As the MLB season closes out the month of April, we look at the long-awaited arrival of Atlanta Braves prospect Ronald Acuna, Jr.
At Call to the Pen, we want to ensure every MLB team is getting coverage, and that you’re well-informed as the reader! As part of that, we will be including a new daily piece into our collection each morning with all of the night’s scores at every level of the majors and minors, along with a bit of history/birthdays at the very end.
Without further adieu, let’s begin!
MLB Scores
New York Yankees 7, Minnesota Twins 4 in New York – The Twins were able to get two runs in the first, but the depth of the Yankees lineup prevailed as they were able to pound out a 4-run 3rd inning off starter Lance Lynn.
Tampa Bay Rays 8, Baltimore Orioles 4 in Baltimore – Tampa Bay really outlasted the Orioles, scoring 4 in the 5th and 3 more between the 6th and 7th after struggling to put anything across in the early going, defeating former Rays starter Alex Cobb.
Philadelphia Phillies 5, Arizona Diamondbacks 3 in Philadelphia – Philadelphia and Arizona had a back and forth game through 5 innings before the Phillies scored 3 in the bottom of the 6th to put the game away for good. Jake Arrieta outdueled Zack Greinke for the Phillie win.
Boston Red Sox 4, Toronto Blue Jays 3 in Toronto – Eduardo Rodriguez continued his perfect start to the season, moving to 3-0, and Mookie Betts hit a leadoff home run and then another in the 7th that gave the Red Sox the lead.
Seattle Mariners 4, Chicago White Sox 3 in Chicago – The White Sox got two in the first, but the Mariners fought back to tie the game in the 5th and take the lead in the 6th as Felix Hernandez battled back after that rough first inning.
St. Louis Cardinals 9, New York Mets 1 in St. Louis – Michael Wacha wasn’t overpowering, but he was masterful in his sequencing and his ability to keep Mets hitters guessing, going 6 innings and striking out 8.
Milwaukee Brewers 6, Kansas City 2 in Kansas City – The Brewers-Royals game was a clinic in moving along an inning versus killing a rally as the Brewers did an excellent job of stringing together hits and walks to score 4 in the 4th and 2 in the 8th, but really were quiet offensively the rest of the game, while the Royals saw multiple base runners left stranded, going 1-10 with runners in scoring position on the game.
Detroit Tigers 13, Pittsburgh Pirates 10 in Pittsburgh, Game 1 – A big offensive day on both sides was won by the Tigers’ bats. The teams combined for six home runs, 34 hits, and 7 walks on the game as they also combined to use 12 pitchers as well.
Pittsburgh Pirates 8, Detroit Tigers 3 in Pittsburgh, Game 2 – Pittsburgh jumped out early in the second game of the doubleheader and wasn’t going to let the Tigers back into it this time, coasting to a victory. Chad Kuhl continued his peculiar ability to bring his best performances at home, striking out 8 over 6 innings of work.
Cleveland Indians 4, Chicago Cubs 1 in Cleveland – Trevor Bauer and Jon Lester had an excellent pitchers duel on Wednesday, with the Indians grabbing 3 of their runs in the 6th inning or later.
Atlanta Braves 5, Cincinnati Reds 4 in Cincinnati – They had to come from behind to do it, but the Braves won in Ronald Acuna’s debut with a run in the 9th inning after Acuna picked up his first major league hit in the 8th inning, showed his impressive speed on an aggressive first-to-third on a single, and then scored to tie the game.
Texas Rangers 4, Oakland Athletics 2 in Texas – The A’s struck first, but the Rangers got all the rest of the scoring on the night as the Rangers had an impressive performance from their bullpen, tossing 4 1/3 perfect innings with 5 strikeouts.
Colorado Rockies 5, San Diego Padres 2 in Colorado – Jon Gray was absolutely dominant over 6 innings, and the Rockies couldn’t get enough off of the Padres bullpen.
Washington Nationals 15, San Francisco Giants 2 in San Francisco – The Nationals absolutely jumped all over Giants starter Jeff Samardzija, and their starter, Max Scherzer was near impossible for the Giants to square all game long.
Houston Astros 5, Los Angeles Angels 2 in Houston – Justin Verlander was absolutely dominant for 6 innings, and the Houston offense got a few key runs, including Jose Altuve’s first home run of the season, as they recovered to gain back one win after losing the first two of the series.
Miami Marlins 8, Los Angeles Dodgers 6 in Los Angeles – The Marlins were able to score late on Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw. The Dodgers attempted a comeback late but fell short.
Standouts
The Nationals put up an impressive 15-run effort and the man they call “Big City” was a big part of it as Matt Adams went 3 for 5, smacking a double and a home run, driving in 6 runs on the day.
He’s always had the raw stuff, but it’s always impressive when you see Jon Gray have a day when it’s all clicking, and Wednesday was one of those days. Gray went 6 scoreless innings, allowing 3 hits and a walk, striking out 11 hitters.
Other hitters
Tyler Austin, NYY, 2-5, R, 3 RBI, 2B, HR
Mookie Betts, Bos, 2-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR
Miguel Cabrera, Det, 4-6, 3 R, 2 RBI, 3 2B
Jeimer Candelario, Det, 3-6, 5 R, RBI, 2B, HR
Nick Castellanos, Det, 4-5, 2 R, 4 RBI, BB, HR
Francisco Cervelli, Pit, 3-4, R, 6 RBI, BB, 2B, HR
Edwin Diaz, Pit, 3-4, BB
Cory Dickerson, Pit, 3-5, 2 R, 2B
Edwin Encarnacion, Cle, 2-3, R, RBI, BB, HR
Joey Gallo, Tex, 3-3, R, RBI
Didi Gregorius, NYY, 3-3, R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, HR
Cesar Hernandez, Phi, 3-4, 2 R, 2B
Brock Holt, Bos, 3-4, R, RBI, 2B
Ender Inciarte, Atl, 3-5, 2 R, 2 SB
Ryan McMahon, Col, 2-2, 2 BB
Jose Osuna, Pit, 2-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR
J.T. Realmuto, Mia, 2-6, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR
Mel Rojas, Mia, 2-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB, HR
Miguel Sano, Min, 2-3, R, 2 RBI, BB, HR
Andrew Stevenson, Was, 4-5, 2 R, 4 RBI, BB, 2 2B
Trea Turner, Was, 5-6, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B, SB
Joey Votto, Cin, 2-4, R, 2 RBI, BB, HR
Joey Wendle, TB, 3-5, R, 2 RBI, SB
Mike Zunino, Sea, 2-4, 2 R, 2B, HR
Other pitchers
Jake Arrieta, Phi, 7 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Trevor Richards, Mia, 4.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 10 K
Aaron Sanchez, Tor, 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 8 K
Max Scherzer, Was, 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 10 K
Justin Verlander, Hou, 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 9 K
Michael Wacha, StL, 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K
Thursday’s Game to Watch
It will be an early game to catch, starting at 1:15pm Eastern, but the finale of the Mets/Cardinals series is shaping up to be a dandy. The two teams have battled throughout the series, and for Thursday’s tilt, both squads send their ace to the hill as the Mets hand the ball to Noah Syndergaard while Cardinals ace Carlos Martinez is hoping for a little mid-day hometown cooking on his side.
Next: AA/AAA