Milwaukee – Anthony DeSclafani allowed two singles over six scoreless innings and Eugenio Suarez hit a three-run homer to lift the Cincinnati Reds to a 4-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday night.
Suarez put the Reds up 3-0 in the first with his second homer of the season. The Reds added a run in the seventh and Milwaukee countered with Brock Holt’s sacrifice fly in the eighth.
“It did have a feel of quite a few of our games last season when Geno would get us on the board early,” Reds manager David Bell said. “That’s always nice, especially combine that with the starting pitching we have. It’s a great way to win a lot of games.”
DeSclafani (1-0), making his second start after opening the season on the disabled list, allowed a leadoff single in the third to Holt, who was erased on a double play, and a two-out single to Eric Sogard in the sixth.
DeSclafani issued his only walk to Keston Hiura with one-out in the first. Hiura advanced on a ground out and then stole third before DeSclafani struck out Logan Morrison to end the inning. DeSclafani struck out six.
“I feel like throwing my slider was working really well,” DeSclafani said. “It felt a little bit different, it felt like I had a little bit more depth today on it. And I think it bailed me out of a couple 3-2 counts. Guy at first, got the double play. Behind in counts, I was able to throw it for a strike and just get it off the barrel. I would say today was a lot of my slider.”
In his first outing last Sunday against Detroit, DeSclafani pitched five scoreless innings with two strikeouts.
“I felt a little bit better than last game, but as long as I continue to feel better and better every outing, I guess that’s the goal,” he said.
Raisel Iglesias pitched a perfect ninth for his second save of the season and 100th career save.
The Reds capitalized on shoddy defense for three runs in the first off Brett Anderson (0-1). Phillip Ervin singled on a soft roller that third baseman Holt couldn’t come up with. Ervin moved to third when Joey Votto reached on a one-out error by second baseman Keston Hiura. Suarez then launched a 1-0 pitch 427 feet to left.
Anderson lasted just 3⅔ innings, allowing three runs — two earned — on four hits, walking two and striking out two.
“When Brett’s pitching, it’s important you make the plays,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “The ball’s going to be in play, the ball’s going to be on the ground and we’ve got to convert plays. We’ve got to play defense around him. It’s probably as crucial for him than any guy we’ve got probably.”
The Reds made it 4-0 in the seventh when Kyle Farmer walked to open and Shogo Akiyama followed with a pinch triple into the right-field corner. After Castellanos struck out, Akiyama tried to score on Votto’s shallow fly out, but was thrown out at home by centerfielder Avisail Garcia.
Milwaukee scored in the eighth off Michael Lorenzen when Ben Gamel doubled, Omar Narvaez singled and Holt lofted a sacrifice fly to center.
Rangers 2, Angels 0
In Arlington, Texas, Joey Gallo hit a two-run homer, six Texas pitchers combined on a four-hitter to give the Rangers consecutive wins for the first time this season.
Edinson Volquez (1-1), the first reliever after starter Kolby Allard’s five innings, worked the sixth for his first major league victory since 2017. It was his first win for the Rangers since 2007, before the former starter was traded to Cincinnati for Josh Hamilton. Rafael Montero worked a perfect ninth for his second save in two nights.
The Angels are 5-10 under new manager Joe Maddon, matching the worst 15-game start in team history. They had been 5-10 five other times, most recently in 2013.
Angels designated hitter Shohei Ohtani went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts.
Yankees 8, Rays 4 (1st game)
Rays 5, Yankees 5 (2nd game)
In St. Petersburg, Florida, Austin Meadows hit a two-run single and the Tampa Bay earned a split of seven-inning games in a doubleheader.
The Yankees won the opener as ace Gerrit Cole came within one strike of earning his 20th straight regular-season win.
Aaron Judge hit his eighth home run of the season for the Yankees. Giancarlo Stanton and Mike Ford also connected for New York.
In the nightcap, the Rays used six pitchers during a bullpen day. Judge flied out deep with a runner on base to end it. Pete Fairbanks (2-1) pitched the fourth to get the win.
Rays left fielder Yoshitomo Tsutsugo went a combined 0 for 5 in the doubleheader, earning an RBI in the second game after reaching first base with a walk.
Athletics 3, Astros 1
In Oakland, California, Marcus Semien homered in the first after hitting a walkoff single to end a 13-inning win a night earlier and the Oakland Athletics beat the Houston Astros 3-1 on Saturday for their eighth straight victory.
Frankie Montas (2-1) pitched seven shutout innings, allowing two hits without walking a batter and striking out five for the AL West-leading A’s.
The three-time reigning division champion Astros lost their fourth in a row. The last three defeats had been by a total of four runs.
Semien became the first player in A’s franchise history with a game-ending hit and a leadoff homer on back-to-back days.
Giants 5, Dodgers 4
In Los Angeles, Austin Slater had his first multihomer game, Johnny Cueto took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and San Francisco beat Los Angeles.
Slater hit solo shots over the wall in center in the third and fifth innings off Clayton Kershaw and became only the seventh player to hit two homers in the same game off the Dodgers’ ace.
It was a tough night for Kershaw (1-1), who has traditionally dominated the Giants. The right-hander allowed four runs and six hits in 4⅓ innings with a walk and six strikeouts.
Mets 8, Marlins 4
In New York, J.D. Davis homered and drove in a career-high four runs, Pete Alonso and Michael Conforto also connected, and the New York Mets finally slowed down Miami.
Rookie left-hander David Peterson (2-1) allowed two runs over five innings to win his first home start for the Mets. Davis hit a three-run shot and a sacrifice fly to help New York (6-9) win for only the third time in 10 games.
Despite a coronavirus outbreak that ravaged the roster, Miami (7-2) had won six in a row during a streak that began July 26.
In Other Games
Blue Jays 2, Red Sox 1
Orioles 5, Nationals 3
Royals 9, Twins 6
Rockies 5, Mariners 0
Phillies 5, Braves 0
Tigers 11, Pirates 5
Indians 7, White Sox 1
Diamondbacks 3, Padres 2
Source : Baseball – The Japan Times