Cubs win 5th straight game, beat Padres 7-1

By Canadian Press on April 5, 2025.

CHICAGO (AP) — Carson Kelly homered and drove in four runs, and the Chicago Cubs beat the San Diego Padres 7-1 on Saturday for their fifth consecutive win.

Dansby Swanson also went deep as Chicago improved to 7-2 since it dropped its first two games in Tokyo against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Nico Hoerner had two hits and drove in a run.

Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd (1-0) pitched six innings of five-hit ball in his first career start at Wrigley Field. He was struck by Jackson Merrill’s comebacker on the final out of the sixth, but he appeared to be OK.

It was San Diego’s second straight loss after opening the season with seven consecutive victories.

The Padres scored their only run on Fernando Tatis Jr.’s two-out RBI single in the seventh. They also managed just one run in the series opener on Friday.

Kelly hit a run-scoring single off Nick Pivetta (1-1) in the second. He connected for a three-run shot with two out in the sixth, lifting Chicago to a 7-0 lead with his second homer of the season.

Kelly agreed to an $11.5 million, two-year deal with the Cubs in December. He hit for the cycle against the A’s on Monday night.

Pivetta permitted three runs and six hits in three innings. He struck out four and walked three.

TIGERS 7, WHITE SOX 2

DETROIT (AP) — Kerry Carpenter homered for the third time in two games and Spencer Torkelson had a home run and a double Saturday as Detroit beat Chicago for its fourth win in five games following an opening three-game losing streak.

Chicago lost its fourth straight and dropped to 2-6, a year after a 1-9 start en route to a post-1900-record 121 defeats. The White Sox have scored two runs or fewer in four games.

Andrew Vaughn’s RBI double put Chicago ahead in the first off Reese Olson (1-1), but Riley Greene hit a tying single against in the bottom half and scored on Andy Ibáñez’s single against Reese Olson (0-1), who lost his seventh straight decision dating to 2022.

Carpenter’s second-inning homer scored Justyn-Henry Malloy and raised his team-leading RBIs total to eight. Seven starters had a hit for the Tigers, who scored seven runs against the White Sox for the second straight game.

Riley Greene, Andy Ibanez, Malloy and Trey Sweeney each drove in a run for Detroit.

Olson allowed two runs, seven hits and three walks in six innings.

TWINS 6, ASTROS 1

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jose Miranda’s three-run homer highlighted a six-run fourth inning that ignited Minnesota in a victory over Houston.

The Twins were hitless against Spencer Arighetti (1-1) until the fourth, when Miranda sent a two-out, two-strike curveball into the left-field seats for a 4-1 lead. Matt Wallner added an RBI double during that 10-batter inning aided by two errors and Arighetti’s wildness.

The Twins totaled only six runs over their 0-4 start and topped that total only once in their first seven games.

Twins starter Bailey Ober bounced back from a rough opening start in St. Louis, allowing a leadoff home run to Jose Altuve but nothing else over four strong innings. Ober gave up eight hits and eight runs in 2 2/3 innings to the Cardinals last week.

Cole Sands (1-0) struck out two in a perfect sixth for the victory, one of five Twins relievers who combined to strike out eight without a walk over five scoreless innings.

NATIONALS 4, DIAMONDBACKS 3

WASHINGTON (AP) — James Wood hit a two-run double over center fielder Alek Thomas in a three-run first inning and Josh Bell tripled for the third time since 2022, helping Washington beat Arizona to stop a four-game losing streak.

Mitchell Parker (2-0) allowed one run, two hits and four walks over six innings and Kyle Finnegan got his second save, giving up Thomas’ RBI single. Catcher Riley Adams caught Thomas attempting to steal second base for the final out.

Second baseman Tim Tawa, called up by Arizona after Ketel Marte’s hamstring injury, was 1 for 3 in his major league debut. Tawa, who turns 26 on Monday, singled to left in his first at-bat leading off the third, walked in the sixth and scored in Randal Grichuk’s single, then hit into a run-scoring forceout in the seventh.

Diamondbacks starter Eduardo Rodriguez (0-1) allowed four runs and five hits in five innings, striking out 12 for the first time since Sept. 14, 2019, for Boston against the Philadelphia.

YANKEES 10, PIRATES 4

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Trent Grisham homered twice, including a three-run shot to fuel a six-run fifth-inning rally, and New York beat Pittsburgh.

Grisham went deep against Bailey Falter (0-1) leading off the third, then did it again in the fifth on a towering fly ball that just scraped over the left-field fence as the Yankees won their third straight and improved to 6-2.

Paul Goldschmidt had three hits for New York, which has a record 25 home runs through eight games. Oswaldo Peraza added two hits and scored twice and Anthony Volpe also had two hits, including a bases-clearing double off Colin Holderman later in the fifth that gave the Yankees plenty of cushion. Aaron Judge, who leads the majors in homers and RBIs, singled in the 1,001st game of his career.

Mark Leiter Jr. (1-1) pitched a scoreless sixth for New York. Yankees starter Marcus Stroman gave up four runs — all in the fourth — on three hits with three walks and three strikeouts as his ERA pushed up to 7.27.

DODGERS 3, PHILLIES 1

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Roki Sasaki allowed one run while pitching into the fifth inning, Kiké Hernández and Michael Conforto homered and Los Angeles beat Philadelphia for a 9-1 start.

Still seeking his first major league win and making his third start, Sasaki gave up singles to Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber in the first, followed by Alex Bohm’s run-scoring groundout.

Sasaki was removed after walking J.T. Realmuto starting the fifth and allowing Bryson Stott’s single on his 68th pitch. Anthony Banda (3-0) retired Brandon Marsh on a flyout and Schwarber lined into a double play, with right fielder Teoscar Hernández doubling up Stott at first.

Banda, Ben Casparius, Alex Vesia, and Tanner Scott combined for scoreless, one-hit relief. Scott got his third save.

Kiké Hernández hit a two-run homer in the second off Nola and Conforto had a solo drive in the sixth. Nola allowed seven hits over six innings for the Phillies, who fell to 6-2.

ORIOLES 8, ROYALS 1

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jackson Holliday highlighted a four-run sixth inning with a two-run single, Tomoyuki Sugano was solid through five-plus innings and Baltimore defeated Kansas City to snap a three-game skid.

Heston Kjerstad and Ramón Urías also had RBI singles in Baltimore’s big inning. Gary Sánchez hit a two-run single in the second and Tyler O’Neill had a two-run triple in the seventh for the Orioles, whose five through nine batters went 8 for 19 with all eight RBIs.

Leadoff man Gunnar Henderson was 0 for 5 with four strikeouts, dropping to 1 for 9 since returning from a a right intercostal strain.

Sugano (1-1) got the first eight Royals hitters out and allowed one run and five hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out four, walked one and hit one batter.

Royals starter Michael Wacha (0-2) tossed 5 2/3 innings and gave up four runs and six hits with five strikeouts and one walk.

Bobby Witt Jr. hit his first homer of the season for Kansas City, a 399-foot shot to left field in the sixth.

RANGERS 6, RAYS 4

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Wyatt Langford hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh inning after Jacob deGrom allowed a four-run lead to slip away and Texas beat Tampa Bay for their fourth straight victory.

After the Rays trailed 4-0 after one inning, Jonathan Aranda hit a two-run homer as part of Tampa Bay’s three-run sixth that tied it at 4.

Aranda’s homer and Kameron Misner’s double knocked deGrom from the game. DeGrom allowed four runs and eight hits — including homers by Aranda and Brandon Lowe — in 5⅔ innings.

Texas scored four times in the first against Rays starter Taj Bradley. Marcus Semien hit a leadoff homer and Jake Burger had a three-run shot with two outs after Langford and Adolis Garcia walked.

Bradley regrouped and held the Rangers hitless over the next four innings. He allowed four runs and two hits and four walks with seven strikeouts in five innings.

Robert Garcia (1-0), the Rangers’ third pitcher, got one out to earn the win. Luke Jackson pitched the ninth for his fifth save. Mason Montgomery (0-1) gave up Langford’s homer and took the loss.

REDS 11, BREWERS 7

MILWAUKEE (AP) — TJ Friedl went 4 for 5 and hit one of Cincinnati’s four homers off Elvin Rodríguez as its lineup finally awoke in a victory over Milwaukee.

Blake Dunn, Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Jose Trevino also went deep to help the Reds snap a four-game skid and end the Brewers’ four-game winning streak.

The Reds had totaled 14 hits and endured a 35-inning scoreless streak over their last four games, but they jumped all over Rodríguez (0-2) on Saturday.

Elly De La Cruz drew a two-out walk and came all the way home from first on Gavin Lux’s bloop double in the first. After retiring his first two batters in the second, Rodríguez gave up a homer to Dunn, a single to Trevino and a two-run blast by Friedl.

Encarnacion-Strand led off the fourth with a 451-foot drive off the center-field scoreboard and Trevino added a two-run shot later in the inning to put Cincinnati ahead 7-0.

Milwaukee’s Sal Frelick went 4 for 5 with two singles, a double and a triple.

MARLINS 4, BRAVES 0

ATLANTA (AP) — First baseman Matt Mervis tallied his first two homers of the season in his first career two-home run game as Miami evened the series with a win over Atlanta.

Mervis put the Marlins up 2-0 with a two-run blast in the first and his seventh inning solo shot gave Miami a 4-0 lead. Starting pitcher Cal Quantrill (1-1) pitched a scoreless five innings in which he allowed four hits, no walks and he struck out four.

After giving up seven hits with runners in scoring position in Friday’s 10-0 loss to Atlanta, the Braves went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position against Miami’s pitching staff Saturday. The Marlins tallied 11 strikeouts as a team.

Braves starter AJ Smith-Shawver (0-2) went 4 2/3 innings allowing three earned runs on seven hits and he tallied three walks and six strikeouts.

METS 3, BLUE JAYS 2

NEW YORK (AP) — Francisco Lindor’s walk-off sacrifice fly capped a late comeback that was keyed by Jesse Winker’s two-run triple in the eighth inning, leading New York to a victory over Toronto.

Jose Siri drew a one-out walk in the ninth against Nick Sandlin (0-1), went to second base on a wild pitch and was held at third on Luis Torrens’ single. Lindor greeted closer Jeff Hoffman with a lineout to right-center and Siri scored easily as second baseman Andres Giménez cut off the throw from Myles Straw.

It was the seventh career walk-off RBI for Lindor.

Edwin Diaz (1-0) struck out three in the ninth, including Giménez to strand a pair of runners.

Chris Bassitt tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings before the Mets tied it in the eighth against Brendon Little, who gave up Winker’s two-run triple.

The Associated Press

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