MLB roundup: Ron Gardenhire gets first win as Tigers’ manager

Ron Gardenhire’s first win with the Detroit Tigers came courtesy of a couple other grizzled veterans.

Francisco Liriano pitched into the seventh inning in his Detroit debut and Victor Martinez drove in three runs to give the Tigers a 6-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals on a chilly Monday in Detroit.

Gardenhire won 1,068 games as Minnesota’s manager from 2002-14. This is his first year at the helm in Detroit.

The temperature was in the mid-30s at Comerica Park for a matchup between the last two winless teams in the American League.

Liriano (1-0) allowed a run and four hits in 6 2/3 innings. The Tigers scored four runs in the fifth, with Martinez delivering a two-run single off Jason Hammel (0-1).

Pirates 5, Twins 4: In Pittsburgh, Colin Moran hit a first-inning grand slam in his debut at PNC Park, Jameson Taillon tied a career high with nine strikeouts and Pittsburgh held on for the win in its home opener.

Moran, part of a trade that sent Gerrit Cole to Houston in January, sent a full-count fastball from Lance Lynn into the seats above the Clemente Wall in right field to stake the Pirates to an early lead they nursed to just their third 4-0 start in 35 years.

Taillon (1-0) allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings. George Kontos worked a perfect ninth for his second career save.

Brian Dozier homered for the second straight day for the Twins. Lynn (0-1) lasted just four innings in his first game with Minnesota since signing a one-year deal last month.

Cardinals 8, Brewers 4: In Milwaukee, pitcher Miles Mikolas hit a home run and got the win in his return from a three-year stint in Japan, and the Cardinals spoiled the Brewers’ home opener.

St. Louis shortstop Paul DeJong connected for the second straight game, hitting his third homer this season. Milwaukee had opened the season with a three-game sweep at San Diego.

Mikolas (1-0) gave up four runs in 5 2/3 innings in his first big league start since Aug. 25, 2014, when he pitched eight innings for Texas in a 2-0 win over Seattle. He also got his first major league hit in the fifth – a two-run homer off Zach Davies (0-1) that broke a 2-2 tie.

Eric Thames, Lorenzo Cain and Manny Pina homered for Milwaukee.

Reds 1, Cubs 0: In Cincinnati, rookie Tyler Mahle pitched one-hit ball for six innings, Raisel Iglesias struck out Anthony Rizzo with the bases loaded to end the eighth, and the Reds edged the Cubs for their first win of the season.

Eugenio Suarez tripled in the fourth and scored on Adam Duvall’s groundout for the game’s only run.

Cincinnati was swept at home by Washington, falling to 0-3 for the first time since 2003. It also trailed in all 27 innings – the Nationals scored in the first inning each time.

Mahle (1-0) earned the victory in only his fifth major league start, outpitching Tyler Chatwood (0-1) in his Cubs debut. Iglesias got four outs for the save.

Chicago has been blanked in back-to-back games for the first time since last May 26-27, when the Dodgers beat the Cubs 4-0 and 5-0.

Astros 6, Orioles 1: In Houston, Charlie Morton pitched six scoreless innings, Marwin Gonzalez homered and Houston unveiled its World Series banner before defeating Baltimore in its home opener.

Morton (1-0) allowed three hits and struck out six. The right-hander picked up where he left off after getting the final 12 outs in Game 7 against the Dodgers to help secure Houston’s first championship.

Brad Peacock pitched a perfect seventh and Will Harris allowed one hit in the eighth before Collin McHugh took over. The starter-turned-reliever allowed a homer to Trey Mancini and a double to Colby Rasmus before retiring the last three batters.

Baltimore has dropped three straight after winning its opener. Orioles starter Chris Tillman (0-1) was tagged for seven hits and four runs in four-plus innings.

Red Sox 7, Marlins 3: In Miami, Brian Johnson gave the Red Sox their fifth solid start in five games, allowing one run in six innings.

All five Boston starters have allowed less than two runs, a franchise first to begin a season.

Hanley Ramirez and Mookie Betts each hit his first home run of the season for the Red Sox. Johnson (1-0) gave up rookie Brian Anderson’s first career homer but stranded six runners.

Trevor Richards (0-1), the Marlins’ minor league pitcher of the year in 2017, retired the first seven batters in his major league debut but then allowed five runs in 4 1/3 innings.

Nationals 8, Braves 1: In Atlanta, Bryce Harper hit a three-run homer, helping the Nationals to the first 4-0 start in their Washington history.

Harper’s second-inning shot off Sean Newcomb (0-1) gave the Nationals a 5-0 lead. He also walked four times and scored three runs.

Washington’s Tanner Roark (1-0) pitched seven innings of one-run ball.

Newcomb allowed six runs, five earned, and five hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Braves right-hander Anibal Sanchez, whose contract was purchased from Triple-A Gwinnett before the game, pitched three scoreless innings in relief to strengthen his bid for a spot in the rotation.

Blue Jays 4, White Sox 2: In Toronto, Russell Martin, Josh Donaldson and Aledmys Diaz connected, powering Toronto to its third straight victory.

All six runs in the game came on homers.

Welington Castillo went deep twice for the White Sox for his sixth career multihomer game and third straight against Toronto. Castillo hit five home runs against the Blue Jays in 2017, his highest total against any opponent.

Martin erased a 2-1 deficit with a two-run drive off Danny Farquhar (1-1) with two out in the seventh.

Seung Hwan Oh (1-0) got the win despite allowing Castillo’s second homer, a tiebreaking shot in the top of the seventh. Roberto Osuna worked the ninth for his second save.

Athletics 3, Rangers 1: In Oakland, California, Jed Lowrie hit a two-out, two-run double in the seventh inning and Oakland beat Texas, spoiling the Rangers debut of Bartolo Colon.

Matt Chapman homered for the second time in two days, and Matt Olson and Jonathan Lucroy had two hits apiece for Oakland. The A’s had lost three straight since beating the Angels on opening day.

Joey Gallo singled in a run for Texas. The Rangers have dropped six consecutive road openers and nine consecutive games at the Coliseum.

Called up from the minors before the game, Colon allowed seven hits in six innings. The A’s only run off the portly right-hander came on Chapman’s homer leading off the third.

Indians 6, Angels 0: In Anaheim, California, Edwin Encarnacion hit the second inside-the-park home run of his career and Tyler Naquin and Yonder Alonso cleared the fences as Cleveland snapped a three-game skid and spoiled Los Angeles’ home opener.

Mike Clevinger (1-0), a former Angels farmhand, scattered four hits and struck out five in 5 1/3 innings in his season debut.

Encarnacion also hit an inside-the-park homer on Aug. 31, 2007, against St. Louis while with the Cincinnati Reds. He homered twice Sunday in a loss at Seattle.

Rockies 7, Padres 4: In San Diego, Ian Desmond, Charlie Blackmon and DJ LeMahieu homered to power Colorado past winless San Diego.

Chad Bettis pitched five effective innings and Desmond drove in three runs as the Rockies improved to 2-2.

Wil Myers and Cory Spangenberg homered for the Padres, who dropped to 0-4. Bryan Mitchell struggled in his five-inning debut with San Diego.

Desmond hit a two-run homer in the fifth and an RBI double in the third to help the Rockies win for the 10th time in their last 16 games at Petco Park. Blackmon and LeMahieu added back-to-back solo homers in the ninth.

Bettis (1-0) allowed two runs and five hits. Limited to nine major league starts last year as he was treated for cancer, the right-hander struck out four and walked four before five relievers finished up. Wade Davis got one out for his second save.

Mitchell (0-1) gave up five runs, eight hits and three walks. He failed to strike out a batter.