Shohei Ohtani homered at the plate and struck out seven on the mound in 4 2/3 innings, but Jared Walsh stole the show in the Los Angeles Angels’ 7-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday in Anaheim, Calif.
Walsh homered twice, including a three-run walk-off shot in the bottom of the ninth off White Sox reliever Matt Foster that gave Los Angeles three wins in the season-opening four-game series against the White Sox.
Walsh, who also hit a solo home run in the fifth inning, was a two-way player himself at the major league level, pitching in relief in five games in 2019, compiling a 1.80 ERA.
Ohtani became the first starting pitcher for the Angels to bat in the lineup of an American League game since the designated hitter rule went into effect in 1973 and he was sharp on the mound to begin the night. At the plate, Ohtani homered in the bottom of the first inning on the first pitch he saw from White Sox starter Dylan Cease, giving the Angels a 1-0 lead.
Astros 9, Athletics 2
Kyle Tucker hit the 10th pitch of the game for a home run and Chas McCormick went deep for the first time in his budding career as visiting Houston completed a four-game sweep of Oakland in dominant fashion.
Jason Castro celebrated a homecoming with a homer of his own, helping put a capper on the dominant season-opening series in which the Astros outscored the defending American League West champs 35-9, winning each game by at least four runs.
Mark Canha had two hits and scored both runs for Oakland, which jumps from the fire into the frying pan when it hosts the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-game interleague series starting Monday.
Orioles 11, Red Sox 3
Cedric Mullins went 5-for-5 and reached base six times, and four Baltimore teammates drove in two runs apiece as the Orioles completed a three-game sweep at Boston.
Mullins got hits in each of the game’s first four innings and walked in the seventh before doubling in the ninth. Overall, he finished with three doubles, two singles and three runs scored.
The center fielder now is batting .692 (9-for-13) and became the franchise’s first player since 1939 — when they were the St. Louis Browns — to reach base at least six times in a game with three doubles or more.
Phillies 2, Braves 1
Alec Bohm delivered a go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning and Philadelphia completed a three-game sweep of visiting Atlanta with a victory.
Rhys Hoskins and Bryce Harper each singled with one out in the eighth, setting the stage for Hoskins to score on Bohm’s single up the middle off Chris Martin (0-1).
Jose Alvarado (1-0) pitched a scoreless eighth inning before Hector Neris worked around two walks in the ninth for his first save. Neris recorded two quick outs but walked Freddie Freeman and Marcell Ozuna before Travis d’Arnaud flied out to right field to end the game.
Blue Jays 3, Yankees 1
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Randal Grichuk homered in the second inning to lift visiting Toronto to victory over New York.
Domingo German made his first appearance since Sept. 18, 2019, because of an 81-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy. German was 18-4 with a 4.03 ERA before the suspension.
The Blue Jays struck quickly in a three-batter span in the second inning as German struggled to leave pitches down in the strike zone. Guerrero opened the scoring by hitting a 1-1 fastball a few rows into the right-field seats to lead off the second inning. After Lourdes Gurriel Jr. lined a single to left, Grichuk made it 3-0 when he hit a 1-2 changeup down the left-field line.
Indians 9, Tigers 3
Yu Chang had a go-ahead two-run single, Jordan Luplow and Franmil Reyes blasted two-run homers and Cleveland powered past host Detroit.
The Indians salvaged the finale of a three-game series. Starting pitcher Aaron Civale lasted seven innings, allowing three runs on two hits and striking out six. Chang and Jose Ramirez had two hits apiece and every player in the Indians’ starting lineup scored a run.
Akil Baddoo homered on the first pitch of his first major league at-bat for Detroit.
Rangers 7, Royals 3
Jordan Lyles held Kansas City’s bats mostly quiet as visiting Texas won the series finale.
The Rangers salvaged the final game of the three-game set after the Royals had scored 25 runs in the first two games of the series.
Nate Lowe had a three-run home run in the third to provide all the offense Lyles would need.
Cubs 4, Pirates 3
Ian Happ hit a solo homer, walked twice and scored a pair of runs in Chicago’s win over visiting Pittsburgh.
Kris Bryant was 2-for-3 with an RBI single, a walk and a run scored for the Cubs, who took two of three in the season-opening series. Zach Davies (1-0) pitched 5 2/3 innings in his Cubs debut, and Craig Kimbrel pitched a perfect ninth for his first save, striking out two.
Pittsburgh’s Colin Moran hit a two-run homer and a double, and Phillip Evans had an RBI single for the Pirates.
Reds 12, Cardinals 1
Nick Castellanos and Tyler Naquin each hit three-run homers, and Cincinnati stayed hot at the plate with a victory to take two of three from visiting St. Louis.
Tyler Stephenson added three hits with three runs and an RBI for the Reds, who broke things open via a six-run sixth inning to post back-to-back wins following an 11-6 season-opening loss to St. Louis. The Reds scored 27 runs and recorded 30 hits, including six homers, in the series.
In his Reds’ debut, Jeff Hoffman set down 12 of the first 13 Cardinals before Tyler O’Neill doubled to lead off the fifth. Yadier Molina then drove O’Neill in with a single. It was Hoffman’s first start since 2019 for Colorado, and he yielded three hits while striking out six without a walk over five innings.
Dodgers 4, Rockies 2
Will Smith homered, Julio Urias tossed seven-plus innings of one-run ball and visiting Los Angeles took down Colorado in Denver.
The Dodgers only had four hits but benefited from the longest start of Urias’ career. Urias (1-0) allowed one run on three hits, struck out six and walked just one before Ryan McMahon’s single leading off the eighth ended his day.
Garrett Hampson had a two-run double for Colorado. Starter Austin Gomber (0-1), acquired from St. Louis in the trade that sent Nolan Arenado to the Cardinals, struggled in his Rockies debut and lasted just three innings. He had one of Colorado’s four hits.
Twins 8, Brewers 2
Max Kepler drove in three runs and Luis Arraez had three hits and walked twice to lead visiting Minnesota over Milwaukee.
Mitch Garver and Miguel Sano homered to help the Twins win their second straight game and secure a series victory.
Michael Pineda (1-0) allowed one unearned run on four hits and two walks while striking out five in five innings.
Diamondbacks 3, Padres 1
Taylor Widener threw six scoreless innings in his first career start and David Peralta hit a two-run triple in the first inning as visiting Arizona defeated San Diego to salvage a win in the four-game series.
Widener and five relievers combined to shut out the Padres on five hits until Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a solo homer with two outs in the ninth. The 26-year-old Widener (1-0) allowed three hits and three walks while striking out five to earn the win.
The Diamondbacks scored their third run in the third on an error by Tatis, who had two in the game and already has five errors in four games.
–Field Level Media
