Apr 15, 2018 3 min read

Carlos Martinez struck out a season-high 11 batters in seven shutout innings and Harrison Bader’s two-run home run helped the St. Louis Cardinals complete their first four-game sweep in Cincinnati since 1949 with a 3-2 win Sunday.

Martinez (2-1) allowed two hits and four walks while helping send the Reds to their eighth consecutive loss, one short of matching their longest losing streak of last season.

Washington 6, Colorado 5: Ian Desmond hit a tiebreaking, two-out homer in the ninth inning against his former team, Charlie Blackmon drove in three runs and the Colorado Rockies rallied to beat the Nationals 6-5, ending a dispiriting homestand for Washington.

After Sean Doolittle (0-1) struck out Carlos Gonzalez and Gerardo Parra to open the ninth, Desmond sent a belt-high, 3-2 fastball over the 402-foot sign in straightaway center as Colorado took three out of four in its only visit to Washington.

N.Y. Mets 3, Milwaukee 2: Wilmer Flores hit a game-winning home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and the New York Mets beat the Milwaukee Brewers 3-2 to improve the best start in team history to 12-2.

Noah Syndergaard struck out eight batters in a row, two shy of Tom Seaver’s major league record, and Brandon Nimmo finished a double shy of the cycle. Nimmo connected for a tying home run against Taylor Williams leading off the sixth on a cold, blustery afternoon at Citi Field.

San Diego 10, San Francisco 1: Joey Lucchesi struck out nine in six innings, fellow rookie Christian Villanueva homered, doubled and drove in three runs, and the San Diego Padres cruised past San Francisco 10-1 to beat the Giants for the third straight game.

L.A. Dodgers 7, Arizona 2: Clayton Kershaw struck out 12 and pitched two-hit ball over seven innings as the Los Angeles Dodgers ended an 11-game losing streak against Arizona in the regular season, beating the Diamondbacks 7-2.

Los Angeles had been 0-5 versus the Diamondbacks this year, and hadn’t beaten them in the regular season since last August. But the Dodgers swept Arizona 3-0 last year in the NL Division Series.

American League

Boston 3, Baltimore 1: Andrew Benintendi got three hits and the Boston Red Sox extended the best start in their 118-year history, beating the Baltimore Orioles 3-1 at frigid Fenway Park.

Mitch Moreland also had three hits for the Red Sox, who improved to a major league-best 13-2 under new manager Alex Cora.

The annual Patriots’ Day game schedule for today morning at Fenway Park has been postponed because of the forecast of heavy rain.

Oakland 2, Seattle 1: Sean Manaea pitched seven strong innings and Jed Lowrie hit an early two-run homer off Felix Hernandez to lead the Oakland Athletics over the Seattle Mariners 2-1.

Interleague

Philadelphia 10, Tampa Bay 4: Aaron Altherr hit a three-run homer, Scott Kingery had a three-run double and the Philadelphia Phillies won their sixth in a row, topping the Tampa Bay Rays 10-4.

Kingery’s two-out drive off the center field wall capped a four-run burst in the third inning that put Philadelphia ahead 4-2. The rookie has 12 RBI over his last eight games.