Kameron Misner went 3-for-4 with two homers and three RBIs, leading a 16-hit attack as the Tampa Bay Rays plated 14 runs in the first three innings and walloped the visiting Boston Red Sox 16-1 on Monday night.
Christopher Morel was 3-for-4 with a double, two runs and two RBIs as every Rays batter scored and had an RBI in the first three frames.
Featuring a sharp 12-to-6 curveball, Rays starter Shane Baz (2-0) yielded one run on two hits in six innings. The right-hander fanned a career-high 11 without a walk and faced just 20 batters.
Boston’s Kristian Campbell went 2-for-3 with a homer and has reached base in all 17 games he has played, but the visitors had only six hits in losing for the third time in four games.
Pirates 10, Nationals 3
Ke’Bryan Hayes and Enmanuel Valdez each had two hits and three RBIs as host Pittsburgh beat Washington.
The Pirates posted season highs for runs and hits (14) while snapping a three-game losing streak. Pittsburgh hitters went 8-for-10 with runners in scoring position and backed up ace Paul Skenes (2-1), who bounced back after giving up a career-worst five runs in his previous outing. Skenes lasted six innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits and no walks.
Washington’s Nasim Nunez, who was called up from Triple-A Rochester in the wake of CJ Abrams landing on the 10-day injured list on Saturday, started at shortstop. He led the Nationals at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a double and two runs. Keibert Ruiz, James Wood and Nathaniel Lowe each had an RBI.
Mets 5, Twins 1
Juan Soto drilled a two-run homer and New York pulled away to beat Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Pete Alonso went 2-for-2 with two walks and an RBI for the Mets, who won their second game in a row and improved to 9-2 in their past 11 contests. Mark Vientos doubled and drove in a run. Mets right-hander Clay Holmes (2-1) allowed one run on two hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out eight.
Twins starter Joe Ryan limited the Mets to one run on three hits in five innings, fanning eight and walking two without factoring in the decision.
Braves 8, Blue Jays 4
Grant Holmes didn’t allow a hit until the sixth inning, Austin Riley hit two home runs and drove in five and visiting Atlanta defeated Toronto.
Sean Murphy added a two-run blast for Atlanta in the opener of a three-game series. Myles Straw’s sixth-inning leadoff homer was the first hit against Holmes (1-1), who gave up three runs on two hits, walked two and struck out four over 7 2/3 innings.
Toronto left-hander Easton Lucas (2-1) gave up his first runs of the season in the first inning. He walked Matt Olson with two outs, then Murphy hammered an 0-1 changeup to left-center for his fourth homer of the season.
Yankees 4, Royals 1
Trent Grisham, Ben Rice and Austin Wells homered in a span of five batters off Seth Lugo in the fifth inning to power New York to a victory over visiting Kansas City in the first meeting between the teams since last October’s American League Division Series.
Carlos Carrasco (2-1) and four relievers combined on a two-hitter as the Yankees got a strong pitching performance after entering the game with a 4.67 team ERA, including a 5.40 ERA from their starters. Jazz Chisholm Jr. also homered off Lugo (1-2) in the fourth before the Yankees took the lead.
Lugo tied a career high by allowing four homers in 6 2/3 innings. Lugo, who entered with a 13-inning road scoreless streak, allowed four runs on seven hits. The right-hander struck out four and walked two.
Cardinals 8, Astros 3
Nolan Arenado had a homer, two doubles and two RBIs to lead St. Louis past visiting Houston.
Brendan Donovan went 4-for-4 with two runs and an RBI double for the Cardinals, extending his hitting streak to 10 games. Pedro Pages hit a two-run double for St. Louis, which collected 14 hits and has won three of its last four. Lars Nootbaar went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI. Cardinals starter Sonny Gray (3-0) blanked the Astros for seven innings on three hits.
Jeremy Pena provided Houston’s scoring with a three-run homer. Astros starter Framber Valdez (1-2) allowed seven runs (six earned) on 10 hits in four-plus innings. He struck out three and walked one.
Giants 10, Phillies 4
Tyler Fitzgerald drove in three runs and finished a single shy of the cycle as San Francisco posted a victory over Philadelphia in the opener of a four-game series.
Mike Yastrzemski also finished with three RBIs for San Francisco, which has won four of its last five. Willy Adames chipped in two hits and a home run in support of Landen Roupp (1-1), who gave up four runs and six hits over five innings with eight strikeouts.
Taijuan Walker (1-1), after allowing no runs in either of his first two starts, was charged with six runs (four earned) and six hits in five innings. Nick Castellanos contributed a home run and an RBI single for the Phillies, who have dropped four of their last five.
Tigers 9, Brewers 1
Tarik Skubal tossed seven innings of four-hit ball and Kerry Carpenter homered to pace visiting Detroit to a victory over Milwaukee in the opener of a three-game series.
Staked to a 9-0 lead, Skubal (2-2) retired the first 12 hitters before Rhys Hoskins’ lead-off single in the fifth. Skubal, the reigning AL Cy Young winner, struck out nine and walked none in a 91-pitch outing.
Detroit capitalized on shoddy defense for eight runs, including four unearned, off Tyler Alexander (1-1) in four innings as the Brewers dropped their third straight. Gleyber Torres had three RBIs and Andy Ibanez added a pair. Joey Ortiz had an RBI single with two outs in the ninth off Kenta Maeda for the Brewers’ only run.
