Randal Grichuk drove in four runs to lift the White Sox to a 6-2 win over the visiting Kansas City Royals on Thursday, moving Chicago above .500 for the first time since winning its 2023 opener.
Grichuk hit a two-run home run in the first inning and then drove in two more with a single in third as Chicago won its fifth straight game. The White Sox also won five straight from April 27-May 2.
The White Sox swept three games from the Royals to officially be the hottest team in baseball. The White Sox at 22-21 are at .500 after April for the first time since October 2022.
Chicago starter Anthony Kay (3-1) gave up six hits and two runs in six-plus innings. The left-hander walked two and struck out four while throwing 97 pitches.
Reds 15, Nationals 1
JJ Bleday homered twice and drove in six runs to help Cincinnati salvage a win in the three-game series against visiting Washington.
Matt McLain and Dane Myers also homered and Spencer Steer had two hits and scored three times. Elly De La Cruz had two hits for his sixth straight multi-hit game and scored twice. Chase Burns (5-1) allowed two hits over six shutout innings.
Washington left-hander Foster Griffin (4-2) was coming off three straight quality starts, but he was tagged for nine runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Mets 9, Tigers 4
Nolan McLean (2-2) tossed seven innings of three-run ball, lifting host New York past Detroit for its first series sweep of the season.
The Mets’ Juan Soto hit the go-ahead single in the fifth inning and added a homer leading off the seventh. A.J. Ewing, Marcus Semien, Brett Baty and Mark Vientos also went deep for New York, which overcame a two-run deficit in all three games of the series.
Gage Workman and Dillon Dingler hit home runs for the Tigers, who have lost eight of their past nine games. Keider Montero (2-3) yielded four runs in 4 2/3 innings.
Cubs 2, Braves 0
Ian Happ homered and five Chicago pitchers combined to throw a five-hit shutout as the Cubs avoided a sweep with a victory at Atlanta.
Ben Brown started and tossed four innings for the Cubs. Hoby Milner (1-0) threw two scoreless frames before Phil Maton and Jacob Webb handled one inning apiece. Daniel Palencia pitched the ninth inning and registered his third save as the Cubs snapped a season-worst four-game losing streak.
Chris Sale (6-3) threw six innings, allowing one unearned run on five hits for the Braves, who had their four-game winning streak snapped.
Pirates 7, Rockies 2
Ryan O’Hearn homered and finished with three hits and two RBIs to lead host Pittsburgh to a victory over Colorado.
O’Hearn’s two-run homer off Rockies starter Chase Dollander (3-3) in the bottom of the first inning capped a three-run frame and set the tone for Pittsburgh’s victory as the Pirates took two of three from Colorado, which lost for the fourth time in five games.
Dollander gave up a double to Endy Rodriguez and walked Jared Triolo to open the bottom of the second inning before exiting the game after 28 pitches. Dollander was later diagnosed with right arm tightness.
Mariners 8, Astros 3
Luke Raley and Mitch Garver hit home runs as Seattle defeated host Houston to take three of four games in the series.
Brendan Donovan went 3-for-5 with a double and triple for the Mariners. Luis Castillo (1-4) allowed three runs on four hits over 5 2/3 innings.
Yordan Alvarez went 3-for-3 with a double and a homer for the Astros. Mike Burrows (2-5) surrendered seven runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Brewers 7, Padres 1
Luis Rengifo knocked in three runs and Kyle Harrison tossed five scoreless innings as Milwaukee topped visiting San Diego in the decisive game of a three-game series.
Harrison (4-1) fanned seven for the Brewers, who lost the shutout bid in the ninth inning. Andrew Vaughn had two hits and two RBIs.
Padres starter Griffin Canning (0-2) yielded six runs in 1 2/3 innings. Nick Castellanos was the only San Diego batter with two hits.
Phillies 3, Red Sox 1
Kyle Schwarber hit his 18th home run of the season and Jesus Luzardo pitched six scoreless innings to help Philadelphia pick up a road victory over Boston.
Schwarber’s home run came against Tyler Samaniego (0-1) in the eighth inning after Trea Turner led off the inning with a single. It was Schwarber’s seventh home run in his last seven games.
Boston starting pitcher Ranger Suarez exited the mound after tossing 5 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up four hits and struck out eight.
Twins 9, Marlins 1
Austin Martin and James Outman tallied three RBIs apiece and Minnesota coasted to a win over Miami Marlins in Minneapolis.
Josh Bell hit a two-run double for Minnesota. Victor Caratini also drove in a run. Twins right-hander Zebby Matthews (1-0) shined in his season debut. He scattered four hits in seven scoreless innings.
Otto Lopez went 2-for-4 with an RBI to lead the Marlins. Braxton Garrett (0-1) also made his season debut but struggled, giving five runs on four hits in 1 1/3 innings.
Dodgers 5, Giants 2
Emmet Sheehan threw six strong innings, Alex Call hit a go-ahead two-run double in the sixth and Los Angeles closed a four-game series with a victory over visiting San Francisco.
Will Smith opened the game with a home run and Teoscar Hernandez had three hits. Los Angeles had eight hits with a lineup that did not include Shohei Ohtani for the second consecutive game. Sheehan (3-1) allowed two runs on two hits.
San Francisco’s Jung Hoo Lee had a two-run inside-the-park homer. Landen Roupp (5-4) gave up four runs on six hits over 5 1/3 innings as the Giants lost consecutive games following a 4-1 run.
Cardinals 5, Athletics 4
Ivan Herrera singled with two outs in the ninth inning to tie the game and Jordan Walker followed with a go-ahead double, rallying St. Louis to a win over the Athletics in West Sacramento, Calif.
Matt Svanson (1-1) tossed a scoreless eighth inning, and Riley O’Brien recorded his 13th save by working around a leadoff walk in the ninth.
Walker and Victor Scott II homered for the Cardinals, while Zack Gelof and Nick Kurtz went deep for the A’s. St. Louis’ winning rally came against Jack Perkins (2-2).
