Corbin Burnes pitched seven strong innings and the Baltimore Orioles used early offense and four home runs to beat the visiting Texas Rangers 11-2 on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series. Heston Kjerstad, Cedric Mullins, Adley Rutschman and Colton Cowser homered for Baltimore, which won for the second night in a row following a season-worst five-game skid. With the win, the Orioles (.630) took over first place by percentage points over the slumping New York Yankees (.627) in the American League East. Mullins finished with three hits and Gunnar Henderson, who scored two runs, joined the other three home run hitters with two hits apiece for the Orioles, who improved to 2-2 on their seven-game homestand. This was the first meeting between the teams since Texas swept Baltimore in three games in last year’s playoffs. Adolis Garcia homered and Corey Seager, Leody Taveras, Jonah Heim and Josh Smith all had two hits for the Rangers, who have dropped four straight and nine of their last 13 games.
Royals 2, Guardians 1
Kyle Isbel and Maikel Garcia hit back-to-back triples to rally Kansas City past visiting Cleveland to win the opener of a four-game series.
Cleveland broke through in the fifth when Tyler Freeman led off with a sharp single and Steven Kwan doubled to right. Schneemann’s sacrifice fly gave the Guardians a 1-0 lead.
Royals starter Michael Wacha pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing a run on seven hits and two walks, striking out six. Lively (7-4) allowed two runs on six hits and a walk with five strikeouts. Royals manager Matt Quatraro was ejected in the fifth inning.
Cubs 5, Giants 3 (10 innings)
Ian Happ hit a two-run home run off the top of the center field wall with one out in the 10th inning, helping Chicago beat host San Francisco to avoid a four-game sweep.
Seiya Suzuki finished with a double and triple for the Cubs, who outhit the Giants 10-6. Nico Hoerner collected three hits, while Cody Bellinger scored twice.
Jorge Soler’s double was the only extra-base hit for the Giants, who still captured the season series over the Cubs, 4-3.
Twins 13, Diamondbacks 6
Byron Buxton had three hits, drove in three runs and scored three times to help visiting Minnesota beat Arizona in the rubber game of a three-game series in Phoenix.
Manuel Margot had two hits and two RBIs, and Willi Castro and Carlos Santana each had two hits and an RBI for the Twins, who have won four of five. Margot and Castro also scored two runs apiece.
Ketel Marte homered and doubled for the Diamondbacks, who have four of five. Kevin Newman had two RBIs.
White Sox 1, Braves 0
Luis Robert Jr. homered and five pitchers combined on a three-hit shutout as Chicago edged visiting Atlanta to stop a four-game losing streak.
Chicago made the most of its four hits in the makeup of a game rained out on April 3. Michael Kopech worked around a two-out error in the ninth to pick up his sixth save and secure a White Sox series victory.
The Braves lost for the fourth time in six games. Atlanta stranded seven runners and went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
Marlins 7, Phillies 4
Bryan De La Cruz had three RBIs and Jake Burger homered as part of a three-hit night to lift visiting Miami over Philadelphia.
De La Cruz hit a game-tying three-run double in the seventh, and Burger delivered a go-ahead blast in the eighth. Josh Bell tallied an RBI double and Ali Sanchez had two hits as the Marlins improved to 2-3 vs. the Phillies this season.
Edmundo Sosa went 2-for-4 with an RBI and Bryce Harper hit an RBI double for Philadelphia, which has lost two of three. Harper appeared to injure his hamstring running to first base to end the game. Phillies left fielder Kyle Schwarber left in the top of the ninth with left groin tightness.
Blue Jays 9, Yankees 2
George Springer hit two three-run home runs in the first two innings as Toronto defeated visiting New York.
Springer finished 3-for-3 and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. added a solo homer and an RBI double to help the Blue Jays earn their second consecutive win.
Trent Grisham hit a two-run homer for the Yankees, who dropped a fourth straight game for the first time this season. New York has lost seven of its past eight games.
Reds 11, Cardinals 4
Noelvi Marte returned from an 80-game PED suspension and went 3-for-5 with a stolen base, three runs and an RBI as visiting Cincinnati routed St. Louis.
Spencer Steer hit a two-run homer and scored twice for the Reds. Will Benson snapped a 0-for-25 slump by going 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs.
Nolan Arenado hit a two-run homer for the Cardinals, who suffered their second loss in seven games.
Angels 5, Tigers 0
Davis Daniel, who was recalled from the minors earlier in the day, threw eight scoreless innings to help Los Angeles beat Detroit in Anaheim, Calif.
Daniel allowed four hits and no walks while striking out eight. He is tied for the second-most strikeouts in his first major league start in Angels history, trailing Rudy May’s 10 in 1965. The Angels, who have won five of six, had just eight hits, but four of them went for extra bases, including home runs by Miguel Sano, Willie Calhoun and Luis Rengifo.
Tigers starter Jack Flaherty (5-5), who was 5-1 with a 1.56 ERA in his previous six starts, retired the side in order in the first inning, but Sano led off the second with a home run, his second of the season. Riley Greene had two of the four hits for the Tigers, who have lost three of four.
