Charlie Blackmon homered, doubled twice and drove in four runs and the Colorado Rockies used a six-run fourth inning to beat the red-hot Cleveland Guardians 8-6 in Denver on Monday.
Cleveland had its nine-game winning streak snapped, the team’s longest run since it won an American League-record 22 games in a row from Aug. 24 to Sept. 14, 2017.
Colorado’s original starter, Austin Gomber, was scratched Monday morning due to general arm soreness. Anthony Molina stepped in and was chased after 1 2/3 innings. Josh Rogers (1-0), who had his contract selected before the game, relieved Molina and allowed two runs and four hits in five innings. Jalen Beeks allowed a run in the ninth before notching his fifth save.
Jose Ramirez continued to swing a hot bat with two doubles and two RBIs for the Guardians. He has driven in 54 runs this season, tops in the majors. Tyler Freeman had three hits and Bo Naylor added two.
Brewers 5, Cubs 1
Willy Adames hit a three-run homer and rookie Robert Gasser tossed six-plus scoreless innings to push Milwaukee past visiting Chicago, spoiling the return of Cubs manager Craig Counsell.
The game marked the first trip back to Milwaukee for Counsell, who jumped to the arch-rival Cubs after managing the Brewers for most of the past nine seasons. Counsell was roundly booed during pregame introductions.
After being held scoreless through seven innings by Cubs starter Justin Steele, the Brewers broke through for five runs in the eighth against the bullpen. Mark Leiter Jr. (1-3) took the loss.
Orioles 11, Red Sox 3
Kyle Stowers drove in four runs and Cole Irvin pitched five shutout innings as Baltimore returned from a road trip to rip visiting Boston.
Adley Rutschman added two RBIs and Cedric Mullins rapped a two-run triple as part of the Orioles’ big day on offense in the team’s fifth consecutive victory.
The Red Sox trailed 11-0 before Romy Gonzalez knocked in three runs in the eighth inning with his first triple of the season.
Blue Jays 5, White Sox 1
George Springer, Bo Bichette and Davis Schneider all homered to back five shutout innings from Chris Bassitt to lift visiting Toronto over Chicago.
Nate Pearson, Erik Swanson, Zach Pop and Genesis Cabrera followed Bassitt, combining for four innings of one-run relief, as the Blue Jays stopped a three-game losing streak.
Chicago lost its sixth in a row and has dropped 10 of its past 11. Opponents have held the White Sox to two runs or fewer six times over that span.
Twins 6, Royals 5
Trevor Larnach hit a three-run home run, Jose Miranda added a two-run shot and Minnesota edged Kansas City in Minneapolis.
Alex Kirilloff also drove in a run for the Twins, who earned their fifth win in the past six games. The teams will meet again on Tuesday night for the second contest of a four-game series.
Vinnie Pasquantino, Hunter Renfroe, Dairon Blanco and Maikel Garcia each had an RBI for the Royals. Kansas City has lost back-to-back games after winning eight in a row.
Nationals 8, Braves 4
Jacob Young had three hits as one of six Washington players with multi-hit games to pace the visiting Nationals to a win over Atlanta in the opener of a four-game series.
The Nationals banged out 15 hits, with CJ Abrams, Lane Thomas, Keibert Ruiz, Jesse Winker and Nick Senzel picking up two apiece. Washington starter Mitchell Parker (4-2) pitched 6 1/3 innings and allowed three runs on five hits.
Atlanta trailed 8-0 in the seventh before Sean Murphy hit a run-scoring groundout and Adam Duvall followed with his fifth homer of the season, a two-run blast. Braves starter Charlie Morton (3-2) went 5 2/3 innings and allowed season highs in runs (eight) and hits (12).
Reds 3, Cardinals 1
Jeimer Candelario homered and Nick Lodolo allowed just one run in 5 1/3 innings as Cincinnati won its season-best fourth straight game, beating visiting St. Louis.
Reds reliever Fernando Cruz struck out all five batters he faced, and Lucas Sims pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save in two chances this season.
Cardinals rookie shortstop Masyn Winn dumped a soft liner into center with two outs in the third to extend his hitting streak to 16 games.
Giants 8, Phillies 4
Mike Yastrzemski, Heliot Ramos and Brett Wisely — the bottom three batters in the order — combined for five hits and six RBIs and San Francisco took advantage of some shoddy defense to down visiting Philadelphia in the opener of a three-game series.
Four relievers combined for five shutout innings, allowing the Giants to begin a six-game homestand with a win after having been swept in a four-game set in Philadelphia earlier this month.
Kyle Schwarber had a two-run home run, his 10th homer of the season, for the Phillies, who lost for the third time in four outings on a six-game Western swing.
Padres 2, Marlins 1
Donovan Solano homered and host San Diego took advantage of two errors by Miami shortstop Tim Anderson in the seventh inning to escape with a win in the opener of a three-game series.
Padres starter Michael King allowed one run and three hits in five innings, striking out seven and walking one. Adrian Morejon (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings and Robert Suarez worked the ninth for his 16th save in 16 opportunities.
Marlins starter Trevor Rogers allowed one run and six hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out three and walked two. Jazz Chisholm Jr. homered and doubled to account for half of Miami’s hits.
Mariners 3, Astros 2
Bryce Miller pitched six quality innings as Seattle defeated visiting Houston in the opener of a four-game series between AL West rivals.
Trent Thornton, Gabe Speier and Andres Munoz each pitched a scoreless inning of relief, with Munoz striking out two in the ninth to earn his 11th save of the season for the Mariners.
Jake Meyers went 2-for-4 and Jose Abreu and Victor Caratini each drove in a run for the Astros.
Dodgers-Mets (postponed)
Impending rain forced the opener of Los Angeles’ three-game set against host New York to be postponed to Tuesday.
The Dodgers and Mets will now play a straight doubleheader at Citi Field, starting at 4:10 p.m. ET.
