UNDATED (AP) — The first no-hitter of 2021 has been authored by a team that had never thrown one in their first 52 seasons.
San Diego-area native Joe Musgrove did the honors for the Padres, allowing only one baserunner in a 3-0 victory over the Rangers. The Padres were the only active MLB franchise without a no-hitter, and it came in their 8,206th regular-season game.
The only hitter standing between Musgrove and perfection was Joey Gallo, who was hit by a pitch with two out in the fourth inning.
Wil Meyers put the Padres ahead to stay in the second inning with his RBI double, then scored from second base on Tommy Pham’s flyout to deep right-center to make it 2-0.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers received their World Series rings Friday and hoisted their World Series banner, about an hour after the Tampa Bay Rays unveiled their American League East and AL pennant banners. Both teams also celebrated victories.
Justin Turner’s sixth-inning homer accounted for the only run as the Dodgers blanked Washington, 1-0. Walker Buehler pitched six strong innings as the Dodgers won without injured star outfielders Mookie Betts and Cody Bellinger.
Joe Ross threw five scoreless innings of two-hit ball for the Nationals, who lost their third straight since their pandemic-delayed, season-opening win on Tuesday.
The Rays roughed up Corey Kluber while winning their home opener, 10-5 over the New York Yankees. The Rays tagged Kluber for five runs and five hits over 2 1/3 innings.
Brandon Lowe delivered a three-run double and Austin Meadows had three of the Rays’ 13 hits.
Also around major league diamonds:
— Shohei Ohtani hit a solo homer and a three-run double to finish with four RBIs in the Angels’ 7-1 win over the Blue Jays. Andrew Heaney allowed three hits, struck out nine and walked two over six scoreless innings. Jared Walsh hit a two-run drive in the fifth as Los Angeles improved to 6-2, matching the best eight-game start in franchise history.
— Tyler Naquin crushed his league-leading fifth homer before Tucker Barnhart singled home the winning run in the 10th inning of the Reds’ 6-5 verdict over the Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks trailed 5-0 before scoring three times in the seventh and tying it on Eduardo Escobar’s towering, two-run homer in the eighth. The Reds came into Friday’s game on an offensive roll, batting .316 with 14 homers during their 5-1 homestand to start the season.
— Ronald Acuña Jr. had four hits, including a long two-run homer that gave Atlanta the lead in an 8-1 thumping of the Phillies. Acuña’s fifth-inning blast off Zack Wheeler (1-1) traveled an estimated 456 feet, landing deep in the center-field seats behind the Braves bullpen for a 2-1 lead. He also had two doubles and an infield single to back Charlie Morton, who allowed a run and four hits over six innings. Mark Canha added a two-run homer in the ninth to pad the lead.
— Matt Olson’s tiebreaking, three-run homer in the eighth lifted the Athletics to a 6-2 win over Astros. Jed Lowrie furnished a solo shot for Oakland, which had dropped its previous five meetings with Houston this season.
— Brandon Crawford broke up a scoreless tie with a bases-loaded, two-run double in the seventh inning before the Giants completed a 3-1 win over the Rockies. Johnny Cueto came within one out of a complete game, scattering four hits and blanking Colorado until pinch-hitter Chris Owings tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly in the ninth.
— Franmil Reyes homered twice and Zach Plesac pitched seven dominant innings to give the Cleveland Indians a 4-1 win over the Tigers, who scratched starter Julio Teheran just before the first pitch. Reyes hit a two-run homer in the first off emergency starter Derek Holland and added a 446-foot solo shot in the sixth to make it 4-0. Plesac pitched scoreless ball, allowing just three singles while improving to 3-1 in five career starts against the Tigers.
