Apr 5, 2021; San Diego, California, USA; San Francisco Giants players celebrate on the field after defeating the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Mike Yastrzemski, who was a late scratch from the starting lineup due to a sore left hand, belted a pinch-hit home run to break a seventh-inning tie and lead the visiting San Francisco Giants to a 3-2 win over the San Diego Padres on Monday.
However, the loss of a second straight game wasn’t the Padres’ biggest concern. Fernando Tatis Jr. sustained a partial dislocation of his left shoulder on a swinging third strike in the third inning and immediately left the game in considerable pain.
The 22-year-old shortstop, who signed a 14-year, $340 million contract with the Padres in mid-February, collapsed in pain at home plate after swinging through the pitch from Anthony DeSclafani. Padres manager Jayce Tingler and a trainer rushed to the plate. Tatis walked off the field holding his left arm.
All three Giants runs Monday came on solo homers. The Padres countered long balls from San Francisco’s Darin Ruf and Evan Longoria thanks to Victor Caratini twice driving in Jurickson Profar.
Yankees 7, Orioles 0
Giancarlo Stanton hit a mammoth grand slam to cap a five-run fifth inning as New York extended its home winning streak over visiting Baltimore to 11 games with a shutout victory at Yankee Stadium.
Stanton hit his eighth career grand slam and third since joining the Yankees with two outs in the inning when he hammered an 0-1 fastball from reliever Shawn Armstrong well over the left field fence. Aaron Judge also hit his first homer of the season when he hit a 2-0 fastball to right field off Jorge Lopez (0-1) to lead off the fourth.
New York left hander Jordan Montgomery (1-0) allowed four hits in six strong innings. Baltimore’s Lopez allowed four runs on three hits in 4 2/3 innings, getting pulled two batters before Stanton homered.
Red Sox 11, Rays 2
J.D. Martinez hit a three-run home run, Xander Bogaerts had four hits and host Boston Red Sox emerged from an early offensive slump to beat Tampa Bay for its first win of the season.
Franchy Cordero and Alex Verdugo each had two RBIs for the Red Sox, who were held to five runs total in losing their first three games. Nick Pivetta (1-0) allowed just two hits in five shutout innings, walking four and striking out four.
The Rays dropped their second straight after two victories to begin the year. Tampa Bay’s eight-game winning streak at Fenway Park came to an end.
White Sox 6, Mariners 0
Yasmani Grandal went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs, Carlos Rodon (1-0) struck out nine across five scoreless innings and Chicago cruised to a win over host Seattle.
Billy Hamilton and Andrew Vaughn drove in one run apiece for the White Sox, who snapped a two-game skid. Yermin Mercedes continued his torrid start to the season by going 3-for-4 with a double and a walk, increasing his batting average to .667 (12-for-18).
Mitch Haniger went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles to lead the Mariners at the plate. J.P. Crawford had the only other hit for Seattle, which has alternated wins and losses in its first four games.
Dodgers 10, A’s 3
Corey Seager hit a three-run double, Will Smith socked his second home run in as many days, and Dustin May threw six shutout innings in Los Angeles’ victory at Oakland.
Zach McKinstry had three RBIs while he and Max Muncy collected three hits apiece for the Dodgers, who opened the three-game interleague series with a fourth straight win.
Mark Canha’s second hit, an eighth-inning homer off David Price, avoided a shutout for the A’s, who lost their fourth in a row.
Phillies 5, Mets 3
Rhys Hoskins scored the tiebreaking run on an error during a five-run eighth inning, and host Philadelphia overcame a dominant outing by New York starter Jacob deGrom to remain perfect.
The Phillies are 4-0 for the second time in three years. The Mets, whose season-opening series against Washington was postponed due to the Nationals’ coronavirus outbreak, fell to 39-21 all-time on Opening Day — still the best Opening Day winning percentage of any team.
deGrom helped stake the Mets to a 2-0 lead by throwing six shutout innings and going 2-for-3 with an RBI. However, the Phillies rallied against the Mets’ bullpen, getting RBIs from Bryce Harper (hit by pitch), J.T. Realmuto (single) and Didi Gregorius (sacrifice fly) in addition to a two-run error by New York third baseman Luis Guillorme.
Cubs 5, Brewers 3
Trevor Williams debuted for his new team with five perfect innings before giving up two runs in the seventh, and Willson Contreras, Javier Baez and David Bote all homered in a four-run fourth, lifting Chicago past visiting Milwaukee.
The Cubs won their third straight. They captured the final two contests of their opening series against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates after losing the first game. The Brewers, who beat Minnesota on Opening Day, have lost three straight since then.
Williams (1-0) blanked the Brewers on one hit over the first six innings before getting lifted two batters into the seventh. Milwaukee’s Omar Narvaez hit a three-run homer off Jason Adam.
Cardinals 4, Marlins 1
Yadier Molina connected on a two-run double and Tommy Edman homered, leading St. Louis to a win at Miami.
St. Louis snapped a two-game losing streak as four Cardinals pitchers limited the Marlins to just five hits. Miami’s only extra-base hit was a one-out double by Brian Anderson in the fourth.
Daniel Ponce de Leon (1-0) allowed just three hits, one walk and one run in five innings. Alex Reyes tossed a scoreless ninth for the save. Miami’s Trevor Rogers (0-1) yielded three runs (two earned) in four innings.
Angels 7, Astros 6
Los Angeles scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to rally past Houston in Anaheim, Calif., handing the Astros their first loss of the season.
Angels center fielder Mike Trout homered, singled, walked twice, scored a run and drove in another, but the eighth-inning outburst was a team effort. Trailing 5-3 going into the eighth, the Angels got the winning rally started by Albert Pujols and Jose Iglesias, who both singled off Astros reliever Joe Smith (0-1).
The Astros’ Kyle Tucker homered off Angels reliever Mike Mayers, who managed to finish it off for his first save. Angels reliever Tony Watson (1-0) got the win over Smith.
Reds 5, Pirates 3
Nick Castellanos hit a tiebreaking home run in the seventh inning, and Cincinnati added on late to win its third in a row, defeating visiting Pittsburgh.
With two more hits, Castellanos is 8-for-15 with seven runs scored and six RBIs on the young season. After Mike Moustakas tied the game at 2-2 with a solo homer in the fifth, Castellanos belted his third home run of the season in the seventh inning off Sam Howard (1-1).
The Pirates’ Bryan Reynolds made things interesting by leading off the ninth with a deep solo homer to left-center field off Amir Garrett, but the Pirates stranded two runners in the frame en route to a third consecutive defeat.
Twins 15, Tigers 6
Nelson Cruz hit a pair of homers, including his 10th career grand slam, and drove in five runs as visiting Minnesota slugged its way to a win over Detroit.
Willians Astudillo had three hits, drove in two runs and scored another for Minnesota. Andrelton Simmons reached base four times, scored two runs and drove in two more, while Jorge Polanco supplied two hits, a run and an RBI. Matt Shoemaker (1-0) got the victory in his Twins debut, limiting the Tigers to one run on three hits with no walks and five strikeouts.
Akil Baddoo, who homered in his first major league at-bat on Sunday, hit a ninth-inning grand slam for Detroit.
Blue Jays 6, Rangers 2
Steven Matz struck out nine, Marcus Semien hit a two-run homer, Cavan Biggio had a solo shot and visiting Toronto prevailed at Arlington, Texas.
Matz (1-0) allowed one run, two hits and one walk and hit a batter in 6 1/3 innings in his Toronto debut to help spoil the Rangers’ home opener before a crowd of 38,238 with COVID-19 pandemic attendance restrictions lifted.
Mike Foltynewicz (0-1) allowed four runs, four hits and three walks while striking out seven in four innings in his Rangers debut.
Royals 3, Indians 0
Whit Merrifield had a home run and three RBIs as Kansas City spoiled Cleveland’s home opener with a shutout.
The Indians managed just three hits against three Kansas City pitchers.
Danny Duffy (1-0) pitched six innings for Kansas City. He allowed two hits while issuing three walks and recording five strikeouts. Jesse Hahn earned his first save of the season.