The Boston Red Sox’s Connor Wong, left, celebrates with Wilyer Abreu (52) after they scored on a single by teammate Reese McGuire off Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Ryder Ryan during the fifth inning of a game in Pittsburgh on Sunday.
AP photo
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PITTSBURGH — Wilyer Abreu had three hits and drove in two runs and the Boston Red Sox beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1 on Sunday to complete a three-game sweep.
Abreu’s RBI single off Martín Pérez (1-1) in the third gave the Red Sox the lead for good. He added another RBI single in the sixth as Boston continued its strong play away from Fenway Park.
Reese McGuire added a pinch-hit two-run single for the Red Sox, who improved to 10-3 on the road so far this season. Justin Slaten (1-0) worked two scoreless innings in relief to earn the victory as the Red Sox’s road ERA dropped to 1.45.
Ke’Bryan Hayes had two of Pittsburgh’s seven hits and drove in the Pirates’ only run with a first-inning sacrifice fly. Pittsburgh has dropped six straight to fall to .500 (11-11) for the first time this season.
The Pirates have scored just nine runs during their slide and did little against five Red Sox pitchers. Pittsburgh didn’t help itself with a couple of baserunning mistakes to take away scoring opportunities. Hayes and Jack Suwinski were both thrown out at second — Hayes in the fourth, Suwinski in the sixth — trying to grab an extra base in hopes of sparking a struggling offense.
NATIONALS 6, ASTROS 0
WASHINGTON — Left-hander Mitchell Parker threw seven shutout innings, and Luis Garcia Jr. had three singles and two RBIs and Washington beat Houston.
The Nationals have won three of their past four series after starting the season 2-6.
After allowing two runs over five innings last Monday in his major league debut, a 6-4 win over the L.A. Dodgers, Parker (2-0) was even more effective in his second major league start, allowing three hits, striking out eight and walking none, throwing 57 of his 73 pitches for strikes.
Parker mixed his 85-87 mph splitter, 81-82 mph curveball and 92 mph four-seam fastball. He struck out Jose Altuve and Jeremy Peña a combined four times. Dylan Floro and Matt Barnes each added a scoreless inning for Washington.
Astros right-hander Hunter Brown replaced scheduled starter Cristian Javier, who was scratched from Sunday’s series finale with neck discomfort. Javier was placed on the 15-day injured list retroactive to April 14, and right-hander Spencer Arrighetti was called up from Triple-A Sugar Land.
GUARDIANS 6, ATHLETICS 2
CLEVELAND — Josh Naylor delivered a clutch, three-run double in the seventh inning as Cleveland continued their best start in 25 years with a win over Oakland to complete a three-game sweep.
With the Guardians up 3-2, Naylor, who celebrated a two-run homer on Saturday by bashing the top of his helmet with his bat before rounding the bases, doubled with the bases loaded off T.J. McFarland.
Naylor is batting .406 (13 of 32) with 14 RBIs in nine home games.
The surprising Guardians have won four straight, seven of eight and improved the AL’s best record to 16-6. This is the club’s best start since Cleveland had the same mark through 22 games in 1999.
Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee (2-0) allowed two runs and five hits in 5 2/3 innings. The right-hander gave up a two-out RBI single in the sixth before first-year Guardians manager Stephen Vogt dipped into his bullpen, which came in with a 2.19 ERA.
REDS 3, ANGELS 0
CINCINNATI — The Reds’ bullpen picked up after starting pitcher Frankie Montas left the game in the first inning and Cincinnati shut out Los Angeles to sweep the series.
Montas was hit by a line drive by Taylor Ward and left the game with a bruised right forearm after 16 pitches. Brent Suter allowed four hits in 3 1/3 innings. Emilio Pagan (2-1) earned the win after allowing one hit in two innings.
Jose Soriano (0-3) did not allow a hit until there was one out in the sixth inning. Elly De La Cruz singled. Nick Martini reached on a error by Luis Rengifo. Christian Encarnacion-Strand doubled and Jeimer Candelario hit a triple to put the Reds up 3-0.
Soriano finished with three unearned runs on three hits in six innings, a career high, and struck out a career-high seven batters.
Alexis Diaz earned his fourth straight save in five tries.
ORIOLES 5, ROYALS 0
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Colton Cowser and Jordan Westburg hit back-to-back homers for Baltimore off Kansas City starter Seth Lugo, who had not allowed a home run since last September, and Baltimore went on to beat Kansas City.
Cole Irvin (1-1) scattered four hits and two walks in 6 2/3 innings for Baltimore. He stranded a runner on third in the first inning and another at second base in the fifth while earning his first win since beating the Royals on June 10, 2023.
Lugo (3-1) had pushed his streak of not allowing a homer to 41 1/3 innings before Cowser sent an 0-1 pitch soaring into the right-field fountains leading off the third. Westburg followed two pitches later with his drive into the left-field seats.
Cowser’s splash came one day after he mistakenly threw Craig Kimbrell’s 422nd save ball into the fountains while celebrating the Orioles’ 9-7 win. The save had tied Kimbrell for seventh on the career list, so Cowser ran back to the field after the game and managed to fish the ball out of the water with the help of some stadium staff.
Lugo, who had allowed three runs in 25 2/3 innings, was dinged for four and nine hits and a walk in 5 1/3 innings Sunday.
MARLINS 6, CUBS 3
CHICAGO — Jesús Sánchez hit a massive solo homer and an RBI single, helping Miami beat Chicago.
Sánchez, Luis Arraez, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Nick Fortes each had two hits as Miami salvaged a split of the four-game series. The last-place Marlins are 6-8 since they opened the season with nine consecutive losses.
Miami right-hander Edward Cabrera (1-0) pitched five innings of three-run ball in his second start. He struck out seven and walked three.
Chicago had won six of eight. Nico Hoerner had three hits and two RBIs for the Cubs, and Mike Tauchman had two hits and scored twice.
Kyle Hendricks (0-3) was pulled after just four innings, allowing four runs and six hits. The right-hander has a 12.00 ERA through five starts this season.
BREWERS 2, CARDINALS 0
ST. LOUIS — Owen Miller broke a scoreless tie with a two-run single and Colin Rea tossed five shutout innings to lead Milwaukee to a win over the St. Louis.
Milwaukee has won four in a row and swept a three-game series in St. Louis for the first time since Sept. 24-26, 2018.
Sonny Gray stuck out 12 batters over 6 1/3 innings for the Cardinals, who have lost four in a row.
Rea gave up five hits over five-plus innings and left after walking Paul Goldschmidt to begin the sixth.
Miller, who was recalled from Triple-A Nashville on Tuesday, hit a two-run single in the seventh after Blake Perkins and Brice Turang singled with one out.
Gray, who signed as a free agent on Nov. 27, allowed five hits and gave up his first two runs of the season. Gray (2-1) struck out 20 batters before giving up his first walk of the season to Joey Ortiz in the fifth.
TIGERS 6, TWINS 1
MINNEAPOLIS — Casey Mize pitched six scoreless innings for his major league win since 2021 and Buddy Kennedy homered as Detroit beat Minnesota.
Spencer Torkelson had two hits, scored twice and drove in two runs. Riley Greene scored three times for the Tigers, who improved to 8-3 on the road.
Mize (1-0) gave up five hits, walked three and struck out four in his first victory since Aug. 24, 2021, at St. Louis. The top pick in the 2018 amateur draft missed nearly all of the past two seasons because of Tommy John surgery and a back operation.
The Twins have lost six of seven and are hitting .195, the second-worst batting average in the big leagues.
Minnesota rookie Austin Martin led off the ninth with his first career home run, connecting off Alex Faedo to spoil the shutout.
PADRES 6, BLUE JAYS 3
SAN DIEGO — Joe Musgrove pitched seven innings for the first time since July 4 and Xander Bogaerts homered for San Diego, who beat Toronto to avoid a three-game sweep.
Musgrove improved to 4-0 against the Blue Jays, who picked him in the first round of the 2011 draft. The big right-hander from suburban El Cajon allowed solo homers to Davis Schneider and Ernie Clement but otherwise pitched well enough to improve to 3-2. He allowed three runs on five hits and struck out three.
The Padres snapped a three-game losing streak and prevented the Blue Jays from clinching their first sweep of the season.
Robert Suarez pitched the ninth for his seventh save.
Bogaerts, who has struggled since signing as a free agent before the 2023 season, homered off Chris Bassitt (2-3) leading off the third to tie the game at 2. His only other homer this year was on April 9 against the Chicago Cubs. He had gone eight games without an extra-base hit.
Bogaerts drew a bases-loaded walk in the eighth and Fernando Tatis Jr. followed with a sacrifice fly.
ROCKIES 2, MARINERS 1, 10 INNINGS, 1st game
MARINERS 10, ROCKIES 2, 2nd game
DENVER — Ezequiel Tovar and Ryan McMahon each hit an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning to lift Colorado over Seattle Mariners in the first game of a doubleheader.
A bases-loaded triple by J.P. Crawford keyed a six-run second inning that propelled Seattle past Colorado for a doubleheader split.
Cal Raleigh added a two-run homer in the sixth inning of the nightcap and finished the game with three RBIs. Seby Zavala had three hits and scored twice for Seattle, which has won five of six.
Emerson Hancock (2-2) allowed two runs — one earned — and four hits in six innings. He struck out four and walked one.
Julio Rodríguez went 4 for 9 on the day for the Mariners to give him five straight multi-hit games.
DIAMONDBACKS 5, GIANTS 3
SAN FRANCISCO — Right-hander Slade Cecconi held San Francisco to two runs in six innings in his 2024 debut, and Gabriel Moreno hit a two-run, go-ahead single in the sixth inning to lead Arizona to a victory.
Cecconi (1-0) started in place of an injured Merrill Kelly to help the Diamondbacks earn a split of the four-game series. He was recalled from Triple-A Reno to make his fifth career start to replace Kelly, who was scratched with a shoulder injury.
The Giants did not have a hit against Cecconi until Thairo Estrada had an infield single with two outs in the fifth. Mike Yastrzemski then homered over the right-field wall to give the Giants a 2-1 lead.
Moreno hit his go-ahead single in the sixth off left-hander Erik Miller (0-1) to give Arizona a 3-2 lead.
Arizona scored twice in the ninth to extend its lead to 5-2, during which Giants manager Bob Melvin and third base coach Matt Williams were ejected for yelling at plate umpire Stu Scheurwater over a foul-tip call.
RANGERS 6, BRAVES 4
ATLANTA — Andrew Knizner hit a three-run homer, Adolis García added a two-run shot and Texas avoided a three-game sweep with a victory over Atlanta.
Evan Carter also went deep as the reigning World Series champions erased an early 3-0 deficit and stopped Atlanta’s six-game winning streak. Michael Lorenzen (2-0) recovered from a rocky start, giving up three runs and three hits with seven strikeouts in six innings.
David Robertson worked 1 2/3 innings in relief and Kirby Yates got four outs for his third save.
Marcell Ozuna launched his major league-leading ninth homer for the Braves, a three-run shot off Lorenzen in the first inning.
Atlanta rookie Darius Vines (1-1) allowed four runs and seven hits in five innings while striking out six and walking two.