MLB round-up: Pirates' Paul Skenes stars again in win over Reds
Skenes (4-0) allowed one run on six hits with one walk and seven strikeouts. Aroldis Chapman and Colin Holderman each pitched a scoreless inning before David Bednar retired the Reds in order in the ninth for his 15th save.
Elly De La Cruz had three hits and stole his major-league-leading 37th base for Cincinnati, who entered the game tied with the Pirates for third place in the National League Central. The Reds have lost three straight and five of their last seven.
Skenes, the first overall pick in the 2023 draft, has allowed three earned runs or fewer in all seven of his starts for Pittsburgh, who have won three of their last four games.
Cardinals 7, Marlins 6 (12 innings)
Masyn Winn slugged a two-run homer in the top of the 12th inning to propel St. Louis past hosts Miami.
Miami scored once in the bottom of the 12th on Nick Gordon's RBI triple, but he was thrown out at home on an attempted sacrifice fly to medium right field. The Cardinals blew three leads - 1-0, 4-1 and 5-4 - before finally hanging the loss on reliever A.J. Puk (0-8), who allowed Winn's homer.
St. Louis also got a solo homer and a stellar catch by centre-fielder Michael Siani and a two-run triple by Ivan Herrera. Andrew Kittredge (1-3) blew the save in the 11th but got the win. Marlins designated hitter Bryan De La Cruz ultimately forced extras with a three-run homer that tied the score 4-4 in the eighth inning.
Phillies 9, Padres 2
Kyle Schwarber hit a pair of two-run homers and Alec Bohm launched a three-run shot among his three hits to lift hosts Philadelphia over San Diego.
Rafael Marchan added four hits and two RBIs for the Phillies, who hammered out 18 hits. Philadelphia starter Cristopher Sanchez (4-3) tossed seven innings and gave up six hits and two runs (one earned) with five strikeouts and one walk.
Manny Machado had two hits for struggling San Diego, who have dropped four in a row. Padres starter Randy Vasquez (1-4) allowed 12 hits and six runs with two strikeouts and two walks in 4 1/3 innings.
Red Sox 7, Blue Jays 3
Tyler O'Neill led a four-homer barrage with two solo shots and Nick Pivetta pitched seven innings as Boston won at Toronto.
Rafael Devers and Ceddanne Rafaela also stroked solo homers for the Red Sox, who won for the fifth time in six games. Pivetta (4-4) allowed three runs on nine hits.
Blue Jays starter Yusei Kikuchi (4-6) gave up five runs and seven hits in four innings. Toronto's Justin Turner and Davis Schneider hit solo homers.
Braves 2, Tigers 1
Ozzie Albies crushed a solo home run in the eighth inning to break a tie and propel Atlanta past visiting Detroit in the opener of the three-game series.
With two outs, Albies hammered a fastball from Shelby Miller (4-5) into the right field stands. The homer, his fifth, was measured at 407 feet and ended Albies' 0-for-15 drought. It was Atlanta's 10th in the last four games. The Braves have won four of their last five.
The winning pitcher was Daysbel Hernandez (1-0), who was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett earlier in the day. With closer Raisel Iglesias unavailable, set-up man Joe Jimenez worked a scoreless ninth inning and earned his first save.
