MLB roundup: Mets erupt for 9-run inning

Yoenis Cespedes' grand slam capped a nine-run eighth inning Wednesday night for the New York Mets, who stormed back for an 11-5 win over the visiting Washington Nationals.

Pinch hitter Juan Lagares laced a go-ahead two-run double three batters before Cespedes iced the game for the Mets. New York, which salvaged the finale of a three-game series, has won 13 of its first 17 games this season.

The rally made a winner out of AJ Ramos (1-1), who tossed a perfect eighth inning. Nationals right-hander Ryan Madson (0-2) drew the loss after starter Tanner Roark limited the Mets to two runs on two hits in seven innings.

Ryan Zimmerman had a hand in all five Nationals runs by hitting a three-run homer in the first, tripling and scoring in the seventh on Moises Sierra's sacrifice fly and homering again in the ninth. Washington had no runners left on base.

Red Sox 9, Angels 0

Rafael Devers hit a grand slam and Rick Porcello pitched six scoreless innings to lead Boston to its second straight rout of Los Angeles in Anaheim, Calif.

One night after their 10-1 win, the Red Sox improved their major-league-best record to 15-2, their best mark through 17 games in the 118-year history of the franchise. Boston joined the 2003 San Francisco Giants as the only teams since 1987 to begin a major league season 15-2.

Devers' first career slam was only a part of the Red Sox's offensive onslaught. Mitch Moreland had three hits, including a home run, and four RBIs. J.D. Martinez homered and had three singles.

Twins 2, Indians 1 (16 innings)

Ryan LaMarre lined a single to center field to score Eddie Rosario with no outs in the bottom of the 16th inning, giving Minnesota a split in their two-game series in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The series was dominated by pitching, with the Indians' Corey Kluber silencing the Twins in a 6-1 win Tuesday before Cleveland's Carlos Carrasco and Minnesota's Jose Berrios each threw seven shutout innings in the second meeting.

The series finale ended on a bit of a powerful note, with the Indians' Edwin Encarnacion and Twins' Miguel Sano exchanging solo home runs in the 14th, setting the stage for LaMarre's heroics two innings later.

Athletics 12, White Sox 11 (14 innings)

Matt Olson singled over the head of left fielder Nick Delmonico with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 14th inning, delivering Oakland a marathon victory over visiting Chicago and a three-game series sweep.

Olson's hit, his fourth of the game, came off right-hander James Shields, who was pressed into his second career relief appearance after the White Sox exhausted nine pitchers in a game that lasted just short of six hours.

Chicago led most of the way after Yoan Moncada belted his first career grand slam in a five-run second inning. However, the White Sox could not hold off Oakland, which scored eight or more runs for the third straight game.

Tigers 6, Orioles 5

Dixon Machado hit a leadoff homer in the bottom of the ninth inning, allowing Detroit to edge visiting Baltimore.

Machado ripped a 1-0 fastball from Pedro Araujo (1-2) for his first homer of the season. Detroit's John Hicks, Miguel Cabrera and Jeimer Candelario also went deep. Cabrera's long ball came on his 35th birthday.

Manny Machado had two hits, a run scored and an RBI for Baltimore, while Danny Valencia added a solo homer.

Astros 7, Mariners 1

Gerrit Cole pitched seven innings, allowing just one unearned run on five hits as Houston pulled away to beat host Seattle.

Cole (2-0) struck out five, snapping his record-tying streak of 11-plus strikeouts in each of his first three starts of the season. He shares the mark with Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan.

The score was tied at 1 going into the seventh inning, when Marwin Gonzalez's two-run single sparked a six-run rally.

Blue Jays 15, Royals 5

Teoscar Hernandez had four hits, including a home run and a triple, and four RBIs, Curtis Granderson hit his ninth career grand slam as Toronto defeated Kansas City to complete a three-game series sweep.

Yangervis Solarte also homered for the Blue Jays, who have won four straight. The Royals saw their losing streak reach eight games.

Whit Merrifield and Jorge Soler hit their first homers of the season for Kansas City. Mike Moustakas stretched his hitting streak to 10 games.

Braves 7, Phillies 3

Ryan Flaherty hit a three-run homer against his former team to spark Atlanta to a win over Philadelphia.

Flaherty was released by the Phillies during spring training and added to the Braves' roster, and he earned the starting job. He connected on his first homer of the season against starter Vince Velasquez (1-2) to drive in Preston Tucker and Dansby Swanson and erase a 1-0 deficit.

Atlanta slugger Freddie Freeman left the game in the eighth inning when he was hit by a pitch on the wrist.

Giants 4, Diamondbacks 3 (10 innings)

Brandon Belt hit a two-out, two-run homer in extra innings as San Francisco broke a four-game losing streak with a win over Arizona in Phoenix.

Andrew McCutchen singled to open the 10th off Brad Boxberger (0-1) and stole second with two outs before Belt hit his second homer of the season and the 100th of his career. Boxberger had not given up a run in seven previous appearances this season.

Longoria, back in the lineup after missing Tuesday's game with ankle soreness, hit a two-run homer in support of Chris Stratton to break a scoreless tie in the sixth inning. Longoria also singled, doubled and walked.

Dodgers 13, Padres 4

Los Angeles exploded for nine runs in the first three innings off Luis Perdomo and coasted to a lopsided win to sweep the three-game series at San Diego.

A two-run double by Chase Utley followed by a two-run homer by Max Muncy capped a five-run third that broke open what had been a 4-2 game.

Dodgers right-hander Kenta Maeda (2-1) allowed four runs on eight hits and two walks with 10 strikeouts. Corey Seager collected four hits and three RBIs for Los Angeles.

Rays 4, Rangers 2

C.J. Cron extended his hitting streak to eight games with a tiebreaking single in a three-run sixth inning, and Tampa Bay held off Texas to win its first home series of the season.

Cron had two hits and Daniel Robertson and Denard Span had RBI doubles to help Jake Faria to his first victory of the season as the Rays (5-13) avoided the worst start in franchise history.

Cole Hamels (1-3) gave up seven hits and four runs in 6 1/3 innings for Texas. He struck out four and did not walk a batter. The Rangers have scored 12 runs in his five starts.

Brewers 2, Reds 0

Eric Thames hit another homer against Cincinnati and Zach Davies worked around three errors, leading Milwaukee to a shutout win at home.

Thames homered for the second straight game after an 0-for-11 skid. Six of his past eight hits were homers. His two-run shot to right-center field in the third off Tyler Mahle's slider was his 12th long ball in 19 career games against the Reds.

Cincinnati was shut out for the fourth time this season and has mustered six hits in the past two games after getting a 10-4 victory at Milwaukee on Monday. At 3-15, the Reds are off to their worst start since opening 1931 with 16 losses in 18 games.

Pirates 10, Rockies 2

Pittsburgh's offense awoke from a brief slumber with 13 hits in a lopsided win over visiting Colorado.

Sean Rodriguez hit a two-run homer, Josh Bell was 2-for-5 with three RBIs and Adam Frazier was 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs to lead the way for the Pirates, who avoided a three-game sweep.

Chris Iannetta launched a 432-foot home run in a losing effort for the Rockies.

Cardinals-Cubs, ppd.

St. Louis' scheduled game at Chicago was postponed due to inclement weather. The game will be made up Thursday afternoon.

--Field Level Media