George Springer homered and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a two-run double in the late innings as the visiting Toronto Blue Jays went on to a 4-1 win over the Boston Red Sox in Monday’s historic completion of a June 26 suspended game.
Boston catcher Danny Jansen made major league history as the first player to appear for both teams in the same game. He was facing an 0-1 count on June 26 when the game was suspended by rain with one out in the top of the second inning, then traded to the Red Sox on July 27 for three prospects.
On Monday, Toronto’s Daulton Varsho pinch-hit for Jansen in the second-inning at-bat, and Jansen was behind the plate for Boston.
Springer broke a scoreless deadlock with a towering one-out solo homer to left in the seventh, tagging Boston righty Nick Pivetta (4-5) with the loss. Pivetta fell despite picking up 10 strikeouts over six innings of relief. He allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits, walking none.
Zach Pop (1-2) recorded the win. Jarren Duran hit a solo shot for the Red Sox.
Cubs 18, Pirates 8
Dansby Swanson hit a grand slam and Pete Crow-Armstrong headlined a historic night on the basepaths in Chicago’s pummeling of host Pittsburgh to open a three-game series.
Crow-Armstrong had three of Chicago’s eight stolen bases, the most steals in a game for the Cubs since 1913. The Cubs’ 18 runs were a season high, as were their 21 hits. No. 9 hitter Miguel Amaya recorded his first career four-hit game and added four RBIs.
Chicago stole seven bases against Pittsburgh starter Mitch Keller (11-8), who was pulled after throwing 97 pitches across four frames. He surrendered three runs on seven hits.
Yankees 5, Nationals 2
Nestor Cortes pitched 6 2/3 strong innings to win his third straight start as visiting New York beat Washington.
Gleyber Torres, Austin Wells and Jazz Chisholm Jr. homered for the Yankees, who have won five of their past six games. Anthony Volpe and Alex Verdugo had three hits apiece. Cortes (8-10) gave up one run on four hits.
Juan Yepez and Jacob Young homered for the Nationals, and 22-year-old right fielder Dylan Crews went 0-for-3 with a walk in his major league debut. Mitchell Parker (7-8) allowed two runs on five hits over four innings.
Royals 4, Guardians 3 (Game 1)
Bobby Witt Jr. smacked a go-ahead solo shot in the eighth inning, allowing Kansas City to open a split doubleheader with a win over host Cleveland.
John Schreiber (4-3) earned the win with 1 2/3 innings of perfect relief. Lucas Erceg worked around a walk in the ninth to notch his eighth save. Hunter Gaddis (4-3) served up Witt’s long ball to take the loss.
It originally looked like MJ Melendez was going to single-handedly lead the Royals to victory, as he put Kansas City up 3-2 with a three-run homer in the fourth, then made a stunning catch an inning later.
Phillies 3, Astros 2 (10 innings)
Bryce Harper delivered a walk-off single in the 10th inning to lift Philadelphia over visiting Houston in the opener of a three-game series.
Harper grounded a first-pitch sinker from Josh Hader (6-7) into right field, past a diving Jose Altuve at second base. In his second inning of work, Hader walked Trea Turner to open the frame before Harper plated automatic runner Kyle Schwarber. Matt Strahm (6-2) held the Astros scoreless in the top of the 10th.
Houston starter Ronel Blanco allowed two runs and seven hits, with five punchouts over 5 2/3 frames. Alex Bregman had a pair of singles to headline the Astros’ offensive attack.
Royals 9, Guardians 4 (Game 2)
Salvador Perez hit two homers, including a grand slam, and had six RBIs as Kansas City completed a doubleheader sweep against host Cleveland.
Perez hit a solo homer in the fifth inning off Guardians starter Logan Allen (8-5), then hit his grand slam in the sixth. Royals relievers Sam Long (3-1) and Daniel Lynch IV combined to yield two hits in 4 1/3 scoreless frames. The sweep of the twin bill leaves Kansas City one game back of American League Central-leading Cleveland.
Daniel Schneemann homered and Jose Ramirez had three doubles for the Guardians, who have lost eight of their past 11. Allen allowed five runs and eight hits in five innings.
Blue Jays 7, Red Sox 3 (Game 2)
George Springer went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer that highlighted a five-run fifth inning as visiting Toronto topped Boston to complete a sweep of a day-night doubleheader.
The Blue Jays also received a strong pitching performance from Jose Berrios (13-9), who worked 7 2/3 innings and gave up three runs (two earned) on eight hits. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was also 2-for-4 and scored twice for Toronto, which finished 5-for-10 with runners in scoring position en route to its fifth straight win.
Like Springer, Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran homered in both games of Monday’s doubleheader.
Braves 10, Twins 6
Matt Olson went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a homer and five RBIs and Atlanta pulled away for a rain-soaked win over Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Whit Merrifield finished 5-for-5 for the Braves, who earned their seventh win in the past nine games. Travis d’Arnaud added a two-run home run. Max Fried (8-7) allowed three runs (one earned) in five innings.
Kyle Farmer and Matt Wallner each hit a solo home run for the Twins, who dropped their second game in a row. Manuel Margot went 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI. Bailey Ober (12-6) gave up nine runs on seven hits in two innings.
Padres 7, Cardinals 4
Manny Machado hit a two-run homer and an RBI double to power visiting San Diego past St. Louis.
Jackson Merrill also had two hits while knocking in three runs for the Padres, who won for the third time in four games. Recalled from Triple-A El Paso earlier in the day, San Diego starter Randy Vasquez (4-6) allowed two runs on six hits in six innings.
Alec Burleson went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and Masyn Winn finished 3-for-4 with a walk and two runs for the Cardinals. St. Louis starting pitcher Kyle Gibson (7-6) allowed seven runs on five hits and four walks in 4 1/3 innings.
Tigers 6, White Sox 3
Spencer Torkelson went 3-for-5 with a three-run home run, Parker Meadows also homered and Ty Madden pitched effectively in his major league debut as visiting Detroit defeated Chicago.
Madden threw 52 of his 87 pitches for strikes. He yielded two runs (one earned) and four hits in five innings. Sean Guenther (1-0) picked up the win with 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.
A five-run seventh propelled Detroit to Monday’s win. Meadows started the rally with a leadoff home run against Jared Shuster (1-3). Andrew Vaughn finished with two RBIs for the White Sox.
Rockies 3, Marlins 2
Ryan McMahon homered and singled, Jake Cave also had two hits and Colorado beat Miami in Denver.
Jake Bird (2-2), recalled from Triple-A earlier Monday, got the win with an inning of scoreless relief. Tyler Kinley struck out two in a perfect ninth inning to earn his seventh save.
Jesus Sanchez, Kyle Stowers and Nick Fortes each had two hits for Miami, which has lost eight of its past 10. Griffin Conine, the son of former Marlin Jeff Conine, made his major league debut as a pinch hitter in the ninth and struck out. Miami starter Edward Cabrera (2-8) allowed three runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Mariners 5, Rays 1
Randy Arozarena hit a tiebreaking three-run homer against his former team as Seattle defeated visiting Tampa Bay.
Jorge Polanco also homered and Bryce Miller pitched seven strong innings for the Mariners, who improved to 3-1 under new manager Dan Wilson. Miller (10-7) allowed one run on two hits. He didn’t walk a batter and matched his career high with 10 strikeouts.
Josh Lowe went deep for the Rays, who lost for the fourth time in their past five games and dropped below .500 (65-66).