Tuesday, May

Field Level Media

Aaron Judge homered twice and drove in three runs as New York ran its winning streak to nine games with a 6-2 victory over host Kansas City on Sunday.

Judge homered two batters into the game when he hit a 453-foot drive off Kansas City starter Daniel Lynch and connected again with two outs in the ninth off Josh Staumont. In between Judge’s seventh and eighth homers, he also drove in the tying run with a check-swing grounder off Scott Barlow in the seventh when the Yankees took the lead without getting a hit.

Michael A. Taylor homered, Nicky Lopez scored on a wild pitch and Carlos Santana hit an RBI double in a three-run third before the Royals lost for the eighth time in 10 games. Kyle Isbel scored Kansas City’s other run on a throwing error by Josh Donaldson in the fourth.

Mets 10, Phillies 6

Jeff McNeil and Dominic Smith tied their career highs with four hits apiece and Max Scherzer extended his unbeaten streak to 24 starts despite giving up three homers as New York won another series by beating visiting Philadelphia.

The Mets have won a franchise-record seven straight series to open the season. The Phillies lost for jus the second time in seven games.

McNeil went 4-for-5 with two singles and two doubles in his last four at-bats, his ninth four-hit game. His past four four-hit games have all come against the Phillies. McNeil’s last hit, an RBI double in the eighth, scored Brandon Nimmo with New York’s final run.

Blue Jays 3, Astros 2

Kevin Gausman struck out 10 in seven innings, Santiago Espinal hit the go-ahead single in the seventh and the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the visiting Houston Astros 3-2 on Sunday.

Bo Bichette hit a two-run home run in support of Gausman (2-1), who allowed two runs on six hits with no walks. Bichette’s homer in the sixth inning was the Blue Jays’ first hit of the game against Astros left-hander Framber Valdez.

Jordan Roman pitched around a double in the ninth to earn his 11th save. Roman had help from a diving catch in right field by George Springer on pinch hitter Alex Bregman.

Valdez (1-2) allowed three runs, two hits, two walks and a hit batter in 6 1/3 innings. He struck out two.

Cubs 2, Brewers 0

Pitching on his 31st birthday, Marcus Stroman allowed two hits over seven stellar innings and outdueled Corbin Burnes to earn his first victory for Chicago in a road win over Milwaukee.

Patrick Wisdom belted a solo home run and Seiya Suzuki delivered an RBI double for the Cubs, who snapped a three-game skid and avoided being swept. Stroman (1-3), who entered the day with a 6.98 ERA, walked one and fanned five.

Burnes (1-1) completed seven innings, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out 10 and walking one. The Brewers saw their five-game winning streak end.

Orioles 9, Red Sox 5

Jordan Lyles worked out of trouble across six innings and Baltimore defeated visiting Boston.

Rougned Odor homered and the light-hitting Orioles racked up 13 hits. Lyles struck out six, but he didn’t return after a rain delay of more than 90 minutes in the bottom of the sixth.

The Red Sox lost for the third time in their last four games, nearly failing to score more than one run in any of those setbacks until J.D. Martinez’s grand slam in the ninth.

Dodgers 6, Tigers 3

Walker Buehler tossed five shutout innings and Mookie Betts scored two runs as Los Angeles beat visiting Detroit.

The Dodgers improved to 8-2 at home this year while winning two out of three in the interleague series against Tigers.

Miguel Cabrera and Jeimer Candelario each hit a home run for Detroit, which has lost seven of its last eight games and went 1-5 on a six-game road trip.

Twins 9, Rays 3

Josh Winder pitched six shutout innings in his first major league start, Byron Buxton hit a home run and Jorge Polanco had four RBIs as Minnesota rolled to a victory over Tampa Bay at St. Petersburg, Fla.

Winder (1-0) allowed two hits and a walk while striking out seven in his fourth big league appearance. He didn’t allow a runner past second base while throwing 83 pitches, 54 for strikes.

Polanco went 2-for-5 with a pair of two-run doubles, while Carlos Correa had his fourth-consecutive multi-hit game going 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Buxton, Trevor Larnach and Gilberto Celestino each had two hits as the Central Division-leading Twins won for the ninth time in their last 10 games.

Rockies 10, Reds 1

C.J. Cron and Randal Grichuk homered as Colorado pounded out 12 hits and rolled over Cincinnati in Denver.

Brendan Rodgers, Connor Joe, Elehuris Montero and Yonathan Daza each added two hits for the Rockies. Kyle Freeland (1-3) pitched seven strong innings, giving up one run on four hits and one walk with four strikeouts.

Brandon Drury had two hits, including a home run, for the slumping Reds. Cincinnati has lost 19 of 21 games since winning on Opening Day, matching the 2018 team for the worst start in franchise history at 3-18. Padres 5, Pirates 2

Trent Grisham went 3-for-5 with two RBIs as visiting San Diego topped Pittsburgh in the rubber game of a weekend series. Manny Machado and Jake Cronenworth added RBI singles for the Padres.

San Diego starter Joe Musgrove (4-0), a former Pirate, gave up one run and seven hits in seven innings with eight strikeouts and no walks. Taylor Rogers pitched the ninth for his ninth save.

Pittsburgh starter Mitch Keller (0-4) went six innings, the longest outing on the team this year. He gave up one run and five hits with five strikeouts and no walks.

Angels 6, White Sox 5

Michael Lorenzen fell two outs short of his first career complete game and Mike Trout had two hits, including a solo home run, as visiting Los Angeles exhaled with a close win against Chicago on Sunday afternoon.

Entering the ninth inning with a shutout intact, Lorenzen allowed three hits, the last a two-run double off the bat of Leury Garcia, before Raisel Iglesias yielded two more runs. The White Sox collected five runs and six hits and sent 11 men to the plate in the inning, but Ryan Tepera notched his first save of the season by getting Gavin Sheets to ground out to first base with the bases loaded to end the game.

Trout smacked a solo home run against White Sox lefty Dallas Keuchel two batters into the afternoon. Angels star Shohei Ohtani left the game in the ninth inning with right groin tightness.

Nationals 11, Giants 5

Yadiel Hernandez drove in a career-high five runs, including two in a five-run first inning Sunday afternoon that gave Josiah Gray an immediate comfort zone and propelled visiting Washington to a victory over San Francisco in the finale of their three-game series.

Hernandez and Juan Soto collected three hits apiece for the Nationals, who ran up a total of 45 hits in taking two of three from the host Giants

MLB roundup: Judge’s two homers lead

Yankes to ninth straight winone week after San Francisco swept them in a three-game set in Washington. Gray (3-2) coasted through six shutout innings, allowing just one hit, a single by Jason Krizan with two outs in the fifth. The Nationals jumped on Alex Cobb (1-1), reinstated from the injured list before the game, for four hits, three walks and five runs before he could get a third out in the first inning. Mariners 7, Marlins 3 Top prospect Julio Rodriguez slugged his first major league homer – a 450-foot bomb to left-center field – to lead visiting Seattle to a victory over red-hot Miami. The loss snapped the Marlins’ seven-game winning streak, their longest since 2016. The streak fell just two wins short of the franchise record. Miami starter Sandy Alcantara (2-1), who hadn’t allowed a homer since Opening Day, gave up two on Sunday – Rodriguez’s three-run shot and J.P. Crawford’s solo blast. Logan Gilbert (4-0), who started the day leading the American League in ERA, earned the win. He pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed three hits, four walks and one run, leaving his ERA at 0.64. Cardinals 7, D-backs 5 Harrison Bader and Nolan Arenado each hit Jamie Squire/Getty Images home runs as part of a four-run rally in the seventh Aaron Judge (99) of the New York Yankees is congratulated by Giancarlo Stanton (27) after hitting a inning to lead host St. Louis over Arizona. solo home run during the ninth inning of Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman The Cardinals’ seventh started with an Andrew Stadium in Kansas City. Knizner single, followed by a Paul DeJong double off reliever Kyle Nelson. After Brendan Donovan grounded out to score Knizner and cut the deficit to 5-4, Keynan Middleton (0-1) replaced Nelson on the mound. Bader greeted Middleton with his first home run of the season, scoring DeJong to give St. Louis a 6-5 lead. Arenado added his sixth home run of the season with two outs. The Diamondbacks hit four home runs, two by Jordan Luplow, as the teams split their four-game series. Rangers 7, Braves 3 Adolis Garcia’s bases-loaded triple broke open a close game and sparked Texas to a win over visiting Atlanta in Arlington, Texas. Garcia was 3-for-5, scored a run and drove in four to help the Rangers win their second threegame series of the year. Garcia knocked in 11 of the team’s 25 runs during the seven-game homestand. Starting pitcher Taylor Hearn (1-2) bounced back from consecutive poor outings to earn his first win. He worked five innings and gave up two runs on four hits and three walks while matching his season high with six strikeouts. The losing pitcher was Kyle Muller (0-1), who was wild in his 2 2/3 innings and allowed seven runs on four hits, six walks and three strikeouts. Guardians 7, Athletics 3 Triston McKenzie struck out seven over 6 1/3 scoreless innings and Franmil Reyes drove in two runs as visiting Cleveland completed a three-game sweep of Oakland. McKenzie (1-2) allowed four hits and walked one for the Guardians, who have won three straight following a seven-game losing streak. McKenzie threw a season-high 96 pitches. Oakland starter James Kaprielian (0-1) struggled in his season debut, yielding four runs on three hits over two-plus innings. The Athletics trailed 7-0 before scoring three runs in the ninth against Anthony Gose. Oakland has lost six of its past eight games.

Warriors outlast Ja Morant, Grizzlies to take Game 1

Field Level Media

Jordan Poole scored 31 points on 12-for-20 shooting, Stephen Curry finished with 24 points, and the visiting Golden State Warriors held on for a 117116 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday afternoon in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinals series.

P o o l e a n d C u r r y drained five 3-pointers apiece as the Warriors recovered from a doubledigit deficit in the first half as well as the surprise ejection of veteran forward Draymond Green. Andrew Wiggins finished with 17 points, and Klay Thompson scored 15 despite making only six of 19 shots from the field.

Ja Morant led the Grizz l i e s w i t h 3 4 p o i n t s , 10 assists and nine rebounds. Jaren Jackson Jr. contributed 33 points and 10 rebounds, while D e ’ A n t h o n y M e l t o n scored 14 off the bench.

The teams will meet for Game 2 on Tuesday night.

Neither team led by more than four points during the final five minutes, which featured four ties and two lead changes.

Golden State’s Gary Payton II made a layup to even the score at 114114 with 1:35 remaining. Memphis quickly bounced back with an alley-oop dunk by Clarke that made it 116-114 in favor of the Grizzlies with 1:16 to go.

Thompson put Golden State on top for good on a 3-pointer with 36.6 seconds remaining.

Green was ejected with 1:18 remaining in the first half for a flagrant-2 foul against Brandon Clarke. R e p l a y s s h o w e d t h a t Green made contact with Clarke’s head while swiping down with his arm, and he grabbed Clarke’s collar during the process.

The Warriors finished the third quarter with a 9190 advantage.

Golden State trailed 6661 when Curry went off for seven consecutive points to put the Warriors on top 68-66. Curry drained a pair of step-back jump shots and a 3-pointer as Memphis battled to keep pace.

Memphis led 61-55 at the half.

Celtics go cold in 101-89 Game 1 loss to Bucks

Mark Murphy

Boston Herald

BOSTON — The Celtics did their job on Giannis Antetokounmpo, and still it wasn’t enough.

Though the Bucks star had to labor for the scoring part of his triple-double (24 points, 9-for-25 shooting, 13 rebounds, 12 assists), Milwaukee was even better at mobbing and bumping Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown as the Celtics sank under duress in a 101-89 loss in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Celtics, mostly limited to 3-point attempts and long 2s by Milwaukee’s drop-down coverage, were not able to come up with much as Tatum (21 points, 6-for-18 shooting) and Brown (12 points, 4-for-13 shooting, seven turnovers) struggled to get going.

Despite two 3-pointers from Derrick White in the third quarter in his first since Game 1 of the Brooklyn series, the Celtics trailed at the start of the fourth quarter, 78-70.

The Celtics opened the fourth with five straight misses, four of them 3-point attempts from Payton Pritchard, until Horford hit a 3-pointer with 8:15 left. The problem? Horford’s shot came in the midst of a 12-3 Bucks run for a 92-75 lead.

Antetokounmpo followed up on the next Bucks possession by tossing the ball off the backboard and dunking the rebound for a 94-78 edge with 6:24 left.

Brown hit a pair of 3-pointers midway through the quarter, followed by a Grant Williams 3 that cut the Bucks edge to 9684 with 3:49 left. But Antetokounmpo’s put-back dunk with just over two minutes left for a 101-87 lead salted it away.

Late in the second quarter, Marcus Smart, his right arm dangling in apparent pain, ran off the floor and headed for the locker room with a trainer, just as the Bucks were closing out with an 11-3 run for a 56-46 halftime lead. He was diagnosed with a right shoulder stinger and right quad contusion, and returned.

Though Tatum heated up late, he and Brown shot a combined 5 for 18 in the first half, and slowly lost hold shooting a steady diet of 3-pointers.

Tatum came out with back-to-back 3-pointers in the third quarter with Smart back on the floor, but the Bucks pushed their lead back out to 10 points. A White 3 helped take a bite out of that margin, and despite another from the Celtics guard, Milwaukee managed to hold onto a 78-70 lead at the end of the third.

The game got off to a prehistoric pace, with the Bucks taking a 27-24 first-quarter lead thanks to a 10-0 closing run as Tatum, in particular, had trouble finding space in the paint. He finished the quarter 0 for 4, with one point.

Tatum finally scored his first basket with 6:41 left in the half -- he and Brown were a combined 2 for 11 at that point -- and cut the Milwaukee lead to 36-34. With the turnovers and misses piling up, the Celtics fell prey to another Bucks run, this one a slow 11-2 burn for a 42-34 Milwaukee lead.

The Bucks then closed out the half with an 11-3 burst for a 56-46 halftime lead.

Adam Glanzman/Getty Images Jrue Holiday (21) of the Milwaukee Bucks drives to the basket while guarded by Robert Williams III (44) of the Boston Celtics during Game One of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at TD Garden on Sunday in Boston.