UNDATED (AP) — Newly promoted Oneil Cruz drove in four runs and Bligh Madris got three hits in his major league debut, sparking the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 12-1 romp over the Chicago Cubs. Both rookies were called up from Triple-A Indianapolis earlier in the day.
Cruz, considered Pittsburgh’s top prospect, hit a three-run double to deep center field in the third inning. The 6-foot-7 Cruz also hit an RBI single as the Pirates set a season high for runs. He started the final two games of last season when he became the tallest shortstop in major league history.
Madris hit a two-run single in the second inning in his first at-bat the majors. Madris became the first Pirates player to have a three-hit game in his debut since Jason Kendall in 1996.
The game was delayed for a few minutes in the bottom of the second inning when a squirrel ran on to the field at PNC Park. The squirrel appeared to enter from along the stands on the third base side. He then scampered into the left field corner, exiting the field through the bullpen gate.
In other MLB action:
— Yu Darvish pitched seven strong innings and Jake Cronenworth and Trent Grisham homered, leading the San Diego Padres to a 4-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Kim Ha-seong hit a go-ahead, two-run single in the second for the Padres, who were without All-Star slugger Manny Machado. He sprained his left ankle Sunday in a loss at Colorado. Darvish struggled through a 33-pitch first inning but got out of a bases-loaded jam after allowing just one run and then settled down to win his third straight start. He held the Diamondbacks to one run and four hits, struck out five and walked two.
— Andrew Benintendi, Salvador Perez and Hunter Dozier homered, Nicky Lopez drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh and the Kansas City Royals defeated the Los Angeles Angels 6-2 in the opener of a three-game series. Kris Bubic, who came into the game as one of four pitchers in the majors to have at least eight starts and no wins this season, struck out a season-high seven in six innings for his first victory. Taylor Ward had two hits — including a homer in the third inning — and drove in both runs for the Angels. Los Angeles had come in with some momentum after taking four of five in Seattle, but managed only seven hits.
— New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole lost his no-hit bid in the eighth inning when Tampa Bay’s Isaac Paredes led off by grounding a clean single to center field. Paredes hit a slider that bounced off the pitcher’s mound and into the outfield on Cole’s 105th pitch at Tropicana Field. New York led 2-0. The 31-year-old right-hander had struck out 12 and walked three through seven innings. This was the second time this month that Cole started out with six hitless innings. He took a perfect game into the seventh against Detroit on June 3 before Jonathan Schoop’s two-out single.
— Corbin Burnes pitched seven dominant innings, Tyrone Taylor hit a two-run homer and the Milwaukee Brewers regained sole possession of first place in the NL Central with a 2-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Brewers have followed up an eight-game skid by winning six of their last eight. Burnes struck out 10 and allowed just two hits and two walks to outduel Miles Mikolas. Burnes has struck out 21 and thrown 14 scoreless innings in two starts against the Cardinals this season.
— David Peterson pitched into the sixth inning with his wife expected to go into labor imminently, and the New York Mets beat the Miami Marlins 6-0 despite losing Jeff McNeil to injury. Peterson was prepared to leave the park if his wife, Alex, went into labor with the couple’s first child. The call didn’t come, and Peterson covered 5 1/3 innings with a season-high seven strikeouts on 100 pitches. All-Star Mets sparkplug Jeff McNeil left the game against the Miami Marlins on Monday with tightness in his right hamstring.
— Orlando Arcia drove in Matt Olson from second base with a tiebreaking single in the ninth inning, lifting the Atlanta Braves to a 2-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants. Camilo Doval began the ninth by walking Olson on four pitches, the first free pass issued by the Giants in the game. He retired Travis d’Arnaud on a popup before Marcell Ozuna singled to left. Doval struck out Adam Duvall before Arcia drove the ball to left field. The defending World Series champion Braves moved 10 games over .500 for the second time this season. They have won two straight and 16 of 18 to stay in second place in the NL East, 5½ games behind the New York Mets.
— Andrew Vaughn matched a career high with four hits, including a solo homer, and the Chicago White Sox celebrated Tim Anderson’s return with an 8-7 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Luis Robert and Josh Harrison also homered as Chicago opened a seven-game homestand with its fifth win in seven games. Anderson had two hits in his first big league game since May 29. He was activated from the 10-day injured list after being sidelined by a strained right groin. Toronto lost for the fourth time in five games. Raimel Tapia hit a two-run homer for the Blue Jays, but José Berríos was tagged for six runs in four innings.
— Franchy Cordero had three hits, including a two-run single to help the Boston Red Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 5-2. Josh Winckowski made the longest start of his short career for his second straight win. Jarren Duran had two hits, two stolen bases and two runs for Boston. The Red Sox won for the sixth time in eight games to climb to a season-high six games above .500. Duran doubled and scored on Rafael Devers’ double to break a third-inning tie.
