MLB roundup: Blue Jays rally to beat Athletics 4-2 in Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s debut

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. capped his major league debut with a double leading off the ninth inning for his first hit, and Brandon Drury followed with a winning two-run homer with two outs to lift the Toronto Blue Jays over the Oakland Athletics 4-2 on Friday night in Toronto.

The 20-year-old son of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, considered the top prospect in the major leagues, grounded out in the second, was robbed of an extra-base hit by left fielder Stephen Pinder’s leaping catch in the fourth, then flied out to right in the sixth.

Guerrero hit an opposite-field double down the right-field line on a 2-2 fastball from Yusmeiro Petit (0-1). Billy McKinney sacrificed pinch-runner Alen Hanson and, with the infield in, Teoscar Hernandez lined out to second baseman Jurickson Profar.

Drury followed with a drive over the center-field wall.

Ken Giles (1-1) struck out two on a one-hit ninth.

Eric Sogard’s first-inning homer and Randal Grichuk’s third-inning RBI single built a lead off Mike Fiers, but Robbie Grossman hit a two-run homer in the eighth off Joe Biagini.

Guerrero Jr. missed the start of the season after an oblique injury in spring training.

Angels 5, Royals 1

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Albert Pujols hit a two-run homer in the first inning and moved past Lou Gehrig into fourth place on the career RBIs list, and Tyler Skaggs pitched five shutout innings in Los Angeles’ win over Kansas City.

Pujols has 1,995 RBIs, one behind Barry Bonds in third place. Only Hank Aaron (2,297) and Alex Rodriguez (2,086) have more than 2,000 RBIs.

Skaggs (2-2) continued to baffle the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. The left-hander didn’t allow a run in five innings plus one batter.

The Royals’ Danny Duffy (0-1) gave up three runs on five hits in five innings in his first start of the season after spending the nearly two months on the injured list with left shoulder impingement.

White Sox 12, Tigers 11

CHICAGO – Tim Anderson helped turn Jose Abreu’s three-run homer into a two-run single when he tagged up at first and was passed on the bases, then hit a winning home run in the ninth that capped a comeback from a seven-run deficit and gave Chicago a win over Detroit.

Trailing by seven runs in the fifth, the White Sox closed to 10-9 with a five-run sixth off Zac Reininger that included home runs by Jose Rondon and Abreu.

With two on and one out in the seventh, Abreu hit a drive off Reed Garrett that just cleared the wall in left-center for an apparent 12-10 lead. But Anderson tagged up at first and Abreu passed him, and after a video review Abreu was called out and the lead was reduced to 11-10.

Ronny Rodriguez hit a tying home run in the eighth, and Anderson homered with two outs in the ninth against Joe Jimenez (1-1).

Anderson and Abreu had four hits each, and Abreu homered and had five RBIs.

Alex Colome (1-0) pitched around a leadoff walk in the ninth for the win. Yonder Alonso also homered for the White Sox.

Miguel Cabrera had four hits, including his first home run since last April 28. Nicholas Castellanos connected for the second time in two games, and Grayson Greiner and JaCoby Jones also homered.

Dodgers 6, Pirates 2

LOS ANGELES – Cody Bellinger hit a two-run homer in the first inning and Los Angeles set a major league record with homers in 33 consecutive home games in a win over Pittsburgh.

Bellinger’s blast was noteworthy for other reasons, too. He moved into a tie for the major league lead for home runs with the Milwaukee Brewers’ Christian Yelich at 13 and set the major league record for total bases in the months of March-April with 88. He also set a Dodgers’ record for home runs in March-April, moving past Matt Kemp.

With home runs in their first 14 home games this season, the Dodgers also matched this year’s Milwaukee Brewers and the 1962 New York Mets for most consecutive home games with a home run to open a season.

Josh Bell hit a home run for the Pirates, who were otherwise held in check by Dodgers starter Hyun-Jin Ryu. The Pirates lost a season-worst sixth consecutive game.

Ryu (3-1) struck out 10 and gave up two runs over seven innings in his second start since returning from the injured list due to a strained left groin.

Pirates starter Chris Archer (1-2) gave up six runs on six hits over four innings,

Indians 6, Astros 3

HOUSTON – Francisco Lindor hit two of Cleveland’s four home runs and drove in three runs to help beat Houston.

Carlos Gonzalez and Leonys Martin also homered to help the Indians to their second straight win over the Astros.

Tyler Naquin had two hits and his RBI double in the seventh off Hector Rondon (2-1) and put Cleveland up 4-3 for its first lead of the game.

Lindor, who came off the injured list on Saturday, had a solo shot in the third and connected on a two-run homer in the ninth.

Brad Hand walked one in a scoreless ninth for his eighth save.

Cleveland’s Corey Kluber allowed seven hits and three runs in five innings, the third straight start in which he’s given up at least three runs. Adam Cimber (2-1) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings for the win.

Padres 4, Nationals 3

WASHINGTON – Hunter Renfroe hit a tiebreaking solo drive in the ninth inning, and San Diego topped Washington after Carter Kieboom went deep for the Nationals in his major league debut.

Renfroe, who entered as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning, drove Sean Doolittle’s 1-2 pitch over the wall in left-center for his fifth homer. It was only the second run allowed by Doolittle (3-1) in 12 appearances.

Craig Stammen (3-1) got the win despite allowing Kieboom’s solo homer in the eighth.

Kirby Yates worked the ninth for his major league-best 13th save. He struck out Kieboom to escape a bases-loaded jam.

Washington ace Max Scherzer struck out 10 while allowing two runs over seven innings. He retired his first 13 batters before Eric Hosmer homered in the fifth. He became the 35th player in major league history to record 2,500 strikeouts when Manuel Margot was caught looking in the sixth. Scherzer ended the night at 2,503 Ks.

Rockies 8, Braves 4

ATLANTA – Nolan Arenado combined with Trevor Story to homer on consecutive pitches in the fourth inning, then hit a tiebreaking double in the sixth that led Colorado to its ninth win in 11 games.

Daniel Murphy went 3 for 4 with two doubles for the Rockies, who had seven extra-base hits.

Tyler Flowers homered twice for the Braves, who have lost three of four.

Story homered to tie the score 1-1 and Arenado connected on a curveball. Story has hit safely in a career-best 14 straight games.

Ender Inciarte’s RBI single tied the score in the bottom half, but Story, Arenado and Murphy hit consecutive doubles for a 4-2 lead in the sixth against Max Fried (3-1).

Colorado starter Antonio Senzatela (2-1) gave up three runs, seven hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings. Wade earned his fourth save in four chances.

Yankees 7, Giants 3

SAN FRANCISCO – Luke Voit homered and had three hits and three RBIs, DJ LeMahieu also had three hits and scored three runs, and injury-depleted New York beat San Francisco.

Despite having a major league-high 13 players on the injured list, the Yankees have won seven of their last eight games and nine of their last 11.

Buster Posey had a double and two RBIs for the Giants, who were seeking their first four-game winning streak.

James Paxton (3-2) gave up three runs in 5 2/3 innings of five-hit ball after combining for 14 shutout innings in his previous two starts. He struck out eight and walked none.

Giants starter Madison Bumgarner (1-4) gave up five runs on 11 hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Twins 6, Orioles 1

MINNEAPOLIS – Nelson Cruz hit two of the Minnesota’s five home runs in the win over Baltimore.

Cruz, Eddie Rosario and C.J. Cron hit consecutive home runs in the first inning off Alex Cobb (0-2), with Cruz and Rosario connecting on back-to-back pitches. Max Kepler homered off Cobb in the fourth, and Cruz homered against Gabriel Ynoa in the fifth.

Baltimore has allowed 64 home runs in 27 games – no other major league team had given up more than 46 entering Friday.

Rosario has 11 homers, all since April 6, and 22 RBIs in his last 17 games.

Martin Perez (3-0) gave up one run and six hits in six innings.

Dwight Smith Jr. singled in a run for Baltimore in the sixth.

Trey Mancini had three hits for Baltimore. Mancini has hit safely in eight straight games and entered the day leading the AL in hits.

Phillies 4, Marlins 0

PHILADELPHIA – Jerad Eickhoff pitched seven crisp innings and Bryce Harper hit a two-run homer in Philadelphia’s win over Miami.

J.T. Realmuto and Maikel Franco also went deep for the Phillies, who won for just the third time in nine games.

Jorge Alfaro had two of Miami’s five hits. The Marlins, who began the day in a tie with Kansas City for the worst record in the majors, dropped to 8-18.

The start of the game was delayed 1 hour, 33 minutes due to rain.

Eickhoff (1-1) allowed two hits, struck out six and walked one. It was the right-hander’s second start and third appearance of the season after making just one start in 2018.

Reds 12, Cardinals 1

ST. LOUIS – Joey Votto, Yasiel Puig and Eugenio Suarez homered, and Cincinnati snapped St. Louis’ five-game win streak.

Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker also connected as the Reds matched a season high with five homers in their third win in four games. Anthony DeSclafani tossed six scoreless innings in his first win since Aug. 28.

St. Louis ace Miles Mikolas (2-2) gave up four runs and six hits in five innings.

Matt Carpenter had two hits and walked twice for St. Louis, which finished with eight hits. Carpenter scored on Paul DeJong’s single in the eighth for the Cardinals’ only run.

DeSclafani (1-1) gave up four hits in a 91-pitch outing. He struck out six and walked three.

Brewers 10, Mets 2

NEW YORK – Lorenzo Cain drove in three runs and robbed Todd Frazier of a homer with another spectacular catch, helping Milwaukee beat Jacob deGrom and New York.

Milwaukee had lost seven of eight, but it roughed up a shaky deGrom after the start of the game was delayed for 2 hours, 42 minutes due to rain. Eric Thames hit a two-run double during the Brewers’ five-run third, and Orlando Arcia added a two-run single.

DeGrom (2-3) walked three and hit two batters over four innings in his first start since April 14.

The right-hander struck out seven on a damp, chilly night at Citi Field. He has a 9.69 ERA in his last three starts.

Diamondbacks 8, Cubs 3

PHOENIX – Wilmer Flores drove in three runs, helping Arizona beat Chicago for its season-high fifth straight victory.

Adam Jones added three hits and two RBIs as Arizona won for the 10th time in 12 games overall. Nick Ahmed hit a two-run triple in the Diamondbacks’ three-run fifth inning.

Kris Bryant and Javier Baez homered for Chicago, and Albert Almora Jr. collected four hits. But the Cubs were unable to overcome another shaky performance by Kyle Hendricks, who was coming off his best start of the season.

The Diamondbacks jumped on Hendricks (1-4) for three runs in the first.

Arizona left-hander Robbie Ray (1-1) allowed three runs and five hits in five innings. Matt Andriese pitched three innings for his first save.

Hendricks was charged with seven runs and 10 hits in five innings.