Apr 18, 2021 4 min read

The last-place New York Yankees lost their fifth straight game as Yoshi Tsutsugo hit a tiebreaking double off Gerrit Cole in the seventh inning that lifted the Tampa Bay Rays to a 4-2 win Sunday and a three-game sweep.

Four pitchers combined on the Rays’ second three-hitter of a series in which New York managed 11 hits in all.

Cole (2-1) was hurt by slipshod defense that made three mistakes in the third inning alone, two by center fielder Aaron Hicks and one by left fielder Clint Frazier.

Kansas City 2, Toronto 0: Salvador Perez tapped his bat twice on the plate to make sure it wasn’t cracked, then sent the next pitch he saw from Toronto reliever T.J. Zeuch into the left-field fountains, breaking open a scoreless game and sending the Kansas City Royals to a 2-0 victory over the Blue Jays.

Texas 1, Baltimore 0: Nate Lowe singled with two outs and the bases loaded in the 10th inning, giving the Texas Rangers a 1-0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles in a pitcher’s duel between a pair of opening starters.

Chicago White Sox 3-5, Boston 2-1: Yermín Mercedes opened Chicago’s three-run fourth inning with a long homer, and the White Sox completed a sweep of their split-admission doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox with a 5-1 victory.

In the opener, Tim Anderson homered on the game’s first pitch and Dallas Keuchel pitched five solid innings in a 3-2 victory.

Chicago White Sox 3, Boston 2: Tim Anderson homered on the game’s first pitch, Dallas Keuchel pitched five solid innings and the Chicago White Sox beat the Boston Red Sox 3-2 in the opener of a split-admission doubleheader.

Seattle 7, Houston 2: Ty France hit a two-run home run, six Seattle pitchers combined on a one-hitter and the Mariners beat the depleted Houston Astros 7-2.

Oakland 3, Detroit 2: Matt Olson scored from second base on a fielding error by Detroit third baseman Jeimer Candelario with two outs in the ninth inning, rallying the Oakland Athletics past the Tigers 3-2 for their eighth straight win.

National League

Arizona 5, Washington 2: Madison Bumgarner had his best outing of the season, allowing a run over five innings as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat Washington 5-2 after Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg was a late scratch.

N.Y. Mets 2, Colorado 1: Marcus Stroman pitched eight innings of one-run ball and made a dazzling defensive play, catcher James McCann threw out Trevor Story attempting to steal second for the final out and the New York Mets beat the Colorado Rockies 2-1.

San Francisco 1, Miami 0: Alex Wood pitched five innings in his season debut and four relievers completed a three-hitter as the San Francisco Giants scored an unearned run to beat the Miami Marlins 1-0 and avert a series sweep.

Philadelphia 2, St. Louis 0:Aaron Nola struck out 10 and threw a two-hitter for his first nine-inning shutout in the majors, leading the Philadelphia Phillies to a 2-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

San Diego 5, L.A. Dodgers 2: Eric Hosmer delivered the tying and go-ahead RBIs in the seventh and eighth innings, helping the San Diego Padres beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-2 to avoid a sweep.

Interleague

Cleveland 6, Cincinnati 3: Shane Bieber kept up his record strikeout run, fanning 13 and pitching the Cleveland Indians past the Cincinnati Reds 6-3.

Bieber (2-1) become the first pitcher in big league history to begin the season with four straight starts with at least 10 strikeouts.