Tampa Bay mounted a decisive four-run rally in the eighth inning to defeat the New York Yankees 4-2 on Friday night, overshadowing what had been an impressive comeback performance by Gerrit Cole in his return from reconstructive elbow surgery.
The Rays capitalized on defensive miscues by the Yankees’ infield during their explosive eighth-inning surge, scoring four times against relievers Tim Hill and Camilo Doval in just six at-bats to turn a close game into a 4-1 advantage.
With the victory, Tampa Bay maintained their perfect record against New York this season at 4-0 while extending their division lead in the AL East to 5 1/2 games. The win marked the Rays’ fifth consecutive victory and their 22nd triumph in 26 contests.
Cole delivered a solid performance in his first outing since facing the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the World Series on Oct. 30, 2024. The right-handed pitcher surrendered just two hits across six innings while recording two strikeouts and issuing three walks.
Braves 5, Nationals 4 (11 innings)
Chadwick Tromp delivered clutch hitting in extra innings, first tying the game with a single in the 10th before delivering the winning hit in the 11th to give Atlanta victory over visiting Washington.
Tyler Kinley (4-2) pitched a flawless 11th inning as Atlanta captured its fourth consecutive win. Austin Riley and Mauricio Dubon each collected three hits in the victory.
Washington got home runs from CJ Abrams and Curtis Mead but dropped their fourth game in six tries. Paxton Schultz (0-2) surrendered Tromp’s game-winning hit.
Blue Jays 6, Pirates 2
Kevin Gausman dominated with eight strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings as Toronto defeated visiting Pittsburgh to extend their winning streak to three games.
Gausman (4-3) surrendered one run on six hits to earn his first victory in five outings. Louis Varland closed out the final six batters for his seventh save. Yohendrick Pinango and George Springer contributed two-run doubles, while Ernie Clement and Jesus Sanchez hit back-to-back doubles in the eighth.
Pittsburgh committed three defensive errors, including two in the third inning that helped Toronto score three runs. Bubba Chandler (1-6) struck out a career-high 11 batters while allowing three runs (one earned) on two hits across five innings. Brandon Lowe recorded two hits and scored twice.
Astros 4, Cubs 2
Christian Vazquez powered Houston’s offense with a home run, single and two RBIs as the visiting Astros defeated Chicago in their series opener.
Houston starter Spencer Arrighetti (6-1) held Chicago scoreless through five innings, allowing just two hits. The victory came after the Astros had managed only six runs total in their previous four games, losing three of them.
Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon (2-4) gave up four runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings. Pete Crow-Armstrong homered for Chicago, which extended their losing streak to six games and dropped 10 of 12.
Guardians 1, Phillies 0
Pinch hitter Kyle Manzardo connected for a ninth-inning home run off Jhoan Duran, giving visiting Cleveland their seventh straight victory over Philadelphia.
Gavin Williams (7-3) was dominant through eight innings, striking out 11 without issuing a walk while allowing four hits. Cade Smith earned his 17th save as Cleveland’s pitching staff overcame an offense that managed just four hits against Cristopher Sanchez.
Sanchez threw eight scoreless innings, extending his shutout streak to 37 2/3 consecutive innings — the longest by a Philadelphia pitcher since at least 1920. However, Duran (1-2) surrendered the decisive homer to Manzardo.
Rockies 3, Diamondbacks 2
Chad Stevens came through with the go-ahead single with one out in the ninth inning, helping Colorado secure victory over Arizona in Phoenix.
Stevens’ first hit of the season and third of his career drove home Sterlin Thompson with the winning run as Colorado snapped a three-game skid. TJ Rumfield had tied the game for the Rockies with a double in the eighth.
Arizona’s Lourdes Gurriel Jr. drove in two runs before leaving in the sixth inning with left hamstring tightness. The Diamondbacks surrendered a 2-0 lead and saw their season-best five-game winning streak come to an end.
White Sox 9, Giants 4
Munetaka Murakami capped a nine-run fourth inning with a bases-clearing double, while Davis Martin cruised to his fifth straight win as Chicago prevailed at San Francisco.
Andrew Benintendi added a two-run double and Sam Antonacci, the major league leader in hit-by-pitches, was plunked twice and scored twice in the same inning, helping Chicago win their ninth game in 12 tries. Martin (7-1) allowed four runs in 5 2/3 innings.
Trevor McDonald (2-1) was charged with seven runs in 3 2/3 innings as San Francisco dropped their fourth straight. Luis Arraez had an RBI single among his two hits.
Twins 8, Red Sox 6
Byron Buxton and Austin Martin launched two-run homers in the seventh inning as visiting Minnesota rallied for victory over Boston to open their three-game series.
The Twins overcame deficits of 4-0 and 6-3 to win behind their four-run seventh, tagging Boston reliever Justin Slaten (0-2) for his first earned runs of the season. Buxton and Martin each went 2-for-5 and combined for five RBIs. Travis Adams (1-0) pitched two innings of relief.
Wilyer Abreu (2-for-5) and Nick Sogard (2-for-3) both collected multiple hits for Boston.
Orioles 7, Tigers 4
Jackson Holliday’s first hit in three games since his season debut this week was a two-run go-ahead homer in the fourth inning, leading Baltimore past visiting Detroit in their series opener.
Pete Alonso launched a three-run homer and finished with four RBIs as Baltimore ended a three-game losing streak to begin a 10-game homestand. Gunnar Henderson collected three hits while Holliday, Adley Rutschman and Leody Taveras each had two hits.
Kevin McGonigle homered for Detroit, which suffered its seventh consecutive loss. Hao-Yu Lee had two hits and two RBIs. Jack Flaherty (0-6) surrendered six runs (three earned) on eight hits in 3 1/3 innings.
Marlins 2, Mets 1
Owen Caissie drove in two runs and Jakob Marsee made two spectacular catches in center field for host Miami, which edged New York in their series opener.
Eury Perez (3-6) and three relievers combined on a three-hitter for Miami, which ended a three-game losing streak. New York has dropped three of four. Perez allowed two hits over 6 1/3 innings.
Juan Soto blasted a 449-foot homer to right-center in the first inning before adding a single in the fourth. Mets opener Tobias Myers gave up one hit in his first start of the season.
Padres 7, Athletics 3
Ramon Laureano broke a tie with a home run in the bottom of the seventh inning as San Diego defeated visiting Oakland in their series opener.
Laureano worked a full count against Jeffrey Springs (3-5) before crushing a changeup an estimated 401 feet to left field for his sixth homer of the year. The blast made a winner of reliever Adrian Morejon (4-1), who worked 1 1/3 perfect innings with three strikeouts.
Springs allowed only three hits — all home runs — and four runs in 6 1/3 innings. San Diego starter Walker Buehler received a no-decision after giving up five hits and three runs in five innings.
Mariners 2, Royals 0
Mitch Garver clubbed a two-run homer in the seventh inning, after Logan Gilbert pitched effectively into the sixth, and visiting Seattle edged struggling Kansas City.
Gilbert allowed two hits and never faced serious trouble over 5 2/3 innings. Kansas City starter Noah Cameron matched Gilbert’s effectiveness, allowing four hits and tying a career high with eight strikeouts while throwing 96 pitches over six strong innings.
Seattle managed just five hits, but Garver and Julio Rodriguez each had two. Gilbert, Eduard Bazardo (3-2), Matt Brash and Andres Munoz (nine saves) combined to allow just four hits and strike out 10 Kansas City batters, who have scored 28 runs while losing 10 of 11.
Brewers 5, Dodgers 1
William Contreras established the tone with an early three-run homer and Logan Henderson threw five innings of two-hit ball to lead Milwaukee past visiting Los Angeles in the opener between division leaders.
Milwaukee, coming off a Cubs sweep, has won 12 of 14 to reach the top of the NL Central. The NL West-leading Dodgers had won five of six on their current road trip. It marked the first meeting since Los Angeles swept Milwaukee in last season’s NLCS.
Henderson (2-1) allowed two singles in five innings. Los Angeles, which managed just three hits, scored an unearned run in the seventh on Shohei Ohtani’s sacrifice fly. Milwaukee jumped on Justin Wrobleski (6-2) for four runs on six hits in a 10-batter, 38-pitch first inning.
Angels 9, Rangers 6
Zach Neto hit two home runs and Anaheim native Wade Meckler homered in his first career Angels at-bat, a three-run shot, leading Los Angeles past Texas in Anaheim, Calif.
Oswald Peraza went 3-for-4 with a homer as Los Angeles snapped a three-game losing streak. Grayson Rodriguez (1-1) earned his first win since 2024 after allowing four runs on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings.
Brandon Nimmo homered, doubled and drove in two runs while Danny Jansen also went deep for Texas, which had won three of four. Jacob deGrom (3-4) was tagged for six runs on six hits in three innings.
