And That Happened: Wednesday’s scores and highlights

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Indians 7, Red Sox 4: A three-run walkoff homer for Asdrubal Cabrera in the 12th inning to give the Tribe a three-game sweep. With rain delays and extra innings the game took seven hours, ending at 2:02AM. Six straight wins for the Indians.

Mariners 2, Braves 0:  Hisashi Iwakuma and two relievers combined for a six-hit shutout. Stefan Romero ,who came into the game hitting .204, hit cleanup. Lloyd McClendon was asked about it and he said “Somebody has got to hit there. I don’t have Bonds, so it’s going to be Romero.” Romero hit a triple a single and scored a run. When things are going well they’re going well. Five straight wins for Seattle.

Athletics 7, Yankees 4: Two homers for Yoenis Cespedes and the A’s bounce back from a 4-0 deficit to win going away. Four straight losses for New York, which has been outscored 21-0 in the seventh inning-on over that span. They’ve lost 12 of 16 at home.

Padres 3, Pirates 2: San Diego scored three runs and won the game despite getting just one hit. And it wasn’t even an RBI hit. It was a bunt single in the first inning. You can do that when you take nine walks from Pirates pitchers. Their runs came via a sac fly, an error and a bases-loaded walk. Viva the smallest of small ball.

Nationals 8, Phillies 4: Stephen Strasburg struck out 11 in seven innings and the Nats’ bats beat up on A.J. Burnett and the reeling Phillies. Anthony Rendon had a homer and a two-run single. The Nats have won four of five and are a game and a half out of first. Perhaps this is the run everyone expected but which never came last year.

Blue Jays 8, Tigers 2: Ugly loss for the Tigers. After falling behind 3-2 in the sixth they loaded the bases with nobody out and then the next three hitters went down in ignominious and unproductive fashion. Maybe it’s just as well, as it would’ve been slightly more dispiriting to have the bullpen surrender five runs in the final two innings to blow a lead than it was to see the bullpen surrender five runs in the final two innings to merely increase a previously-existing deficit.

Giants 3, Reds 2: Juan Perez and Michael Morse homered in the sixth inning to account for all the Giants’ runs. The Giants win their 10th of 13 and have the best record in baseball. Bay Area World Series, anyone?

Marlins 5, Rays 4: That’s nine straight losses for the Rays, though it obviously wasn’t their greatest loss last night.

Cubs 5, Mets 4: Starlin Castro made an error in the first inning that cost the Cubs three runs, but then he proceeded to go 3 for 4 with three RBI to make up for it. Edwin Jackson won this ugly game. But then again, pretty much all Edwin Jackson games are ugly. That’s kind of his thing.

Orioles 6, Rangers 5: Chris Davis had a three-run shot for the O’s to make two games in a row in which former Texas-sluggers-turned-Orioles-sluggers abused the Rangers. They should’ve had Rafael Palmeiro throw out the first pitch to Sammy Sosa or something. Adrian Beltre had two homers in a winning personal effort despite a losing team effort.

Diamondbacks 16, Rockies 8: Trying to think how much money you’d have to pay me to watch an entire four hour, nine inning game featuring 24 runs on 34 hits. Just not my cup of tea. It was Miguel Montero’s cup of tea, however. According to the game story, Montero said before the game that he felt like he’d get five or six RBI. He got six RBI. I feel like that’s the sort of brash prediction he’d disparage if a young teammate made it, but let’s leave that alone for now.

Cardinals 5, Royals 2: Matt Carpenter had five hits including the go-ahead double in the 11th, helping to end the Cards’ three-game losing streak. That’s the Cardinals’ eighth straight win at Kauffman Stadium, however.

White Sox 2, Dodgers 1: John Danks and three relievers combined for a two-hitter. The Dodgers are skidding out of control, having lost six of eight while watching the Giants take an eight-game lead in the division. The worst it ever got last season — when Don Mattingly was almost fired before the Dodgers’ summer surge — was nine and a half games.

Twins 6, Brewers 4:  Oswaldo Arcia homered and drove in four. That’s three homers in ten games for Arcia since being called up.

Angels 4, Astros 0: Garrett Richards tossed eight shutout innings and in one of those innings struck out the side on nine pitches. He’s the second guy to do that this week.

Rutschman has five hits in opener, Orioles outlast Red Sox 10-9

Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
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BOSTON – The last time Adley Rutschman recalls feeling this level of emotion on a baseball field was playing in front of intimate, 5,000-seat crowds in college at Oregon State.

He trumped that experience at Fenway Park on Thursday in his first career opening day start.

“This blows that out of the water,” Rutschman said.

Rutschman became the first catcher in major league history with five hits in an opener, and the Baltimore Orioles survived a wild ninth inning to beat the Boston Red Sox 10-9.

“To have that close game in the ninth inning and the crowd get so loud. You kind of sit there and say, ‘This is pretty cool,’” said Rutschman, the top overall pick in the 2019 draft.

Rutschman – who debuted for the Orioles last May and quickly became indispensable to the young, resurgent club – homered in his first at-bat and finished 5-for-5 with a career-best four RBIs and a walk on a chilly day at Fenway Park, with a temperature of 38 degrees at first pitch.

Ramon Urias hit a two-run homer for Baltimore, which finished with 15 hits, nine walks and five stolen bases.

Kyle Gibson (1-0) allowed four runs and six hits over five-plus innings to earn his first opening-day victory since his 2021 All-Star season with Texas. Gibson gave up an RBI groundout in the first inning before retiring nine straight Red Sox hitters.

The Orioles nearly gave the game away in the ninth.

With Baltimore leading 10-7, closer Félix Bautista walked pinch-hitter Raimel Tapia. Alex Verdugo followed with a single and advanced to second on an error by center fielder Cedric Mullins.

Rafael Devers struck out. Justin Turner then reached on an infield single to third when Urias’ throw was wide, scoring Tapia. Masataka Yoshida grounded to shortstop Jorge Mateo, who stepped on second for the force but threw wildly to first, allowing Verdugo to score.

Bautista struck out Adam Duvall on three pitches to end it and earn the save.

The Orioles scored four runs in the fourth and three in the fifth to take an 8-2 lead. Baltimore led 10-4 before Bryan Baker allowed three runs in the eighth to give the Red Sox some hope.

The eighth could have been even better for the Red Sox had Devers, who led off the inning, not become the first player in major league history to strike out on a pitch clock violation. Devers was looking down and kicking debris off his cleats when umpire Lance Barksdale signaled a violation that resulted in strike three.

“There’s no excuse,” said Alex Cora, who dropped to 0-5 in opening-day games as Boston’s manager. “They know the rules.”

Boston offseason addition and two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber (0-1) struggled in his Fenway debut, surrendering five runs on six hits and four walks in 3 1/3 innings.

“Less than ideal,” Kluber said. “Didn’t turn out the way I would have hoped for.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Red Sox: Christian Arroyo stayed in the game after taking an inadvertent cleat to the side of his head in the second inning. Arroyo was applying a tag to Rutschman at second base as he attempted to stretch out a single. Rutschman’s leg flipped over as he slid awkwardly. … LHP James Paxton was placed on the 15-day inured list (retroactive to March 27) with a strained right hamstring.

GOOD COMPANY

Rutschman, one of six Baltimore players making his first opening-day appearance, became the youngest Oriole to homer in his first opening-day at-bat since Cal Ripken Jr. in 1984.

BIG BAGS

The Orioles took advantage of MLB’s bigger bases – going from 15- to 18-inch squares – that are being used for the first time this season. Baltimore hadn’t stolen five bases in a game since last June 24 against the White Sox. Mullins and Jorge Mateo swiped two bags apiece, and Adam Frazier got a huge jump on his steal against reliever Ryan Brasier. There was nothing Boston catcher Reese McGuire could do to stop them and on the majority of Baltimore’s steals, he didn’t bother to throw.

FINAL SPOTS

Right-hander Kaleb Ort and Tapia earned Boston’s final two roster spots to open the season. Tapia got the nod over Jarren Duran, who was sent down to Triple-A Worcester. Ort pitched a scoreless sixth with one strikeout Thursday.

UP NEXT

Orioles: RHP Dean Kremer will make is sixth career start against Boston when the three-game series resumes on Saturday. In 11 road starts last season, he went 5-3 with a 3.63 ERA.

Red Sox: LHP Chris Sale, who has pitched in only 11 games over the past three years due to injuries, is set to begin his seventh season in Boston.