innings. He struck out four. Reid Detmers, Ryan Zeferjahn, Garrett McDaniels and Brock Burke (1-0) combined for four shutout innings. Rookie Ryan Johnson notched his first career save.
Lars Nootbaar was 2-for-3 with a homer and two runs for the Cardinals, who suffered their first loss after starting 3-0. Brendan Donovan also hit a homer. Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas allowed two runs on two hits and two walks in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out three. JoJo Romero, the sixth Cardinals pitcher, took the loss.
Blue Jays 5, Nationals 2
Bowden Francis did not allow a hit until the sixth inning, Andres Gimenez homered and Toronto defeated visiting Washington.
Gimenez was on base four times in the opener of a three-game series, adding a walk, a hit by pitch and a double. Francis (1-0) finished six innings, allowing two runs, two hits and three walks while striking out four.
CJ Abrams and James Wood hit solo homers for the Nationals, both in the sixth inning as Washington halved a 4-0 deficit.
–Field Level Media
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