Gerrit Cole throws MLB’s 2nd complete game of season

New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole, right, celebrates with his teammates after closing the ninth inning of a game against the Minnesota Twins to record a shutout, Sunday, April 16, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

NEW YORK (AP) — Gerrit Cole pitched a two-hitter with 10 strikeouts for his fourth career shutout and the second complete game in the majors this season, leading the New York Yankees to a 2-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday.

DJ LeMahieu homered and hit an RBI single for the Yankees, who earned a split of the four-game series.

Cole (4-0) lowered his ERA to 0.95 in four starts, finishing off the Twins on 109 pitches in 2 hours, 7 minutes. He got the final nine outs on 25 pitches and retired former Astros teammate Carlos Correa to end it.

It was Cole’s seventh career complete game and his first shutout since July 10, 2021, at Houston.

 

METS 4, ATHLETICS 3, 10 INNINGS

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Pete Alonso tied the score in the ninth inning with his major league-leading eighth home run, and New York beat the struggling Oakland Athletics to complete a three-game sweep.

Eduardo Escobar scored the go-ahead in the 10th on a wild pitch by Sam Moll (0-2). Francisco Lindor and Tommy Pham also homered for the Mets, who won their fourth straight.

Brandon Nimmo made two diving catches in center field, including one that saved the game in the ninth. David Robertson pitched out of trouble in the 10th for his fourth save.

Jimmy Yacabonis (1-0) worked a scoreless inning to win his Mets debut.

 

RED SOX 2, ANGELS 1

BOSTON (AP) — Garrett Whitlock threw seven innings of one-run ball and Justin Turner hit a two-run homer to give Boston a win over Los Angeles in a game that lasted just under two hours.

Los Angeles star Shohei Ohtani had his 36-game on-base streak halted; it had been the longest in MLB.

Whitlock (1-1) allowed three hits with five strikeouts and two walks. Ryan Brasier got the final three outs for his first save — including striking out Mike Trout and getting Ohtani to fly out.

Reid Detmers (0-1) was given the loss in an outing where he gave up two runs on six hits, struck out seven and walked one in 6 1/3 innings.

 

CARDINALS 5, PIRATES 4, 10 INNINGS

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Tommy Edman hit an RBI single in the 10th inning to give St. Louis a win over Pittsburgh to salvage a split of the four-game series.

With runners on first and second and one out, Nolan Gorman drove in Paul Goldschmidt with a tying double. Lars Nootbaar was walked intentionally by Wil Crowe (0-1) and rookie Jordan Walker struck out before Edman singled back up the middle.

Nootbaar hit a two-run homer for the Cardinals, and Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras and Gorman each had two hits.

Drew VerHagen (1-0) got three outs for the win, allowing an unearned run in the top of the 10th on Canaan Smith-Njigba’s groundout to first.

 

RAYS 8, BLUE JAYS 1

TORONTO (AP) — Shane McClanahan pitched six effective innings in his fourth straight win, and Tampa Bay avoided a three-game sweep by Toronto.

Christian Bethancourt hit a three-run homer to help the Rays rebounded from their first two losses of the season. Yandy Díaz reached four times, and Josh Lowe had two hits and three RBIs.

McClanahan (4-0) allowed one run and four hits. He struck out six and walked two.

Blue Jays right-hander Alek Manoah (1-1) matched career-worsts by allowing seven runs and nine hits. He walked four and struck out five in 4 2/3 innings.

 

DIAMONDBACKS 5, MARLINS 0

MIAMI (AP) — Zac Gallen pitched two-hit ball into the seventh inning in Arizona’s win over Sandy Alcantara and Miami.

Corbin Carroll homered for Arizona, and Pavin Smith and Christian Walker also had two hits apiece.

Gallen (2-1) retired his first 13 batters before Bryan De La Cruz singled with one out in the fifth. Gallen struck out seven in 6 2/3 innings and walked none. Kevin Ginkel then got four outs before Kyle Nelson finished a four-hitter.

Alcantara (1-2) permitted five runs, four earned, and seven hits in six innings. He’s dropped his last two starts after throwing a complete-game three-hitter in a 1-0 victory over Minnesota on April 4.

 

MARINERS 1, ROCKIES 0

SEATTLE (AP) — Luis Castillo retired his first 18 batters, Jarred Kelenic hit an RBI single and Seattle completed a three-game sweep.

Kelenic extended his hitting streak to a career-best 10 games and played outstanding defense in right field, including a diving catch in the eighth inning that saved a run.

Castillo (1-0) struck out the side in the second and fanned eight over the first six innings before Jurickson Profar led off the seventh for the Rockies with a soft single to left-center. Castillo permitted two hits and struck out nine in seven innings. Justin Topa worked a one-hit eighth.

Paul Sewald struck out the top three batters in the order to finish the three-hitter and earn his fourth save.

Dinelson Lamet (1-1) walked two in the sixth before Brad Hand gave up Kelenic’s run-scoring single.

 

CUBS 3, DODGERS 2

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Patrick Wisdom homered for the third straight game, Cody Bellinger also went deep and Chicago took two of three in the series.

Wisdom and Bellinger connected back-to-back in the sixth inning. Drew Smyly (1-1) allowed one run and four hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Chris Taylor homered for the Dodgers, who scored six runs all weekend. Julio Urías (3-1) gave up two earned runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings, the first time this season he allowed multiple runs in a start.

Wisdom became the third Cubs player to hit three home runs in a series at Dodger Stadium, joining Dave Kingman and Gary Matthews.

 

NATIONALS 7, GUARDIANS 6

WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington tied the game on a reviewed call in the eighth inning and Joey Meneses followed with a go-ahead RBI single two batters later for a win over Cleveland that averted a three-game sweep.

Jeimer Candelario and Luis García homered for Washington, which snapped a four-game skid. Washington starter Patrick Corbin allowed four runs, two of them earned, in six innings. Mason Thompson (1-1) pitched a scoreless eighth, and Kyle Finnegan handled the ninth for his third save.

Steven Kwan drove in two runs for the Guardians, who fell to 7-3 on the road. Nick Sandlin got the loss. Cleveland starter Shane Bieber allowed three runs and struck out four in six innings.

 

ORIOLES 8, WHITE SOX 4

CHICAGO (AP) — Cedric Mullins had three hits and four RBIs, including a tiebreaking single in Baltimore’s three-run eighth inning, and the Orioles rallied for the win in the rubber game of the weekend series.

Gunnar Henderson had two hits and scored three times. The Orioles erased a shaky start by Grayson Rodriguez with a 12-hit attack.

Chicago scored each of its four runs in the first. Gavin Sheets hit a three-run homer, and Jake Burger added a solo drive.

Mike Baumann (2-0), Austin Voth and Félix Bautista combined for four innings of one-hit ball in relief of Rodriguez. The rookie right-hander allowed six hits, struck out eight and walked two in his third big league start.

 

BRAVES 5, ROYALS 4

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Vaughn Grissom hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the ninth, Ozzie Albies homered and Atlanta beat Kansas City for the series sweep.

Grissom’s RBI single came after Albies hit a one-out double. Albies went 2 for 4, including his 376-foot solo homer to right field in the fourth for his fifth RBI of the series. Matt Olson hit a two-run triple in Atlanta’s three-run third inning.

Atlanta starter Kyle Wright struck out six across 5 2/3 innings. Reliever Nick Anderson (1-0) got the win and A.J. Minter got his third save of the year.

Zack Greinke gave up four runs on four hits in six innings with six strikeouts and a walk. Scott Barlow (0-2) allowed a run on two hits with two strikeouts.

 

BREWERS 1, PADRES 0

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Wade Miley pitched seven sharp innings and Devin Williams escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth, helping Milwaukee beat Yu Darvish and San Diego.

Brian Anderson hit a sacrifice fly in the second for the game’s only run as Milwaukee took three of four in the series.

Miley (2-1) allowed four hits, struck out eight and walked none. San Diego threatened in the second, putting a runner on third with one out, but Miley struck out Trent Grisham and Jose Azocar.

San Diego wasted a dominant performance by Darvish (0-2), who struck out 12 in seven innings. He allowed four hits and walked two in his 50th career start with double-digit strikeouts.

 

PHILLIES 14, REDS 3

CINCINNATI (AP) — Philadelphia bounced back from one of its worst losses of the early season with a drubbing Cincinnati to earn a split of their four-game series.

Bryson Stott hit a lead-off home run, Brandon Marsh had four hits, Trea Turner and Alec Bohm each had three hits for the Phillies. Jake Cave tied his career high with four runs batted in as the hot-and-cold Phillies reached double figures in runs for the second time in less than a week.

Aaron Nola (1-2) gave up five hits and three runs, two earned, with three walks and four strikeouts in six innings.

Luis Cessa (0-2) allowed a career-high 14 hits and 11 runs with three walks and no strikeouts in a season-low three innings.

 

RANGERS 9, ASTROS 1

HOUSTON (AP) — Marcus Semien hit a grand slam to cap a six-run seventh inning as Texas won a series in Houston for the first time since July 2018.

The Rangers, who took two of three, had lost 10 straight series in Houston.

Nathaniel Lowe doubled leading off the seventh, tying his career high with an 11-game hitting streak. After a critical error by shortstop Jeremy Peña, Jonah Heim drew a bases-loaded walk.

Robbie Grossman followed with an RBI single to chase Astros starter Framber Valdez (1-2). Héctor Neris retired the next two batters before Semien’s grand slam.

Andrew Heaney permitted two hits over five shutout innings for Texas. Brock Burke (1-0) won in relief.