MLB roundup: Sandy Alcantara strikes out 14 Braves

May 29 – Sandy Alcantara pitched his second straight gem and matched his career high with 14 strikeouts to lift the visiting Miami Marlins to a 4-1 win over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday and end their three-game losing streak.

Alcantara (5-2), who threw a complete game in his last outing against the Braves on Sunday, worked eight innings and allowed one run on four hits and no walks. In nine career starts against Atlanta, Alcantara is 4-1 with a 1.74 ERA.

Cole Sulser pitched the ninth, struck out two and earned his second save, despite allowing two base runners.

The Marlins’ offense was led by shortstop Miguel Rojas, who went 3-for-4 with a home run to commemorate the birthday of his late mother, Norma.

Atlanta starter Tucker Davidson (1-2) bounced back from a poor start to work five strong innings and likely preserve his spot in the rotation. He allowed one run on three hits, four walks and three strikeouts.

Nationals 13, Rockies 7 (Game 1)

Victor Robles homered among his three hits and drove in six runs, Riley Adams also went deep and host Washington beat Colorado in the first game of a split doubleheader.

Josh Bell, Cesar Hernandez, Maikel Franco and Alcides Escobar each had two hits, and Erasmo Ramirez (1-0) pitched two innings of relief for the win.

C.J. Cron homered and had two hits, Charlie Blackmon had three hits, and Yonathan Daza and Randal Grichuk had two hits each for the Rockies.

Rockies 3, Nationals 2 (Game 2)

Jose Iglesias had three hits, C.J. Cron and Charlie Blackmon had two hits each, and Colorado beat Washington to salvage one game in the split doubleheader.

Chad Kuhl (4-2) pitched six innings and Daniel Bard got the final three outs for his 11th save. Brendan Rodgers singled to extend his hitting streak to 15 games for the Rockies. He is hitting .345 in May.

Yadiel Hernandez homered and Nelson Cruz doubled twice for Washington, which had its season-high three-game winning streak stopped.

Guardians 8, Tigers 1

Shane Bieber pitched eight strong innings, Jose Ramirez drove in five runs and visiting Cleveland defeated Detroit.

Bieber (2-3) scattered eight hits while allowing one run and struck out five while recording his seventh career victory over Detroit in 10 starts. Ramirez, who scored three runs, had a three-run triple and a two-run homer to carry Cleveland’s offense. Josh Naylor added two hits and two RBIs.

Harold Castro had three hits and scored Detroit’s only run, while starting pitcher Alex Faedo (1-2) gave up two runs on five hits in six innings with two walks and two strikeouts.

Royals 7, Twins 3

Bobby Witt Jr. had three doubles, two RBIs and a run as visiting Kansas City defeated Minnesota.

Witt, who finished a double shy of the cycle with three RBIs on Friday night in his first career three-hit game, followed with the Royals’ first three-double game since 2018.

Royals starter Brady Singer (2-0) gave up three runs on six hits over 5 2/3 innings with no walks. His eight strikeouts were one shy of his career high, set two starts ago. In three starts since returning to the majors, he’s gone 19 2/3 innings with three runs, three walks and 20 strikeouts.

Cardinals 8, Brewers 3

Nolan Gorman and Paul Goldschmidt each drove in four runs to power St. Louis past visiting Milwaukee.

The second-place Cardinals won their second straight game against Milwaukee after losing the opener of the current four-game series and moved within 2 1/2 games of the National League Central-leading Brewers.

Gorman went 4-for-4 with his first career home run, a two-run double and an RBI single. Goldschmidt went 3-for-4 with a three-run homer and an RBI single to extend his hitting streak to 19 games and his on-base streak to 33 games to set a career best. Brewers starter Adrian Houser (3-5) allowed eight runs (five earned) on nine hits in four innings.

Red Sox 5, Orioles 3 (Game 1)

Nathan Eovaldi pitched a complete game and Bobby Dalbec hit a go-ahead homer to lead Boston to a win over visiting Baltimore in the opener of a doubleheader.

Dalbec’s pinch-hit homer in the sixth inning, a 397-foot shot to right field, snapped a 3-3 tie and Christian Arroyo added an RBI on an infield single in the seventh inning.

Eovaldi (2-2) allowed three runs (two earned) and scattered seven hits, walking one and striking out six. It was the first complete game of his 11-year career and came in his 230th career appearance (211st start).

Orioles 4, Red Sox 2 (Game 2)

Rougned Odor’s three-run home run highlighted Baltimore’s four-run third inning as the visiting Orioles earned a win over Boston to split a day-night doubleheader.

The Red Sox have lost two of their last three games immediately following a 7-1 stretch. Austin Hays went 2-for-5 with a run, Ryan McKenna was 2-for-4 and Ramon Urias also drove in a run for Baltimore, which has won two of the first three in the five-game series.

Christian Vazquez was 3-for-4 and drove home Boston’s first run on a fourth-inning single. Boston starter Josh Winckowski (0-1) took the loss after allowing four runs on six hits and three walks in three innings in his big league debut.

Rangers 11, Athletics 4

Marcus Semien bashed a grand slam and had five RBIs, while Corey Seager and Adolis Garcia also homered as visiting Texas dismantled reeling Oakland.

Texas won its season-high fourth straight game and recorded a season-best 18 hits. Seager, Kole Calhoun and Andy Ibanez each had three hits for the Rangers as every starter reached base and seven players scored runs.

Oakland had 10 hits in the loss, its third straight after two wins at Seattle. Ramon Laureano, Chad Pinder and Christian Bethancourt had two hits apiece for the A’s.

Reds 3, Giants 2

Kyle Farmer connected for his third homer in three games and Aristides Aquino threw out the potential tying run at the plate to end the game as Cincinnati edged visiting San Francisco. It was the fifth outfield assist for Aquino, tying him for third-most in the majors this season.

Four relievers combined to allow just one run over the final four innings for the Reds, who won their season-best fourth straight.

The Giants outhit the Reds 12-5 but went just 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position in losing their ninth game in 13 tries. Evan Longoria’s third homer of the season, a blast to the second deck in left of reliever Luis Cessa, brought the Giants to within a run, 3-2, in the sixth.

Rays 3, Yankees 1

Yandy Diaz chopped in the go-ahead run as host Tampa Bay earned its first win in a four-game series against New York.

In a 1-1 game in the seventh, Tampa Bay took its first series lead by producing three hits, the final one Diaz’s two-out high hopper to third that plated Francisco Mejia.

Mejia went 2-for-3 with a double and a run, and Randy Arozarena and Manuel Margot each had a hit and an RBI. Wander Franco tripled and scored. Corey Kluber made his first start against the Yankees since leaving them after last season and was strong over six innings. He allowed one run on three hits to go along with five strikeouts.

Mets 8, Phillies 2

Jeff McNeil hit the go-ahead three-run homer in the fourth inning for host New York, which locked up another series win by routing Philadelphia.

The Mets, who have won the first two games of the three-game set, are 12-2-1 in 15 series this season. The Phillies have lost four of five and nine of 13.

The Mets wasted no time rallying after the Phillies took a 2-1 lead against Taijuan Walker (3-0) in the top of the fourth. Francisco Lindor drew a leadoff walk against Zach Eflin (1-4) and went to third on Pete Alonso’s single before McNeil homered into the second deck.

Dodgers 3, Diamondbacks 2

Mookie Betts homered for the second straight game and Los Angeles defeated Arizona in Phoenix for its 12th win 14 games.

Justin Turner had four hits and Tony Gonsolin (5-0) tossed six strong innings as the Dodgers improved to 24-5 against the D-backs over the past two seasons, including seven straight wins. Daniel Hudson recorded three straight outs following Ketel Marte’s leadoff double in the ninth for his third save.

Jake McCarthy had two hits — a double and a triple — and an RBI for Arizona, which was outhit 10-5 and had just three baserunners in the final seven innings.

Cubs 5, White Sox 1

Frank Schwindel had two hits and two RBIs and Patrick Wisdom drove in a pair of runs to boost the visiting Cubs to a win against the White Sox.

Nico Hoerner went 3-for-4 and spot starter Keegan Thompson earned the victory for the Cubs, who stopped a two-game skid while sending the White Sox to their third loss in four games.

Thompson pitched five innings to match a career high, scattering five hits with one walk and four strikeouts. He improved to 5-0, earning his second win as a starter, while lowering his ERA to 1.58. Thompson threw a career-high 77 pitches.

–Field Level Media

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