Apr 6, 2021 4 min read

Juan Soto drove in the winning run with a single on a 3-0 pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning Tuesday, lifting the coronavirus-depleted Washington Nationals to a 6-5 comeback victory over the Atlanta Braves after waiting five days to start their season.

Lefty reliever Will Smith entered for the ninth and promptly gave up a single to new leadoff hitter Victor Robles, then hit Trea Turner with a pitch. That brought up Soto, the 2020 NL batting champion who went into this pivotal at-bat 0 for 4 on Tuesday.

But Soto delivered a line drive to center field, then tossed his red helmet high in the air before being mobbed by teammates who sprinted from the home dugout to meet him near second base, jumping and shouting and dousing him with water.

Chants of “MVP!” rang out from an announced crowd of 4,801 – the first spectators allowed at Nationals Park since Game 5 of the 2019 World Series.

Among the missing Nats: two members of the vaunted rotation – Jon Lester and Patrick Corbin – new closer Brad Hand, and four starting position players: left fielder Kyle Schwarber, first baseman Josh Bell, second baseman Josh Harrison and catcher Yan Gomes.

All were put on the 10-day injured list Tuesday, as were backup catcher Alex Avila and reserve infielder Jordy Mercer. No reason was given for those nine moves; a 10th player who went on the IL, reliever Will Harris, was identified as having inflammation in his right hand.

Brewers-Braves trade: The Atlanta Braves have acquired infielder Orlando Arcia from the Milwaukee Brewers for right-handed pitchers Chad Sobotka and Patrick Weigel.

The move clears the way for Luis Urías to take over as the Brewers’ everyday shortstop. The Brewers had acquired the 23-year-old Urías along with pitcher Eric Lauer from San Diego in a November 2019 trade.

American League

N.Y. Yankees 7, Baltimore 2: Gerrit Cole struck out 13 and walked none over seven scoreless innings in his most dominant start since joining the New York Yankees, overwhelming the Baltimore Orioles 7-2 for his first win this season.

Cole (1-0) allowed four hits, three of them singles, in the type of the performance that showed why the Yankees made him baseball’s highest-paid pitcher in December 2019 with a $324 million, nine-year contract.

Jay Bruce backed him with his first Yankees home run, a solo shot in the second off Dean Kremer (0-1), and Aaron Judge added a three-run homer in the eighth.

Detroit 4, Minnesota 3: Akil Baddoo added another big hit in this charmed start to his big league career, lining an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Detroit Tigers a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

Houston 4, L.A. Angeles 2: Carlos Correa hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the ninth inning and the Houston Astros split a short series against the AL West rival Los Angeles Angels with a 4-2 victory.

Yankees acquire infielder: Infielder Rougned Odor was traded from the Texas Rangers to the New York Yankees for minor league outfielders Antonio Cabello and Josh Stowers.

The 27-year-old Odor did not make the Rangers’ opening day roster and was designated for assignment on April 1. He is a left-handed hitter, and the Yankees have a mostly right-handed lineup.

Interleague

All-Star Game to Colorado: Atlanta, you’re out. Denver, you’re up.

Major League Baseball swiftly moved the All-Star Game to hitter-friendly Coors Field on Tuesday after pulling the Midsummer Classic from Atlanta over objections to extensive changes to Georgia’s voting laws.

Coors Field last hosted the All-Star Game in 1998. The game will be held July 13.