Associated Press
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Madison Bumgarner pitched seven neat innings, Pablo Sandoval homered to match a team mark set by Willie Mays and the San Francisco Giants beat the New York Mets 7-2 Monday night for a doubleheader sweep.
The Giants took the opener 6-1 as Tim Lincecum (1-2) posted his first win of the season despite another uneven performance.
Slightly over 1,000 fans bundled up in the stands when the opener began on a windy, raw afternoon better suited for the Bay Area. The crowd later picked up, but Citi Field was nearly empty for the final out. A rainout Sunday forced the twinbill.
Sandoval hit a three-run homer in the first inning to back Bumgarner (3-1). The burly slugger has a 16-game hitting streak, tying the San Francisco record at the start of a season set by Mays in 1960, STATS LLC said.
Miguel Batista (0-1) and Dillon Gee (1-2) took the losses for the Mets.
CUBS 3
CARDINALS 2
CHICAGO — Joe Mather’s two-run single with two outs in the ninth inning lifted the Cubs to a comeback win over the Cardinals.
St. Louis closer Jason Motte (1-1) had the Cubs down to their final strike when Mather, a former Cardinal, grounded a 2-2 slider up the middle, scoring Bryan LaHair and Geovany Soto.
LaHair battled Motte for 12 pitches before drawing a one-out walk. Motte then walked Soto, before Steve Clevenger’s grounder moved the runners up to set the plate for Mather.
Rafael Dolis (1-1) picked up the win in relief.
Jaime Garcia outdueled Matt Garza, who held St. Louis to two runs and four hits in seven innings, striking out five and walking three.
BREWERS 6
ASTROS 5
MILWAUKEE — Ryan Braun broke out of his slump with a homer and three hits, Zack Greinke remained unbeaten at Miller Park and the Brewers held off the Astros.
Braun also singled in a run and doubled to end a 2-for-20 slide. Greinke pitched six solid innings to improve to 13-0 at home with Milwaukee, which won its 10th straight against the Astros.
Greinke (2-1) handed Jose Veras a 6-2 lead to start the seventh, but five of the next six Astros batters reached base. Houston scored three runs on four hits, including Brian Bogusevic’s two-run triple, before Veras struck out Jose Altuve and got pinch-hitter Matt Downs to ground out to end the inning.
Lucas Harrell (1-1) took the loss.
D-BACKS 9
PHILLIES 5
PHOENIX — Justin Upton burst out of a slow start to the season with two RBIs, including his first home run, and the Diamondbacks pounded the Phillies.
Left-hander Wade Miley, starting in place of injured Daniel Hudson, stifled the Phillies on two hits through six scoreless innings. Philadelphia’s Kyle Kendrick (0-1), replacing the injured Cliff Lee, lasted just three innings plus one batter, allowing seven runs and 11 hits.
Jason Kubel homered and doubled twice, tying a career best with three hits. Miley (2-0) struck out seven and walked one in his first start of the season.
Philadelphia scored all five runs in the ninth inning, including a three-run homer by Shane Victorino and Carlos Ruiz’s solo shot.
DODGERS 7
BRAVES 2
LOS ANGELES — Juan Uribe tied a career high with four hits and drove in three runs, and Chris Capuano pitched out of trouble for seven innings to lead the Dodgers to a victory over the Braves.
A.J. Ellis had a pair of RBI singles and Capuano (2-0) allowed a run, six hits and four walks while striking out five, helping the Dodgers improve to an NL-best 13-4. The left-hander needed 27 pitches to get out of the first inning unscathed, striking out Jason Heyward on a full count with the bases loaded.
Capuano escaped another jam in the fourth, retiring leadoff man Michael Bourn on a grounder with two runners in scoring position.
Uribe had an RBI single in the first and a two-run single with the bases loaded in the eighth.
Jair Jurrjens (0-2) gave up five runs and nine hits in three-plus innings.
YANKEES 7,
RANGERS 4
ARLINGTON, Texas — Derek Jeter had four hits to stretch his hitting streak to 13 games, Alex Rodriguez belted career home run No. 632 and the New York Yankees beat the Texas Rangers 7-4 on Monday night.
CC Sabathia (2-0) struck out eight over eight innings for his 11th career win against the two-time defending American League champion Rangers, who won their first five series this season.
The big left-hander was pitching with an extra day of rest after the Yankees’ scheduled series finale at Boston was rained out Sunday night, a day after New York overcame a 9-0 deficit for a 15-9 win over the Red Sox.
Mariano Rivera worked a perfect ninth for his fourth save. New York has won 10 of 13 since being swept in three games at Tampa Bay to start the season.
Josh Hamilton homered for the Rangers.
Derek Holland (2-1) fell to 0-5 with a 9.26 ERA against the Yankees. He gave up seven runs and nine hits in six innings.
RED SOX 6
TWINS 5
MINNEAPOLIS — Cody Ross homered twice, tying the game with a two-run shot in the seventh inning and giving Boston the lead with two outs in the ninth as the Red Sox beat Minnesota to snap a five-game losing streak.
Starter-turned-temporary-reliever Daniel Bard (1-2) recorded two critical outs in the eighth after the Twins put the leadoff runner on third. Alfredo Aceves picked up the save, his third in five tries, and all was right with the reeling Red Sox for at least one night.
Ross put the Red Sox in front with his drive off Matt Capps (0-1). Jon Lester allowed six hits, five runs and four walks over seven innings. He struck out four but wasted a 3-0 lead.
BLUE JAYS 4
ROYALS 1
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jose Bautista hit a two-run homer, Kelly Johnson also went deep and Toronto Blue Jays beat the bumbling Kansas City Royals to complete a four-game sweep.
The Blue Jays improved to 6-1 on the road this season, while Kansas City lost its 11th straight to finish up a winless 10-game homestand. The Royals became the first team to lose its first 10 at home since the Chicago Cubs dropped 12 in a row at Wrigley Field in 1994.
Eric Hosmer homered for Kansas City. Otherwise, Brandon Morrow (1-1) took care of the struggling Royals lineup for 6 2-3 innings. Francisco Cordero got some help from a double-play groundout in the ninth for his second save.
The four-game sweep was the Blue Jays’ first since May 2009, and their first ever at Kansas City. The last time they swept four on the road was 2003 against the New York Yankees.
Bruce Chen (0-2) took the loss.
Kansas City (3-13) matched the 2006 team for the second-worst start in franchise history, and heads out on a nine-game trip having lost 11 straight for the first time since May 2008. The last major league team to lose 10 straight at home was Arizona in 2004.
WHITE SOX 4
ATHLETICS 0
OAKLAND, Calif. — Jake Peavy pitched a three-hitter, Adam Dunn and Paul Konerko hit back-to-back homers and Chicago beat Oakland for its fourth straight victory.
Two days after teammate Phil Humber pitched the 21st perfect game in major league history, Peavy (3-0) tossed his sixth career shutout. The 2007 NL Cy Young Award winner walked two and faced only four batters more than the minimum.
It was Peavy’s 10th complete game. The right-hander needed 107 pitches to handcuff the A’s, the lowest-scoring team in the American League. Alex Rios added three hits for Chicago.
Oakland starter Bartolo Colon (3-2) scattered seven hits over seven innings and fell short in his bid to become the first four-game winner in the majors.
The homers by Dunn and Konerko (his 399th) to start the fourth ended Colon’s shutout streak of 18 1-3 innings. Colon, who threw 38 consecutive strikes in his previous start against the Angels, put together another streak of 20 straight during one stretch.