CINCINNATI (AP) - Nick Castellanos stood over, flexed and jawed at St. Louis pitcher Jake Woodford after scoring, setting off a series of scuffles that included relievers shoving in the outfield as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Cardinals 9-6 Saturday.
St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright was knocked around for six runs and chased in the third. The next inning, the teams started tagging each other.
Castellanos, who homered on opening day and hopped out of the box before tossing his bat, was plunked by Woodford with two outs and none on in the fourth. Castellanos retrieved the ball and offered to toss it back to Woodford before flipping it out of play.
A wild pitch soon sent Castellanos scampering home from third and he scored with a headfirst slide for a 7-2 lead as he bumped into Woodford, who took the throw from catcher Yadier Molina at the plate.
As Castellanos began walking away, Molina rushed up and tapped him from behind, and the benches and bullpens emptied in a wild scene.
There was more pushing and shoving before order seemed to be restored. But as relief pitchers for both teams were heading back to their bullpens, they tangled in the outfield.
Castellanos was the only player ejected.
Cincinnati’s Tyler Mahle (1-0) struck out nine in five innings, allowing two earned runs.
Wainwright (0-1) lasted only 2 2/3 innings and gave up five earned runs and seven hits.
TWINS 2, BREWERS 0
MILWAUKEE (AP) - José Berríos and three Minnesota relievers combined on a one-hitter with 17 strikeouts to outduel Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes.
The Twins held Milwaukee hitless until Omar Narváez delivered a one-out single off reliever Tyler Duffey in the eighth inning. Neither team had a hit or walk until Minnesota’s Byron Buxton led off the seventh with a homer against Burnes (0-1).
Buxton’s homer came on the 87th and final pitch from Burnes, who had 11 strikeouts. Berríos (1-0) struck out 12, hit a batter and didn’t walk anybody in six innings but left after 84 pitches.
This was the first game in which both teams were hitless through six innings since an Aug. 2, 2014, duel between Jake Peavy of the San Francisco Giants and Jacob DeGrom of the New York Mets.
ASTROS 9, ATHLETICS 1
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Yordan Álvarez hit a three-run homer and Houston kept thriving through all the boos, slugging its way to a third straight win over Oakland.
Houston has outscored Oakland 26-7 in three games against the defending AL West champion A’s, who were eliminated by the Astros in a four-game AL Division Series last fall.
Lance McCullers Jr. (1-0) did his part. The Houston right-hander struck out seven and walked three in five innings, allowing two hits and one run.
Lefty Cole Irvin (0-1) allowed four runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 inning in his A’s debut after pitching the past two seasons for the Phillies.
YANKEES 5, BLUE JAYS 3
NEW YORK (AP) - Gary Sánchez joined Elston Howard in 1963 as the only Yankees catchers to homer in each of the first two games of a season and Jay Bruce blooped a two-run single in the seventh for his first hit with his new team in New York’s win over Toronto.
Two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber, limited by injuries to one inning in the previous two seasons, pitched around control problems to allow one earned run over four innings in his Yankees debut.
Left-hander Lucas Luetge also debuted for the Yankees in his first major league appearance in six years. Jonathan Loaisiga (1-0) pitched two innings, and Chad Green got a four-out save in the absence of Aroldis Chapman, who completed a two-game suspension for throwing near the head of Tampa Bay’s Mike Brousseau last Sept. 1.
Toronto’s Ross Stripling (0-1), starting because of injuries to Robbie Ray, Nate Pearson and Thomas Hatch, allowed three runs, seven hits and two walks in 3 1/3 innings with five strikeouts.
ORIOLES 4, RED SOX 2
BOSTON (AP) - Maikel Franco drove in two runs after a Boston error, Pedro Severino had his second two-hit game in a row and Matt Harvey made his Orioles debut in a win over the Red Sox.
Franco’s single came after Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers made a diving stop on Austin Hays’ grounder but sailed the throw to second. The Orioles also took advantage of a Boston error for a two-run inning in Friday’s opener, a 3-0 win.
Harvey missed his chance at the win when he was pulled with two outs in the fifth after giving up two singles and a walk in the inning. Adam Plutko (1-0) relieved him and went 2 1/3 innings, allowing one hit and striking out two.
Red Sox rookie Tanner Houck (0-1) struck out eight in five innings, allowing three runs - two earned - on six hits and a walk. J.D. Martinez had three hits, including a double in the first inning.
TIGERS 5, INDIANS 2
DETROIT (AP) - Julio Teheran pitched through trouble in his Detroit debut, leading the Tigers to a win over Cleveland.
For a second straight game, Detroit scored two runs in the first and led the rest of the way. Willi Castro hit an RBI triple off Zach Plesac (0-1) and came home on Miguel Cabrera’s groundout. The Tigers added three runs in the seventh.
Teheran (1-0) allowed a run and four hits in five innings. Eddie Rosario drove in both Cleveland runs with a home run in the second and a sacrifice fly in the eighth.
ROYALS 11, RANGERS 4
KANSAS CITY (AP) - Michael A. Taylor homered and drove in three for the second straight game, leading Kansas City over Texas.
Released by Washington after hitting .196 last season, Taylor is off to a sensational start for Kansas City. After getting three hits and throwing out two runners at the plate from center field in a 14-10 win on opening day, Taylor came back with a home run and double as the Royals improved to 2-0.
Whit Merrifield also homered for the second game in a row. Kansas City’s Mike Minor (1-0) allowed four runs and four hits in six innings. He pitched for the Rangers over the past three seasons.
Texas reliever Josh Sborz (0-1) gave up three runs without retiring a batter.
CUBS 5, PIRATES 1
CHICAGO (AP) - Jake Arrieta pitched six solid innings in a triumphant return to the Cubs, Kris Bryant and Jason Heyward homered, and Chicago beat Pittsburgh.
Arrieta (1-0) got a warm reception prior to the game, then gave up just one run and six hits. The 35-year-old right-hander struck out five and walked one. Javier Báez singled twice, drove in a run and scored one. He also stole two bases.
Tyler Anderson (0-1) went five innings in his Pirates debut, allowing three runs and five hits. The left-hander, who signed with Pittsburgh in free agency, struck out seven and walked two.
Pittsburgh third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes left the game because of discomfort in his left wrist. He jammed his hand diving back to first on a pickoff attempt after walking in the first inning.
PHILLIES 4, BRAVES 0
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Zack Wheeler allowed only one hit and struck out 10 in seven innings and had two hits and two RBIs at the plate to lead Philadelphia over Atlanta.
Wheeler retired the final 17 Atlanta hitters he faced after a one-out single by Travis d’Arnaud in the second.
Archie Bradley and Hector Neris retired all six hitters in the final two innings. Overall, the Braves struck out 14 times out of 28 at-bats.
Wheeler put the Phillies ahead to stay with his run-scoring single in the fifth against Charlie Morton (0-1). Rhys Hoskins made it 3-0 with a two-run double.
MARLINS 12, RAYS 7
MIAMI (AP) - Starling Marte had four hits and Miami beat Tampa Bay at home for the first time since 2018.
Garrett Cooper homered and drove in three runs for the Marlins, and pinch-hitter Adam Duvall also went deep. Marte and leadoff man Miguel Rojas each scored three times.
Tampa Bay, the reigning American League champion, won 11 of the previous 12 matchups between the Sunshine State rivals over the past three years. Miami was 0-7 against the Rays at home since a 3-0 victory on July 4, 2018 - including losses in the first two games this season.
But the Marlins broke loose with 14 hits in their first win of 2021.
An ailing Elieser Hernandez made it through just 2 1/3 innings for the Marlins, who needed six relievers to finish the game. Richard Bleier (1-0) worked a scoreless seventh.
Chris Archer (0-1) gave up four runs in two innings of relief.
PADRES 7, DIAMONDBACKS 0
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Joe Musgrove was brilliant in his debut for his hometown Padres, Manny Machado homered for his first hit of 2021 and Wil Myers drove in three runs on two doubles as San Diego beat Arizona.
With his parents and other family members in the stands, Musgrove (1-0) held the Diamondbacks to three hits in six innings while striking out eight and walking none. After allowing a one-out single in the first, he retired 11 straight, seven by strikeout.
Padres rookie Ryan Weathers, who made his big league debut in Game 1 of the NL Division Series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, finished the combined four-hitter with three strikeouts in three innings for his first save.
Machado hit an opposite-field shot to right off Caleb Smith (0-1) in the first.
DODGERS 6, ROCKIES 5
DENVER (AP) - Zach McKinstry hustled for a go-ahead, inside-the-park homer in the eighth inning when left fielder Raimel Tapia reached over the fence to bring the ball back, only to have it bounce out of his glove and roll away, helping Los Angeles beat Colorado.
Kenley Jansen got five outs to earn the save.
McKinstry lined a fastball from Mychal Givens (0-1) that resulted in his first major league homer. It was the first inside-the-park homer by a Dodgers player since Chris Taylor on Sept. 18, 2017, at Philadelphia.
McKinstry’s drive was heading into the seats before Tapia made a sensational play as he crashed into the wall. The ball bounced away as a staggered Tapia fell to the ground before realizing the ball was still in play. McKinstry motored around bases and clapped as he crossed home plate.
Tapia left the game after the play.
Corey Seager had three of the 12 hits by the World Series champion Dodgers. They have 43 hits through three games.
Walker Buehler allowed two runs over six innings in a no-decision. Blake Treinen (1-0) took over in the seventh and gave up a tying, two-run homer to Josh Fuentes.
ANGELS 5, WHITE SOX 3
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Justin Upton’s homer capped a three-run rally in the eighth inning and Los Angeles, helped by a flyball that bounced off the head of White Sox center fielder Luis Robert, beat hot-hitting Yermín Mercedes and Chicago.
Mercedes homered, doubled and singled to become the first player since at least 1900 to begin a season with eight straight hits. The 28-year-old rookie flied out in his final at-bat, ending the streak.
The Angels trailed 3-2 going into the eighth. Anthony Rendon singled and scored the tying run on Jared Walsh’s triple. Upton connected off Evan Marshall (0-1).
Junior Guerra (1-0) tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Angels got a gift in the third.
Rendon’s high fly appeared to be the final out of the inning, but the ball caromed off Robert’s head after he charged in and called off shortstop Tim Anderson.
MARINERS 4, GIANTS 0
SEATTLE (AP) - Chris Flexen returned to the majors with a win after a year in South Korea, and Seattle got home runs from Mitch Haniger and Ty France while shutting out San Francisco.
Flexen (1-0) struck out six and allowed four hits in five sharp innings to help the Mariners take their first series of the year. The 26-year-old right-hander spent 2020 with the Doosan Bears of the Korea Baseball Organization.
France launched the Mariners’ first home run of the season for a 1-0 lead in the third. Seattle then hit three straight doubles off starter Logan Webb (0-1) to start the fourth, building a 3-0 lead on run-scoring hits from Dylan Moore and rookie Taylor Trammell.
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