MLB: Ike Davis sets grand slam mark for April
| Tuesday, April 22, 2014, 11 a.m.
PITTSBURGH — Ike Davis became the first player to hit grand slams for different teams in the same April, and Neil Walker had a winning run single with two outs in the ninth inning as the Pittsburgh Pirates twice overcame deficits to beat the Reds 6-5 Monday night.
Pittsburgh trailed 2-0 before Davis’ fourth-inning homer off Mike Leake. Davis hit a game-winning, ninth-inning slam off the Reds’ J.J. Hoover on April 5 for the New York Mets, who traded him to the Pirates on Friday.
According to STATS, no player previously hit slams for different teams in the same April. Davis became just the third to hit slams for different teams against the same opponent in the same year, following Ray Boone in 1953 and Mike Piazza in 1998.
The Pirates were behind 5-4 before Andrew McCutchen’s leadoff homer in the eighth against Manny Parra.
Walker got the winning hit off Hoover (1-2) after consecutive one-out walks to Russell Martin and Andrew McCutchen followed by Pedro Alvarez’s popout.
Jared Hughes (1-0) pitched a scoreless, two-hit ninth for the win after being recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis earlier in the day.
ANGELS 4, NATIONALS 2
WASHINGTON — Raul Ibanez delivered a tiebreaking three-run double as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning on a night that Mike Trout and Bryce Harper went a combined 2 for 8 with zero runs or RBIs in their first matchup as opponents.
Los Angeles trailed 1-0 going into the eighth. But Albert Pujols — who went 0 for 5, staying on 498 homers — reached on the first of shortstop Ian Desmond’s two errors in the inning, raising his season total to nine. Later, Erick Aybar’s third hit of the night scored Pujols to even it.
BRAVES 4, MARLINS 2, 10 INNINGS
ATLANTA — Evan Gattis hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning, leading Atlanta past Miami.
Dan Uggla led off with a single up the middle off Arquimedes Caminero (0-1), and Gattis followed with a shot into the left-field seats for his fifth homer of the season — and first career walkoff homer.
Andrelton Simmons homered for the Braves, and Jason Heyward put Atlanta 2-1 with a seventh-inning single off Mike Dunn. Anthony Varvaro (1-0) worked a scoreless inning for the win.
N.Y. METS 2, ST. LOUIS 0
NEW YORK — Jenrry Mejia pitched four-hit ball into the seventh inning and David Wright delivered another key hit.
Wright lined an early RBI single that extended his hitting streak to 12 games and Kyle Farnsworth earned his first save as the New York’s newest closer.
MILWAUKEE 4, SAN DIEGO 3
MILWAUKEE — Aramis Ramirez homered and Ryan Braun drove in two runs.
Wily Peralta (3-0) gave up three runs and six hits in 6 1/3 innings as the Brewers improved their major league-best record to 15-5. Peralta stuck out six.
ROCKIES 8, GIANTS 2
DENVER — Charlie Blackmon hit two of Colorado’s five homers and Jorge De La Rosa threw five efficient innings, lifting the Rockies to a victory over the Giants.
Nolan Arenado, Wilin Rosario and Corey Dickerson also homered for the Rockies, who’ve won four of the last five. It was Blackmon’s first multihomer game of his career.
PHILLIES 7, DODGERS 0
LOS ANGELES — Cliff Lee scattered four hits over eight innings, struck out 10 and retired 21 of his last 22 batters to lead the Phillies to a victory over the Dodgers.
Carlos Ruiz hit a two-run homer and a two-run double and Ryan Howard also went deep for the Phillies in the opener of a four-game series.
Lee (3-2) had at least one strikeout in every inning he pitched and did not walk a batter, giving way to Jeff Manship after 113 pitches.
CUBS 5, DIAMONDBACKS 1
CHICAGO — Travis Wood hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs to back his nine-strikeout performance on the mound, leading the Cubs to a victory over thea Diamondbacks.
Wood (1-2) gave up a run and six hits over seven innings. His four RBIs and nine strikeouts matched career highs.
Bronson Arroyo (1-2) allowed five runs and eight hits in 5 1-3 innings for Arizona. The Diamondbacks have lost nine of 10 games and have the worst record in the majors (5-17).
ORIOLES 7, RED SOX 6
BOSTON — Clay Buchholz allowed six runs in the third inning, and Baltimore held on to beat Boston in the annual Patriots’ Day morning game at Fenway Park, a year after the Boston Marathon bombings.
Trailing by two runs, Boston loaded the bases in the ninth. Mike Napoli hit an RBI groundout before Tommy Hunter, Baltimore’s fifth reliever, retired Mike Carp on a game-ending grounder for his fifth save.
The game began at 11:09 a.m. local time, about an hour before Meb Keflezighi crossed the marathon finish line just over a mile away as the first American man to win since Greg Meyer in 1983.
INDIANS 4, ROYALS 3
CLEVELAND — Jason Kipnis and Michael Brantley hit two-run homers, powering the Indians over the Royals when a fearless squirrel ran around Progressive Field and provided some extra entertainment.
Kipnis connected in the sixth inning off Jeremy Guthrie (2-1), overcoming a 3-2 deficit. Brantley provided Cleveland a 2-0 lead in the fourth.
Zach McAllister (3-0) gave up six hits and overcame three errors — one on his errant throw.
WHITE SOX 3, TIGERS 1
DETROIT — Jose Abreu and Dayan Viciedo hit RBI doubles in the seventh inning, and the White Sox rallied for a victory over the Tigers.
Chicago scored three runs in the seventh off Anibal Sanchez (0-2) after managing only one hit in the first six innings. John Danks (2-0) allowed six hits and three walks in 6 1-3 innings, but the Tigers could score only one run off him.
ASTROS 7, MARINERS 2
SEATTLE — Matt Dominguez homered and drove in three runs, Dallas Keuchel struck out a season-high eight and the Astros broke a seven-game skid with a win over the Mariners.
It is the seventh straight loss for Seattle, which is the longest active streak in the majors.
RANGERS 4, ATHLETICS 3
OAKLAND, Calif. — Donnie Murphy lined a go-ahead single up the middle with one out in the eighth inning, and the Rangers rallied from an early three-run deficit to beat the Athletics.
Sean Doolittle (0-1) allowed a leadoff double to Kevin Kouzmanoff and Mitch Moreland sacrificed him to third before Murphy’s hit. Murphy and Kouzmanoff are both former A’s players.