MLB Nightly 9: Bryce Harper ignites record nine-run inning for Nats; J.D. Martinez blasts Yankees

Kirstie Chiappelli

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MLB Nightly 9: Bryce Harper ignites record nine-run inning for Nats; J.D. Martinez blasts Yankees image

Each night we'll provide you with the nine top story lines from the day's action, beginning with the stars of the day, and look ahead to the next day's matchups.

Tigers outfielder J.D. Martinez was unstoppable Sunday, launching three home runs and driving in a career-high six runs in a 12-4 blowout win over the Yankees. It was the first multi-home run game of his career.

Martinez was on his game early, blasting the second pitch he saw from Masahiro Tanaka over the wall in the first inning. After striking out in the third, he came back to slug the first pitch of the fifth to almost the same spot as his first home run. Then in the sixth, Martinez smashed a three-run shot off reliever Danny Burawa to tally his third homer of the game.

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Meanwhile, Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper ignited a nine-run first inning with his 24th home run of the season as Washington set a new club record for runs scored in the first inning and tied its record for runs scored in any inning. As they completed their three-game sweep of the Pirates, the Nationals saw twelve batters slug eight hits to dismantle right-hander Charlie Morton. After homering for the second day in a row, Harper now trails MLB leader Giancarlo Stanton by one.

Here are more highlights from Sunday's games:

Impact Players:

C — Brian McCann, Yankees: Despite the Yankees' ugly loss to the Tigers, McCann went 2 for 4 with a home run. He now has 10 homers and 43 RBIs on the season.

1B — Adrian Gonzalez, Dodgers: Gonzalez finished 3 for 4 with a home run as the Dodgers slaughtered the Giants to avoid a three-game sweep. He's hitting .297 with 12 homers and 45 RBIs this season.

2B — Dee Gordon, Marlins: Gordon went 3 for 5 with a stolen base and a run scored, though the Marlins weren't able to overcome the Reds. He's hitting .356 with 24 stolen bases in 33 opportunities. 

SS — Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox: Bogaerts finished 3 for 5 with three RBIs and one run as the Red Sox crushed the Royals. He is hitting .292 with an on-base percentage of .329. 

3B — Maikel Franco, Phillies: Franco went 3 for 5 with an RBI double and a run scored as the Phillies handily defeated the Cardinals. He now has three straight multi-hit games.

OF — Melky Cabrera, White Sox: Cabrera went 5 for 5 with four singles and a double as the White Sox topped the Rangers in extra innings. He boosted his season batting line from .236/.276/.274 to .250/.288/.291 in the outing. 

DH — Jimmy Paredes, Orioles: Paredes finished 3 for 6 with a home run and three RBIs in the Orioles' victory over the Blue Jays. His three-run homer capped off a seven-run second inning for Baltimore. 

SP — Jeremy Hellickson, Diamondbacks: Hellickson racked up a season-high seven strikeouts in the Diamondbacks' victory over the Padres, allowing two runs on six hits over six strong innings. The veteran right-hander didn't issue a walk during his outing.

Key Injuries:

Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez was forced to leave the game against the Brewers after sustaining a mild left hand sprain.

Surprise Performers:

Good: Braves pitcher Julio Teheran: Teheran earned his fifth victory of the season after allowing just one hit over seven shutout innings against the Mets. He also allowed a pair of walks while striking out five in his impressive outing.

Bad: Pirates pitcher Charlie Morton: Morton couldn't escape the first inning against the Nationals, surrendering nine runs in two-thirds of an inning as the Pirates lost big. He entered the game with a 1.62 ERA but it skyrocketed to 3.97 when he was pulled with two outs in the first.

Web Gems:

White Sox outfielder Melky Cabrera made a sweet save.

Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Pillar slammed into the wall to make a leaping catch after carefully tracking a deep fly off the bat of Ryan Flaherty.

Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond made an amazing diving stop before firing a great throw to first for the out.

Facts of the Day:

Red Sox slugger David Ortiz passed Stan Musial and Willie Stargell on MLB's all-time home run list. Ortiz now ranks 29th with 476 career homers.

Tigers outfielder J.D. Martinez is the fourth player to hit three homers in an outing this season.

J.D. Martinez became the first opposing player to have three home runs and six RBIs on road against the Yankees since Bo Jackson in 1990. Before Martinez slugged his three home runs Saturday, the last Tigers player to have three home runs in a game against the Yankees was Charlie Maxwell on May 3, 1959.

The Nationals completely lost their momentum against the Pirates, though they still walked away with a win.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper homered for second day in a row.

David Ortiz smashed a monster home run in the Red Sox's dominating win.

Reactions:

"It was just one of those days where you take swings and you're actually hitting the ball how you want to hit it," Tigers outfielder J.D. Martinez said after his multi-home run game, via MLB.com. "There's not too many of those days, so you've just got to take advantage of them."

"It was awesome," Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper said of his powerful first inning home run against the Pirates, via MLB.com. "Being able to do that in the first at-bat. Him being able to come out and enjoy that. Very cool moment. It was a good opportunity to get us on the board. Very happy we got that 'W' and got that sweep."

Off the Field:

Yankees pitcher Sergio Santos will undergo Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. He was placed on the disabled list with right elbow inflammation shortly after being called up from the minors.

Despite being roughed up in his most recent minor-league rehabilitation start, right-hander Ivan Nova will be heading back to the Yankees rotation.

Scores:

AL:

Tigers 12, Yankees 4
Orioles 13, Blue Jays 9
Indians 1, Rays 0
Red Sox 13, Royals 2
White Sox 3, Rangers 2
Athletics 3, Angels 2
Astros 6, Mariners 2

NL:

Reds 5, Marlins 2
Nationals 9, Pirates 2
Phillies 9, Cardinals 2
Rockies 10, Brewers 4
Diamondbacks 7, Padres 2
Braves 1, Mets 0
Dodgers 10, Giants 2

Interleague

Cubs 8, Twins 0

A Look Ahead: (All times Eastern)

Phillies (24-47) at Yankees (38-31) 7:05 p.m.: After slugging a season-high 18 hits and belting a season-high tying five home runs to win four games in a row, the Yankees were handed an ugly 12-4 loss in their series finale against the Tigers. The team will turn to Michael Pineda (8-3, 3.54 ERA) to help get things back on track when the Phillies roll into Yankee Stadium Monday.

Royals (39-27) at Mariners (32-38) 10:10 p.m.: The first-place Royals will be motivated to get back to their winning ways after falling to the last-place Red Sox twice in their three-game series. Seattle will send King Félix Hernández (10-3, 3.08 ERA) to the mound against Joe Blanton (1-0, 1.80 ERA), who picked up his first victory in nearly two years with Thursday's win over the Brewers.

Kirstie Chiappelli