Each night in the 2016 baseball season, we'll run down the top news, facts and highlights from action around Major League Baseball.
The drought for the Braves and Twins is over. Both teams finally won their first games of the season Friday night after nine straight losses.
The Braves rallied past the Marlins for a 6-3 win. Nick Markakis, Adonis Garcia and Gordon Beckham each drove in runs during a four-run eighth inning. Garcia's single that scored A.J. Pierzynski and Markakis broke a 3-3 tie.
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The eighth inning also proved to be crucial for the Twins. Byung Ho Park broke a 4-4 tie with an RBI double to score Trevor Plouffe and push Minnesota ahead. An Edward Nunez double and Joe Mauer single in the seventh inning set up Park to break the tie.
In Los Angeles, Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers exacted revenge on Madison Bumgarner and the Giants with a 7-3 win. The last Kershaw-Bumgarner matchup last weekend saw the Dodgers rallying for a 3-2 win after Bumgarner homered off Kershaw. This time, Bumgarner was relieved in the bottom of the sixth after allowing seven runs (four earned).
Player of the day:
Matt Holliday added the icing on the cake for the Cardinals' 14-3 rout of the Reds, going 2-for-2 with two home runs, four RBIs and a walk. It was the 20th multi-homer game of Holliday's career.
Highlights:
The Rays experienced a scary moment when Kevin Kiermaier collided with Logan Forsythe in the outfield after Forsythe caught Avisail Garcia's pop-up in the fourth inning. Both players left the game after the collision. The Rays said Forsythe has a bruised left hip and lower leg injury. Kiermaier required further evaluation.
Baltimore's Mark Trumbo hit two home runs in a nine-run seventh inning as the Orioles blasted the Rangers. He is the first Oriole to hit two homers in one inning and first MLB player to do so since 2013.
Mark Trumbo? More like Mark TrumBOMB(s)! The Orioles outfielder hit TWO homers in the 7th inning.https://t.co/TmHYoJeKJ5
— 120 Sports (@120Sports) April 16, 2016
Three things to know:
— Jeremy Hellickson had a terrible first inning for the Phillies. He allowed five runs, including a three-run homer to the Nationals' Jayson Werth. The pitchers over the Phillies' past six games had only allowed six total runs. The Phillies had their three-game winning streak snapped with a 9-1 loss.
— For the first time since 2006, the Mets hit three home runs in an inning while on the road. Alejandro de Aza, Yoenis Cespedes and Neil Walker all homered in the fifth inning of Friday's 6-5 win over the Indians.
— Enrique Hernandez is just the third player to have multiple home runs in one game against Madison Bumgarner. One of the other players is fellow Dodger Justin Turner.
What's next:
— Rockies (6-4) at Cubs (8-2), 2:20 p.m. ET — The Rockies snapped the Cubs' five-game winning streak Friday with a 6-1 victory, but Chicago will try to even the series behind Jake Arrieta, who has a perfect 2-0 record and 1.93 ERA this season. If all goes to plan, the Cubs should have no problem scoring against Colorado righty Christian Bergman, who is 0-1 with a 12.00 ERA and gave up four runs on four hits in one inning against the Diamondbacks last week.
— Mets (4-5) at Indians (4-4), 4:10 p.m. ET — Matt Harvey will try to get over a lackluster start to the season as he and the Mets go against the Indians' Josh Tomlin. Harvey (0-2) has allowed six earned runs in 11 2/3 innings for a less-than-desirable 4.63 ERA. Meanwhile, Tomlin will finally have his first start of the season following 17 days of rest after he was scratched because of three weather postponements.