Padres win third straight with 7-1 victory over D-backs, look forward to potential Arráez addition

PHOENIX (AP) — Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jake Cronenworth hit back-to-back homers, Dylan Cease pitched 6 2/3 strong innings and the San Diego Padres won their third game in a row, beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-1 on Friday night.

Manny Machado hit a two-run homer. Cronenworth finished with three extra-base hits, adding two doubles.

The Padres had a big offensive game on the same night they learned they might be adding another good hitter. San Diego is close to acquiring two-time batting champion Luis Arráez in a deal with the Marlins.

“I think it's great — you're always looking for more offense and a left-handed bat to balance out the lineup,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “But listen, nothing's official. We'll leave it at that.”

The Diamondbacks have lost 10 straight series openers after beating the Colorado Rockies on opening day.

D-backs pitcher Slade Cecconi (1-2) retired the first nine batters he faced, but ran into trouble in the fourth. Jurickson Profar walked to start the inning and Tatis launched a shot to left-center — his seventh homer of the season.

Cronenworth followed with another homer to make it 3-0 and rookie Jackson Merrill broke an 0-for-20 stretch at the plate with a one-out RBI double for a 4-0 lead.

Cronenworth had a down 2023 season, but has looked much more like the hitter who was an All-Star in 2021 and 2022 through the first month of this season. He's batting .279 with six homers and 25 RBIs.

It was Cronenworth’s second straight game with a homer. He hit a grand slam in the team’s 6-2 victory over the Reds on Wednesday.

“It's the right approach with the right swing,” Shildt said. “He's married both. He's driving the ball to all different parts of the field and not trying to do to much.”

Cecconi didn't make it out of the fifth, giving up six runs over 4 1/3 innings.

The Padres' three-homer outburst provided plenty of support for Cease (4-2), the hard-throwing right-hander who gave up just one run on three hits while striking out eight. He didn't allow a walk.

“I think my fastball command was a lot better, which is really a lot of the battle,” Cease said. “When I'm getting my fastball where it needs to go, it opens up a lot of stuff.”

Machado made it 7-0 in the fifth with a two-run homer to left center off reliever Matt Bowman. The scorched line drive came off Machado's bat at 111.7 mph.

The sliding D-backs — defending National League champions — have lost 10 of their past 15 games and fell to 14-19 for the season.

“We got beat tonight,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. "We got out-managed, we got out-pitched, we got out-hit, we got out-coached. We've got to find a way to get the job done and play our type of baseball. That's the bottom line.

“We're grinding away. We're trying.”

Arizona finished with just three hits. Eugenio Suárez had an RBI single in the fifth.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Diamondbacks: Lovullo told reporters that closer Paul Sewald (oblique) and OF Alex Thomas (hamstring) could return to the active roster as soon as Tuesday against the Reds.

UP NEXT

The D-backs will throw RHP Brandon Pfaadt (1-1, 4.63 ERA) while the Padres will counter with RHP Michael King (2-3, 5.00 ERA) on Saturday night.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Arizona Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte, left, celebrates his double as San Diego Padres shortstop Ha-Seong Kim, front right, of South Korea, and umpire Phil Cuzzi (10) look for the baseball during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, May 3, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Dylan Cease throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, May 3, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt watches the action on the field during the second inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks Friday, May 3, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

San Diego Padres' Manny Machado (13) rounds the bases after hitting a two run home run as Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker, left, pauses at first base during the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, May 3, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher Matt Bowman, center, rubs up a new baseball after giving up a two-run home run to San Diego Padres' Manny Machado, left, during the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, May 3, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

San Diego Padres' Manny Machado points to the sky as he rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, May 3, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Arizona Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte, right, slides safely into second base with a double as San Diego Padres shortstop Ha-Seong Kim, of South Korea, applies a late tag during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, May 3, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr., right, celebrates his two-run home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks with Padres' Manny Machado (13) during the fourth inning of a baseball game Friday, May 3, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

CHICAGO (AP) — Paul Skenes struck out 11 over six no-hit innings in his second major league start, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 9-3 on Friday.

Skenes allowed just one baserunner — Michael Busch on a full-count, fifth-inning walk on the eighth pitch of the plate appearance — in an utterly dominant performance. After pitching through some nerves in his big league debut against the Cubs last weekend, he looked quite comfortable on a picturesque day at Wrigley Field.

Skenes (1-0), who turns 22 on May 29, struck out his first seven batters, including the side in the first on pitches of at least 100 mph. He struck out Mike Tauchman on a 100 mph fastball on his 100th and final pitch — his 12th to reach triple digits.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 amateur draft became the third rookie with seven strikeouts to start a game, joining Jacob deGrom on Sept. 15, 2014, and Jim Deshaies on Sept. 23, 1986. He also became the first rookie with an outing of at least six no-hit innings and 10-plus strikeouts since Chris Heston threw a no-hitter for San Francisco against the New York Mets on June 9, 2015.

Andrew McCutchen and Jared Triolo homered for Pittsburgh, which held on for a 5-4 victory in the opener of the four-game series on Thursday night. Triolo and Yasmani Grandal each had two hits and three RBIs.

RAYS 4, BLUE JAYS 3

TORONTO (AP) — Tyler Alexander took a perfect game bid into the eighth inning before Danny Jansen blooped an opposite-field, one-out single, and Tampa Bay hung on to beat Toronto.

Richie Palacios hit a two-run home run as the Rays built a 4-0 lead and hung on for their 10th win in 14 games.

Alexander (2-2) retired his first 22 batters before Jansen hit a 1-0 changeup near the low, outside corner off the end of his bat. The ball landed cleanly 206 feet from the plate, between right fielder Josh Lowe and Palacios at second.

The single came on Alexander’s 97th pitch. Davis Schneider homered two pitches later, cutting Toronto’s deficit to 4-2, and Daulton Varsho singled on Alexander’s 105th and final pitch, three more than Alexander’s previous career high.

Manuel Rodríguez replaced Alexander (2-2) and pinch hitter Daniel Vogelbach reached on a fielder’s choice, with Varsho advancing to third on Díaz’s errant throw.

Pinch-hitter Cavan Biggio pulled Toronto within a run with an RBI single off Manuel Rodríguez, and George Springer grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Pete Fairbanks pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save in five chances.

PHILLIES 4, NATIONALS 2

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Zack Wheeler struck out six over 7 1/3 innings and Philadelphia continued their scorching start with a victory over Washington.

The Phillies needed just 2 hours, 15 minutes in front of another jam-packed crowd of 44,507 to improve to 32-14, the best record in baseball.

Wheeler (5-3) received a rousing standing ovation when he was lifted with one out in the eighth inning. He allowed two runs and threw 104 pitches to win his fifth straight decision. Wheeler improbably went 0-3 over his first four starts — and the Phillies lost all four games — before he resumed his spot as one of the best pitchers in baseball.

The right-hander has been outshined at times this season by lefty Ranger Suárez and his 8-0 record, but there’s still no other pitcher the Phillies want on the bump for a big game.

Wheeler had his seventh quality start of the season and his 71st with the Phillies. He is tied with Yankees ace Gerrit Cole for the most quality starts in the major leagues since 2020. Wheeler has a 1.62 ERA with 525 strikeouts in 477 2/3 innings over that span.

ORIOLES 9, MARINERS 2

BALTIMORE (AP) — Gunnar Henderson’s fourth leadoff homer of the season sparked a five-run first inning that backed an effective pitching performance by John Means and carried Baltimore past Seattle.

After Henderson’s 13th home run — tied for the major league lead — Baltimore’s next five batters reached base against Bryce Miller (3-4). A throwing error by shortstop Dylan Moore let in a run and Colton Cowser followed a walk with a two-run double down the right-field line.

The first out was a sacrifice fly by Jordan Westburg that capped the outburst.

In his previous start against Seattle, Means threw a no-hitter on May 5, 2021. In this one, Moore doubled on the first pitch of the game and scored on a single by Mitch Garver.

But Means (2-0) settled down in his third start since opening the season on the injured list with a left forearm strain. The left-hander allowed two runs and six hits, walked none and struck out four over six innings.

By winning the opener of the three-game set, the Orioles are assured of completing their 106th consecutive regular-season series without being swept. That’s the third-longest streak in major league history, behind only the 1942-44 St. Louis Cardinals (124) and 1906-09 Chicago Cubs (115).

MARLINS 8, METS 0

MIAMI (AP) — Jesús Luzardo and three relievers combined on Miami’s third consecutive shutout, a win over New York.

Miami pitchers extended their scoreless innings streak to 28, three short of the franchise record in April 2004.

Luzardo (1-3) scattered five hits and struck out seven over six innings, ending an 0-4 skid over eight starts since beating Milwaukee on Sept. 17. Anthony Bender, Burch Smith and Anthony Maldonado followed with an inning each.

New York dropped to 20-24, losing for the sixth time in eight games and falling four games under .500 for the first time since a 1-5 start. The Mets have been shut out five times.

Nick Fortes homered and had two singles while Josh Bell doubled and singled for the Marlins, who won their second series opener this season.

GUARDIANS 3, TWINS 2

CLEVELAND (AP) — José Ramírez homered with two outs in the eighth inning, sending Cleveland to a win over Minnesota in a game featuring the first infield shift violation this season.

Ramírez connected for his 10th homer on a 2-1 pitch from Jhoan Duran (0-1), driving it into the seats in right field to delight a Progressive Field crowd that came out to see Cleveland’s new uniforms and fireworks.

It was the 226th career homer for Ramírez, moving him into a tie for fourth in club history with Hall of Famer Earl Averill. Only Jim Thome (337), Albert Belle (242) and Manny Ramirez (236) have more.

Ramírez’s homer also came after the Twins won a video challenge to wipe out a stolen base at second.

Tim Herrin (2-0), who allowed the Twins to tie it in the eighth, got the win. Emmanuel Clase worked the ninth for his 13th save.

Guardians starter Triston McKenzie allowed just two hits — one a homer — in 6 2/3 innings. The right-hander also got three double plays and a nice diving catch by center fielder Tyler Freeman to start the game.

YANKEES 4, WHITE SOX 2

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton homered, Nestor Cortes won for the first time in 5 1/2 weeks and New York beat Chicago for their fifth straight victory.

Alex Verdugo and Stanton hit consecutive RBI doubles off starter Mike Clevinger (0-2) in the fourth inning to give the Yankees a 3-1 lead. New York equaled its longest winning streak this season and has won 11 of 13 overall, moving 16 games above .500 for the first time since finishing 99-63 in 2022.

Caleb Ferguson pitched out of an eighth-inning jam to preserve a two-run lead and Clay Holmes worked a hitless ninth for his AL-best 13th save. The closer has not allowed an earned run in 19 appearances this year.

Andrew Vaughn had two RBI singles and leadoff batter Tommy Pham finished with three hits for the White Sox (14-31) in a matchup between the top and bottom teams in the American League.

With a runner on, Pham took a called third strike to end it. Chicago had won two in a row and six of eight.

PADRES 3, BRAVES 1

ATLANTA (AP) — Matt Waldron struck out a career-high 10 and San Diego bounced back after being swept in their last series with a win over Atlanta.

Waldron (2-5) gave up one run, five hits and walked two in 5 2/3 innings.

Jurickson Profar was 2 for 5 with an RBI and a run scored and Jake Cronenworth was 3 for 5 with an RBI for the Padres, who totaled 13 hits (all singles).

Max Fried (3-2), who was coming off a six-inning, no-hit performance against the Mets, was touched for nine hits and three runs in 4 1/3 innings. He walked three and struck out two in 88 pitches.

Jeremiah Estrada recorded his first save of the season with a perfect, three-strikeout ninth after the Padres used closer Robert Suarez in the eighth against the heart of the Braves order. The Braves struck out a season-high 18 times.

The Braves threatened in the eighth after a Chadwick Tromp double put runners at second and third with two outs. Suarez struck out Michael Harris II to end the threat.

ROYALS 6, ATHLETICS 2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Cole Ragans allowed two hits in seven scoreless innings, Michael Massey and Maikel Garcia homered and Kansas City beat Oakland to extend their losing streak to a season-high six.

Ragans (3-3) walked two and struck out seven, rebounding from a 9-3 loss at the Los Angeles Angels when he allowed seven runs and eight hits. He has three scoreless starts of at least six innings this season.

Chris Stratton and Matt Sauers finished the four-hitter, the ninth time Oakland has been held to four hits or fewer.

Oakland has been outscored 36-6 during its losing streak, which dropped the A’s to 19-28.

Kansas City went ahead in the first when Salvador Perez hit a two-out, run-scoring infield single. Perez was called out by first base umpire Ryan Additon, but a video review ruled Perez beat the throw from third baseman Brett Harris.

Massey hit a two-run homer off Austin Adams and Maikel Garcia a three-run drive against Brandon Bielak in a five-run sixth.

ASTROS 5, BREWERS 4

HOUSTON (AP) — Jake Meyers hit a two-run homer and Jeremy Peña’s three-run shot in the fifth inning gave Houston a victory over Milwaukee to extend their season-long winning streak to six games.

Houston trailed by 2 when Victor Caratini singled to start the fifth, Jose Altuve singled on an infield grounder and Peña sent a slider from Freddy Peralta into the left-field seats for a 5-4 lead.

Hunter Brown (1-4) yielded four runs and four hits while walking three in five innings for his first win since Sept. 13. He had been 0-6 in his last nine starts.

Milwaukee had runners on first and second with two outs in the seventh, but Rafael Montero struck out William Contreras to end the threat.

The Brewers had two on with two outs again in the eighth but came up empty when Bryan Abreu struck out Sal Frelick.

ANGLES 9, RANGERS 3

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Zach Neto and Taylor Ward homered, Tyler Anderson pitched two-hit ball over seven innings and Los Angeles beat Texas to give Ron Washington a victory in his first game as a visiting manager in Texas.

Neto snapped a 1-all tie and put the Angels ahead to stay with his two-run homer in the fourth, a 405-foot drive to right field for his fifth of the season.

Anderson (4-4) struck out four and walked two.

Washington is the winningest manager in Rangers’ history with his 664 wins from 2007-14, and took them to their first two World Series in 2010 and 2011. He is in the first season with the Angels (17-28), his first managerial job since Texas.

Jonah Heim and Marcus Semien went deep for Texas, which has lost seven of its last nine games.

CARDINALS 10, RED SOX 6

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Lars Nootbaar and Masyn Winn hit two-run homers, and St. Louis beat Boston to drop them below .500 for the first time since the season’s opening week.

Nolan Arenado had three hits that included an RBI single in the eighth after entering in a 3-for-27 slide.

Nolan Gorman and Alec Burleson also went deep for the Cardinals, who matched season highs for runs, hits (14) and homers.

Winn’s two-run homer off Cam Booser was the first home run of Winn’s big league career.

Boston has lost three straight and 10 of 14, falling to 22-23. The Red Sox had not been under .500 since a 1-2 start.

Kyle Gibson (3-2) allowed five runs, eight hits and three walks in six-plus innings as the Cardinals won for the fourth time in five games.

TIGERS 13, DIAMONDBACKS 0

PHOENIX (AP) — Javier Báez broke out of a season-long slump with five RBIs, Tarik Skubal pitched six dominant innings and Detroit pounded Arizona.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch insisted he was going to keep sending Báez out despite the shortstop’s meager .167 batting average. Báez rewarded him with a 3-for-4 night that included a pair of two-run doubles and a run-scoring single.

He wasn’t alone in Detroit’s hit fest.

Coming off consecutive shutouts against Florida, the Tigers roughed up Rhyne Nelson (2-3) with three runs in the third inning and added six more in the fifth while chasing the Arizona right-hander. Detroit had 11 runs by the fifth inning and finished with a season-high 17 hits — seven for extra bases, but no homers.

Kerry Carpenter had four RBIs and Colt Keith went 4 for 5 with two RBIs. Wenceel Pérez and Riley Greene also had run-scoring hits.

That was more than enough for Skubal (6-0), who took a perfect game into the fifth inning and allowed one hit with six strikeouts in a combined three-hitter.

DODGERS 7, REDS 3

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani slugged a two-run homer and scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning when Los Angeles rallied after blowing a 3-0 lead to beat Cincinnati.

Earlier, the Los Angeles city council proclaimed May 17 as Shohei Ohtani Day in the city for as long as the Japanese two-way superstar plays for the Dodgers. He signed a record $700 million, 10-year contract in December.

Ohtani bounced back after being hitless in two at-bats on his first bobblehead night Thursday. The promotion snarled traffic outside Dodger Stadium and created long lines of fans clamoring for one of the 40,000 souvenirs, some of which were quickly offered for sale online at exorbitant prices.

Tied at 3, Will Smith singled in Ohtani, who grounded into a fielder’s choice to first and was safe at second on a throwing error by shortstop Elly De La Cruz. The Dodgers made it 5-3 when Freddie Freeman scored on a wild pitch by Fernando Cruz (1-5) that sailed to the backstop.

Jason Heyward hit a two-run homer in the eighth, extending the lead to 7-3.

GIANTS 10, ROCKIES 5

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Thairo Estrada hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the fifth inning and singled twice, Luis Matos drove in a career-high five runs and San Francisco beat Colorado for their sixth straight victory at home in the series.

Matos and Matt Chapman had three hits apiece for a refreshed San Francisco squad coming off its first off day following 16 straight games.

Estrada’s drive to left for his seventh home run of the year chased Colorado right-hander Ryan Feltner (1-4), who gave way to Victor Vodnik. Luis Matos added a key RBI single in the inning for insurance — which mattered when Ezequiel Tovar doubled home a run in the top of the sixth before the Giants added on late.

Matos, who got the Giants going on an RBI double in the fourth, then added an RBI groundout on a bunt in the seventh before Marco Luciano singled two batters later for his first career RBI. Matos capped his outstanding night with a two-run double in the eighth.

This was an especially tough day for the Giants, who learned earlier in the day that rookie center fielder Jung Hoo Lee needs season-ending surgery on his dislocated left shoulder that he injured crashing into the outfield wall.

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes is doused by Martín Pérez during a television interview after the team's win over the Chicago Cubs in a baseball game Friday, May 17, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)