MIAMI (AP) — CJ Abrams hit a two-run homer and the Washington Nationals beat the Miami Marlins 7-2 on Monday night, completing a four-game sweep of the NL’s worst club in front of a season-low 6,376 fans at loanDepot Park.
The Marlins (6-24), who made the playoffs last season, have lost seven straight, their worst skid since opening the season 0-9.
Jake Irvin (2-2) allowed two runs on four hits in six innings, bouncing back from allowing 12 hits and six runs to the Los Angeles Dodgers in his previous start.
Ildemaro Vargas had two hits and an RBI for the Nationals, who swept Miami over four games for the first time since Sept. 18-21, 2014.
Marlins shortstop Tim Anderson exited after the third inning because of a mild left thumb sprain. Anderson and Call collided at second base when Call successfully slid into the bag for his double.
ORIOLES 2, YANKEES 0
BALTIMORE (AP) — Gunnar Henderson homered to lead off the first inning and Baltimore defeated New York Yankees in the opener of a four-game series.
Grayson Rodriguez threw 5 2/3 shutout innings for Baltimore, which won the first meeting of the season between the top two teams in the AL East.
New York left 10 men on base and was 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position.
After fouling off the previous three pitches, Henderson lined a 2-2 knuckle-curve over the wall in right off Clarke Schmidt (2-1). It was Henderson’s 10th homer, tying the Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout for the major league lead.
It was enough of a cushion for Rodriguez (4-1), who matched a career high with 101 pitches while allowing at least one runner in each inning he worked. He allowed five hits and three walks while striking out three.
Rodriguez has not allowed a run in 12 career innings against the Yankees.
CUBS 3, METS 1
NEW YORK (AP) — Christopher Morel hit a two-run homer off Edwin Díaz to snap a ninth-inning tie and Chicago Cubs beat the New York Mets after being held hitless by Luis Severino into the eighth.
Dansby Swanson singled off Severino with nobody out in the eighth for Chicago’s first hit, putting runners at first and second following a leadoff walk to Michael Busch.
With runners at the corners and one out, pinch-hitter Nick Madrigal hit a broken-bat grounder to third baseman Joey Wendle, who had just entered for defense. Wendle easily could have thrown out Busch at the plate, cutting off the tying run. Instead, the veteran infielder made an ill-advised decision to try for an inning-ending double play. Madrigal beat the relay to first and the Cubs evened it 1-all.
Brandon Nimmo hit his 13th career leadoff homer for the Mets, but Jameson Taillon shut them down after that in a fast-moving pitchers’ duel that zipped by at a breakneck pace.
Taillon allowed four hits in 7 1/3 innings, throwing 57 of his 78 pitches for strikes.
Mark Leiter Jr. (1-1) got two outs for the win, and Héctor Neris worked around two walks in the ninth for his fourth save. With two runners aboard, he struck out pinch-hitters DJ Stewart and Brett Baty to end a game that took just 2 hours, 5 minutes.
Mike Tauchman doubled off Díaz (0-1) with one out in the ninth. One out later, Morel drove a 3-1 fastball to left-center for his fourth home run.
BLUE JAYS 6, ROYALS 5
TORONTO (AP) — Justin Turner hit two home runs, Danny Jansen added a solo homer and Toronto held on to beat Kansas City.
Turner hit a two-run home run in the first inning and had a leadoff homer in the third. It was the 16th multihomer game of his career.
Jansen also connected in the third, his second.
The Blue Jays scored more than five runs for the first time in 21 games, ending a streak that dated back to a 9-8 loss at Yankee Stadium on April 6.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Davis Schneider each drove in a run as Toronto won back-to-back games after losing the previous five.
Royals catcher Salvador Perez was scratched from the starting lineup because of a tight back but delivered a pinch-hit single with two out in the ninth. Dairon Blanco ran for Perez, who hit for DH Nelson Velázquez
RAYS 1, BREWERS 0
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Ryan Pepiot and three relievers combined on a three-hit shutout and Tampa Bay withstood a ninth-inning comeback attempt to beat Milwaukee.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy was ejected in the ninth inning after arguing a call that prevented Milwaukee from scoring the apparent tying run.
The Brewers had runners on second and third with one out when a potential third strike to Jake Bauers got past catcher Ben Rortvedt for a wild pitch, enabling Bauers to reach first while Sal Frelick came home. But plate umpire Ryan Additon ruled Bauers had hit Rortvedt on the backswing, resulting in Bauers getting called out while Frelick had to stay at third.
After Jason Adam hit Rhys Hoskins with a pitch to load the bases, he struck out Blake Perkins to end the game and earn his first save in two opportunities.
It was the second day in a row a controversial ruling went against the Brewers in a game they lost. After the Brewers fell 15-5 to the New York Yankees on Sunday, crew chief Andy Fletcher acknowledged Aaron Judge should have been called for interference for his slide on a botched double-play attempt that sparked New York’s seven-run tiebreaking rally in the sixth inning.
