UNDATED (AP) — It turned out that J.D. Martinez only had a cold, which was great news for the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.
Martinez slammed three home runs and had four RBIs after coming off the COVID-19 list, highlighting the Red Sox’s 14-9 thumping of the Orioles. Martinez went on the COVID-19 list after complaining of cold-like symptoms, but he was reactivated after testing negative twice before gametime.
Rafael Devers homered twice and Alex Verdugo added a three-run shot in Boston’s sixth consecutive win.
Also around the majors:
— Rougned Odor singled home the tiebreaking run while sparking a four-run 10th that gave the Yankees an 8-4 win over the Rays. Odor went 0-for-4 before his go-ahead hit allowed him to celebrate his first start as a Yankee. Gio Urshela added a two-run homer and an RBI single as New York avoided a three-game sweep.
— Kyle Seager’s second homer of the game was a three-run drive in the ninth inning to complete the Mariners’ rally in an 8-6 win over the Twins. Seager had four hits and Taylor Trammell also homered for Seattle, which trailed 6-0 going into the sixth. The Mariners won a road series for the first time since Sept. 11-13, 2019, at Arizona.
— Michael A. Taylor scored when Garrett Crochet misplayed Andrew Benintendi’s bunt in the 10th inning, sending the Royals to a 4-3 victory over the White Sox. Kansas City forced extra innings on Carlos Santana’s home run leading off the ninth. Greg Holland worked two scoreless innings for the win, and Kyle Zimmer tossed a perfect 10th for his first career save.
— Logan Allen loaded the bases in the first inning but allowed just one run and two hits over five frames to lead the Indians to a 5-2 victory and a three-game sweep of the Tigers. Allen needed 33 pitches to get through the first but escaped major damage after hitting Robbie Grossman, walking two and giving up a bloop RBI single to Jeimer Candelario. Detroit scored just six times in the series and played the finale without Miguel Cabrera, who was placed on the injured list with strained biceps.
— Clayton Kershaw pitched six innings of five-hit ball while outpitching Max Scherzer in the Dodgers’ 3-0 shutout of the Nationals. Rookie Zach McKinstry homered and drove in all three runs for the defending World Series champion Dodgers, who are off to a major league-best start of 8-2 after sweeping Washington. Scherzer threw six innings of three-hit ball with five strikeouts and a walk, but he left trailing 1-0 following McKinstry’s double in the second.
— The Padres completed a three-game sweep as Trent Grisham and Manny Machado homered in a 2-0 shutout of the Rangers. Craig Stammen led a parade of six effective San Diego relievers after starter Adrian Morejon left early with an injury. Stammen took over and pitched through the fourth inning, his longest appearance since May 2017.
— There also was a three-game sweep in San Francisco as Anthony DeSclafani and three relievers combined to scatter eight hits in the Giants’ 4-0 shutout of the Rockies. DeSclafani struck out eight and gave up six hits in six innings. Brandon Belt and Alex Dickerson homered for the Giants, and Evan Longoria had two hits and two RBIs.
— Luke Weaver retired the first 17 batters he faced and Eduardo Escobar homered for the fourth straight game as the pair carried the Diamondbacks to a 7-0 win against the Reds. Weaver took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before giving up a broken-bat single to Eugenio Suárez, whose ground ball found a hole up the middle. The right-hander hit Alex Blandino with a pitch with two out in the sixth, the first of three baserunners he allowed over seven innings of work.
— The Brewers hammered the Cardinals, 9-3 as Avisaíl García homered for the second day. Travis Shaw belted a three-run homer and Manny Piña added a two-run shot in Milwaukee’s fourth win in five games. Brett Anderson allowed a run and five hits over five innings, but Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado singled off him to run his hitting streak to nine games.
— JT Brubaker pitched into the sixth inning and had the first three RBIs of his career to lead the Pirates over the Cubs 7-1. Brubaker allowed one run and four hits in 5 1/3 innings and supplied a two-run single to cap a three-run second that gave the Pirates a 3-1 lead. Pittsburgh’s Bryan Reynolds had the third four-hit game of his career.
— Didi Gregorius crushed a three-run homer and had the go-ahead sacrifice fly in the ninth to help the Phillies snap the Braves’ four-game winning streak, 7-6. Alec Bohm doubled in the ninth and scored the tiebreaking run, although it appeared he didn’t get his foot on the plate against catcher Travis d’Arnaud’s tag attempt. Bryce Harper and Rhys Hoskins homered for the Phillies, who had lost three of four.
— The Mets and Marlins were postponed by rain in New York, as were the Blue Jays and Angels in Dunedin, Florida. Mets starter Marcus Stroman was particularly upset that his game actually started in a steady rain before it was stopped after nine pitches, potentially preventing him from pitching again until the weekend. Stroman was worried about the safety of his teammates.
