CHICAGO: Starlin Castro drove in Aaron Hicks with a fielder’s choice in the 18th inning as the New York Yankees beat the Chicago Cubs 5-4 early Monday morning in Major League Baseball’s longest interleague game ever by innings.
The teams combined for a major league-record 48 strikeouts in baseball’s longest game of the season by innings, wrapping up in a tidy 6 hours, 5 minutes.
The Cubs trailed 4-1 before rallying in the ninth against Aroldis Chapman, who helped them win the World Series last year for the first time since 1908.
Hicks struck out four times, but he came up with a huge play in the final inning. He led off with a bunt single against Pedro Strop (0-2) and advanced to second when catcher Willson Contreras threw it into right field for an error. With one out and Hicks on third, Castro hit a bouncer up the middle. Shortstop Addison Russell tried to throw home, but it was wide and Hicks scored easily.
Chasen Shreve (1-0) pitched three scoreless innings, striking out pinch-hitting pitcher Kyle Hendricks with runners on first and second for the final out in New York’s fifth straight win. The Yankees (20-9) improved to 19-5 since they opened the season with four losses in five games. They also matched their high-water mark from last season at 11 games over. 500.
Marlins 7 Mets 0: In New York, Shortly after scheduled starter Matt Harvey was suspended by the New York Mets, Giancarlo Stanton hit two more monstrous home runs off fill-in Adam Wilk that led the Miami Marlins to an emphatic victory over the Mets on Sunday.
Harvey was suspended for three days without pay for an undisclosed violation of team rules. General manager Sandy Alderson announced the punishment in a brief statement before the game. Multiple media reports indicated the penalty stemmed from the pitcher failing to show up at the ballpark Saturday.
Making his first start of the year while Edinson Volquez recovers from a blister problem, Jose Urena (1-0) and three relievers combined on a one-hitter as the Marlins snapped a three-game losing streak and handed the Mets their first shutout this season. Rene Rivera led off the sixth inning with a clean single against Urena.
Wilk (0-1) was brought up from Triple-A Las Vegas on short notice to make his first major league appearance since 2015. The journeyman left-hander was no match for Stanton, whose 20 home runs at Citi Field are the most at any visiting ballpark by a player since 2011.
Adeiny Hechavarria also homered for the Marlins.
Red Sox 17 Twins 6: In Minneapolis, Sandy Leon hit a pair of two-run homers and Chris Sale struck out 10 as Boston romped out of town with a big victory over Minnesota fueled by a season-high five homers and which finished with a 10-run ninth inning.
Sale (3-2) reached double-digit strikeouts for the sixth straight time, stretching his major league-leading total to 73.
The lanky left-hander briefly lost the lead in a four-run fifth while the Twins batted around, but Leon broke the tie in the sixth with a two-out homer off Minnesota ace Ervin Santana (5-1).
Dustin Pedroia, Andrew Benintendi and Mookie Betts also homered for the Red Sox, who set a season high in runs for the second straight game. Mitch Moreland had four RBIs.
Indians 1 Royals 0: In Kansas City, Missouri, Mike Clevinger and four relievers combined on a one-hitter as Cleveland edged Kansas City.
Carlos Santana had three hits, including an RBI single in the fifth that followed Yan Gomes’ double.
Clevinger (1-0), making his first start in place of injured ace Corey Kluber, gave up a one-out double to Salvador Perez in the fourth. Clevinger walked four and struck out five in 5 2/3 innings.
Bryan Shaw struck out all four batters he faced. Andrew Miller pitched a perfect eighth, keeping his ERA at 0.00 over 15 2/3 innings this season, and Cody Allen got three outs for his ninth save in nine chances. He retired Brandon Moss with two runners on to end it.
Danny Duffy (2-3), who had given up 12 runs and 19 hits over 9 2/3 innings in losing his previous two starts, held the Indians to one run over 6 2/3 innings.
Orioles 4 White Sox 0: In Baltimore, Chris Tillman pitched five sharp innings in his season debut as Baltimore beat Chicago to complete a three-game sweep.
Trey Mancini had three hits and drove in a run for the Orioles, who took an early 4-0 lead against Jose Quintana (2-5) and coasted to their fourth straight victory.
Sidelined since March with right shoulder bursitis, Tillman came off the disabled list to join an unstable rotation in need of another arm. After walking the first two batters and working out of a bases-loaded jam in the first, Tillman (1-0) bounced back nicely in his first appearance since the 2016 AL wild-card game.
Brad Brach got two outs for his seventh save.
Brewers 6 Pirates 2: In Pittsburgh, Eric Thames broke out of his slump with a home run and three hits to send Milwaukee past Pittsburgh.
Travis Shaw and Jesus Aguilar also went deep for the Brewers. Thames connected for a solo shot in the ninth inning off Johnny Barbato, his first homer in 10 games after hitting 11 in his first 20 games. Thames had gone 4 for 27 in his last seven games.
Zach Davies (3-2) won his third straight decision as the Brewers avoided being swept in the three-game series. He allowed two runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts.
Blue Jays 2 Rays 1: In St. Petersburg, Florida, Joe Biagini and four relievers combined on a three-hitter and Darwin Barney hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning to help Toronto beat Tampa Bay.
The Blue Jays took two of three from the Rays to win a road series for the first time this season (1-4-1). It also was just the fifth time in 31 tries since 2007 that Toronto won a series at Tropicana Field (5-23-3).
Biagini allowed an unearned run, two hits and struck out four over four innings in his first major league start. The right-hander was inserted into the Toronto rotation after 74 career relief appearances due to injuries to Aaron Sanchez and J.A. Happ, and Mat Latos being designated for assignment.
Cardinals 6 Braves 4: In Atlanta, Tommy Pham hit two homers, including a two-run drive in the 14th inning as St. Louis recovered after blowing a four-run lead to complete a three-game sweep of Atlanta.
Pham’s long shot in the 14th off Josh Collmenter (0-1) drove in rookie Magneuris Sierra, who reached on second baseman Jace Peterson’s fielding error.
Recalled from Triple-A Memphis on Friday, Pham had a career-high four hits and drove in three runs.
Freddie Freeman’s 11th homer off Brett Cecil in the eighth tied the game, completing the Braves’ comeback from a 4-0 deficit.
Phillies 6 Nationals 5, 10 innings: In Philadelphia, Freddy Galvis hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning to give Philadelphia a comeback win over Washington.
Pinch-hitter Aaron Altherr connected for a tying, three-run homer in the eighth and the Phillies rallied to avoid a three-game sweep.
Odubel Herrera led off the bottom of the 10th with a checked-swing double off Blake Treinen (0-1). After Altherr was intentionally walked, pitcher Vince Velasquez batted for reliever Hector Neris and reached on a bunt single. Treinen fanned Andres Blanco, but Galvis drove in the winning run with a liner to center.
Jayson Werth had four hits, including two homers, for the Nationals.
Astros 5 Angels 3: In Anaheim, California, Jose Altuve hit a three-run homer during Houston’s four-run third inning, and Evan Gattis also went deep against Los Angeles.
Mike Fiers (1-1) pitched five innings and earned his first victory of the season with a boost from the bullpen, which threw four scoreless innings of two-hit ball.
Ken Giles rebounded from a rough blown save in Anaheim on Friday to pitch the ninth for his eighth save, and the AL West leaders won for the sixth time in eight games.
Yunel Escobar hit two home runs for the Angels, who have lost four of five. Two-time AL MVP Mike Trout sat out with a tight left hamstring for the third time in four games.
The teams combined for a major league-record 48 strikeouts in baseball’s longest game of the season by innings, wrapping up in a tidy 6 hours, 5 minutes.
The Cubs trailed 4-1 before rallying in the ninth against Aroldis Chapman, who helped them win the World Series last year for the first time since 1908.
Hicks struck out four times, but he came up with a huge play in the final inning. He led off with a bunt single against Pedro Strop (0-2) and advanced to second when catcher Willson Contreras threw it into right field for an error. With one out and Hicks on third, Castro hit a bouncer up the middle. Shortstop Addison Russell tried to throw home, but it was wide and Hicks scored easily.
Chasen Shreve (1-0) pitched three scoreless innings, striking out pinch-hitting pitcher Kyle Hendricks with runners on first and second for the final out in New York’s fifth straight win. The Yankees (20-9) improved to 19-5 since they opened the season with four losses in five games. They also matched their high-water mark from last season at 11 games over. 500.
Marlins 7 Mets 0: In New York, Shortly after scheduled starter Matt Harvey was suspended by the New York Mets, Giancarlo Stanton hit two more monstrous home runs off fill-in Adam Wilk that led the Miami Marlins to an emphatic victory over the Mets on Sunday.
Harvey was suspended for three days without pay for an undisclosed violation of team rules. General manager Sandy Alderson announced the punishment in a brief statement before the game. Multiple media reports indicated the penalty stemmed from the pitcher failing to show up at the ballpark Saturday.
Making his first start of the year while Edinson Volquez recovers from a blister problem, Jose Urena (1-0) and three relievers combined on a one-hitter as the Marlins snapped a three-game losing streak and handed the Mets their first shutout this season. Rene Rivera led off the sixth inning with a clean single against Urena.
Wilk (0-1) was brought up from Triple-A Las Vegas on short notice to make his first major league appearance since 2015. The journeyman left-hander was no match for Stanton, whose 20 home runs at Citi Field are the most at any visiting ballpark by a player since 2011.
Adeiny Hechavarria also homered for the Marlins.
Red Sox 17 Twins 6: In Minneapolis, Sandy Leon hit a pair of two-run homers and Chris Sale struck out 10 as Boston romped out of town with a big victory over Minnesota fueled by a season-high five homers and which finished with a 10-run ninth inning.
Sale (3-2) reached double-digit strikeouts for the sixth straight time, stretching his major league-leading total to 73.
The lanky left-hander briefly lost the lead in a four-run fifth while the Twins batted around, but Leon broke the tie in the sixth with a two-out homer off Minnesota ace Ervin Santana (5-1).
Dustin Pedroia, Andrew Benintendi and Mookie Betts also homered for the Red Sox, who set a season high in runs for the second straight game. Mitch Moreland had four RBIs.
Indians 1 Royals 0: In Kansas City, Missouri, Mike Clevinger and four relievers combined on a one-hitter as Cleveland edged Kansas City.
Carlos Santana had three hits, including an RBI single in the fifth that followed Yan Gomes’ double.
Clevinger (1-0), making his first start in place of injured ace Corey Kluber, gave up a one-out double to Salvador Perez in the fourth. Clevinger walked four and struck out five in 5 2/3 innings.
Bryan Shaw struck out all four batters he faced. Andrew Miller pitched a perfect eighth, keeping his ERA at 0.00 over 15 2/3 innings this season, and Cody Allen got three outs for his ninth save in nine chances. He retired Brandon Moss with two runners on to end it.
Danny Duffy (2-3), who had given up 12 runs and 19 hits over 9 2/3 innings in losing his previous two starts, held the Indians to one run over 6 2/3 innings.
Orioles 4 White Sox 0: In Baltimore, Chris Tillman pitched five sharp innings in his season debut as Baltimore beat Chicago to complete a three-game sweep.
Trey Mancini had three hits and drove in a run for the Orioles, who took an early 4-0 lead against Jose Quintana (2-5) and coasted to their fourth straight victory.
Sidelined since March with right shoulder bursitis, Tillman came off the disabled list to join an unstable rotation in need of another arm. After walking the first two batters and working out of a bases-loaded jam in the first, Tillman (1-0) bounced back nicely in his first appearance since the 2016 AL wild-card game.
Brad Brach got two outs for his seventh save.
Brewers 6 Pirates 2: In Pittsburgh, Eric Thames broke out of his slump with a home run and three hits to send Milwaukee past Pittsburgh.
Travis Shaw and Jesus Aguilar also went deep for the Brewers. Thames connected for a solo shot in the ninth inning off Johnny Barbato, his first homer in 10 games after hitting 11 in his first 20 games. Thames had gone 4 for 27 in his last seven games.
Zach Davies (3-2) won his third straight decision as the Brewers avoided being swept in the three-game series. He allowed two runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts.
Blue Jays 2 Rays 1: In St. Petersburg, Florida, Joe Biagini and four relievers combined on a three-hitter and Darwin Barney hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning to help Toronto beat Tampa Bay.
The Blue Jays took two of three from the Rays to win a road series for the first time this season (1-4-1). It also was just the fifth time in 31 tries since 2007 that Toronto won a series at Tropicana Field (5-23-3).
Biagini allowed an unearned run, two hits and struck out four over four innings in his first major league start. The right-hander was inserted into the Toronto rotation after 74 career relief appearances due to injuries to Aaron Sanchez and J.A. Happ, and Mat Latos being designated for assignment.
Cardinals 6 Braves 4: In Atlanta, Tommy Pham hit two homers, including a two-run drive in the 14th inning as St. Louis recovered after blowing a four-run lead to complete a three-game sweep of Atlanta.
Pham’s long shot in the 14th off Josh Collmenter (0-1) drove in rookie Magneuris Sierra, who reached on second baseman Jace Peterson’s fielding error.
Recalled from Triple-A Memphis on Friday, Pham had a career-high four hits and drove in three runs.
Freddie Freeman’s 11th homer off Brett Cecil in the eighth tied the game, completing the Braves’ comeback from a 4-0 deficit.
Phillies 6 Nationals 5, 10 innings: In Philadelphia, Freddy Galvis hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning to give Philadelphia a comeback win over Washington.
Pinch-hitter Aaron Altherr connected for a tying, three-run homer in the eighth and the Phillies rallied to avoid a three-game sweep.
Odubel Herrera led off the bottom of the 10th with a checked-swing double off Blake Treinen (0-1). After Altherr was intentionally walked, pitcher Vince Velasquez batted for reliever Hector Neris and reached on a bunt single. Treinen fanned Andres Blanco, but Galvis drove in the winning run with a liner to center.
Jayson Werth had four hits, including two homers, for the Nationals.
Astros 5 Angels 3: In Anaheim, California, Jose Altuve hit a three-run homer during Houston’s four-run third inning, and Evan Gattis also went deep against Los Angeles.
Mike Fiers (1-1) pitched five innings and earned his first victory of the season with a boost from the bullpen, which threw four scoreless innings of two-hit ball.
Ken Giles rebounded from a rough blown save in Anaheim on Friday to pitch the ninth for his eighth save, and the AL West leaders won for the sixth time in eight games.
Yunel Escobar hit two home runs for the Angels, who have lost four of five. Two-time AL MVP Mike Trout sat out with a tight left hamstring for the third time in four games.
