HOUSTON ASTROS starting pitcher Charlie Morton delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday in Houston. The Astros won, 6-1. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Charlie Morton pitched six scoreless innings, Marwin Gonzalez homered and the Houston Astros unveiled their World Series banner before defeating the Baltimore Orioles 6-1 on Monday night in their home opener.
Morton (1-0) allowed three hits and struck out six. The right-hander picked up where he left off after getting the final 12 outs in Game 7 against the Dodgers to help secure Houston’s first championship.
Baltimore has dropped three straight after winning its opener. Orioles starter Chris Tillman (0-1) was tagged for seven hits and four runs in four-plus innings.
D-Backs 8, Dodgers 7, 15 innings
PHOENIX (AP) — Chris Owings hit a three-run homer off All-Star closer Kenley Jansen with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to force extra innings, and Arizona scored twice in the 15th to rally past Los Angeles.
The first matchup between the teams since the NL champion Dodgers swept their Division Series last October became the longest game in Chase Field history at 5 hours, 45 minutes.
Nationals 8, Braves 1
ATLANTA (AP) — Bryce Harper hit a three-run homer, helping the Nationals to the first 4-0 start in their Washington history.
Harper’s second-inning shot off Sean Newcomb (0-1) gave the Nationals a 5-0 lead. He also walked four times and scored three runs.
Washington’s Tanner Roark (1-0) pitched seven innings of one-run ball.
Tigers 6, Twins 1
DETROIT (AP) — Francisco Liriano pitched into the seventh inning and Victor Martinez drove in three runs to hand Ron Gardenhire his first win with the Tigers.
Gardenhire won 1,068 games as Minnesota’s manager from 2002-14. This is his first year at the helm in Detroit.
Blue Jays 4, White Sox 2
TORONTO (AP) — Russell Martin, Josh Donaldson and Aledmys Diaz connected, powering Toronto to its third straight victory.
All six runs in the game came on homers.
Pirates 5, Twins 4
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Colin Moran hit a firstinning grand slam in his debut at PNC Park, Jameson Taillon tied a career high with nine strikeouts and Pittsburgh held on for the win in its home opener.
Cardinals 8, Brewers 4
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Pitcher Miles Mikolas hit a home run and got the win in his return from a three-year stint in Japan, and the Cardinals spoiled the Brewers’ home opener.
Reds 1, Cubs 0
CINCINNATI (AP) — Rookie Tyler Mahle pitched one-hit ball for six innings, Raisel Iglesias struck out Anthony Rizzo with the bases loaded to end the eighth, and the Reds edged the Cubs for their first win of the season.
A’s 3, Rangers 1
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Jed Lowrie hit a two-out, two-run double in the seventh inning and Oakland spoiled Bartolo Colon’s debut with Texas.
Matt Chapman homered for the second time in two days for Oakland. The A’s had lost three straight since beating the Angels on opening day.
Indians 6, Angels 0
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Edwin Encarnacion hit the second inside-the-park home run of his career, and Tyler Naquin and Yonder Alonso cleared the fences to help Cleveland ruin Los Angeles’ home opener and snap its three-game win streak.
Mike Clevinger (1-0), a former Angels farmhand, scattered four hits and struck out five in 5 1/3 innings in his season debut.
Rockies 7, Padres 4
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Ian Desmond, Charlie Blackmon and DJ LeMahieu homered to power Colorado past winless San Diego.
Chad Bettis (1-0) pitched five effective innings and Desmond drove in three runs as the Rockies improved to 2-2.
Wade Davis got one out for his second save.
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