MILWAUKEE — Christian Yelich hit his fourth homer of the season in the first inning and a two-run double in the ninth, leading the Milwaukee Brewers to a dramatic 5-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.

Ben Gamel led off the ninth with a pinch-hit double and advanced on Lorenzo Cain’s infield single off reliever Jordan Hicks’ glove. Yelich then hit a liner into the gap in left-center, driving in Gamel and Cain.

Yelich tossed his helmet in celebration as Cain slid face-first across the plate, giving Milwaukee three wins its opening four-game set against rival St. Louis. Yelich’s teammates rushed the field and doused the reigning NL MVP with Gatorade in a raucous celebration at second.

Yelich began his day with a long drive into the second deck in right against Michael Wacha, tying the major-league record for consecutive games with a home run to start a season. He also became the first player to win the MVP award and then homer in his first four games of the next season.

PHILLIES 5, BRAVES 1: Bryce Harper homered for the second straight game to cap a fantastic debut weekend and Philadelphia completed a three-game sweep of Atlanta in Philadelphia.

PIRATES 5, REDS 0: Trevor Williams pitched six effective innings and drove in two runs, helping Pittsburgh win in Cincinnati.

Williams picked up where he left off last season, when he was the only major leaguer to make 10 starts of at least six innings without allowing a run. The right-hander gave up three hits, struck out six and walked one.

The Reds put runners on the corners with two out in the sixth, but Williams struck out Yasiel Puig. Puig is 0 for 7 with four strikeouts and a walk in two games after he was acquired in an offseason trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

MARLINS 3, ROCKIES 0: Sandy Alcantara pitched eight crisp innings, Jorge Alfaro drove in two runs and Miami won at home.

Alcantara allowed four hits, struck out six and walked none in his longest outing in 15 major league appearances. The 23-year-old right-hander retired 14 straight hitters before Ryan McMahon reached on a two-out infield single in the seventh.

NATIONALS 6, METS 5: Trea Turner homered twice, including a game-ending solo shot in the ninth inning, and Washington won at home for its first win of the season.

Turner earlier hit a three-run homer and also scored in the fifth to put Washington up 4-1. The Nationals let a 5-2 lead evaporate in the eighth before Turner ended it with a drive off Justin Wilson (0-1) that landed in the second row of the left-field seats.

PADRES 3, GIANTS 1: Manny Machado brought in the go-ahead run with a bases-loaded grounder in the seventh inning, Chris Paddack struck out seven in five impressive innings in his major league debut and San Diego won at home.

Four pitchers combined on a two-hitter for the Padres, who took three of four from the Giants.

DODGERS 8, DIAMONDBACKS 7: A.J. Pollock hit a two-run double during an eighth-inning rally to help host Los Angeles beat Arizona.

Pollock tied it at 7 with a shot down the line against Yoshihisa Hirano and advanced to third when right fielder Adam Jones misplayed it. Pollock, a former Diamondback who signed with Los Angeles as a free agent in the offseason, scored on Max Muncy’s sacrifice fly.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

ORIOLES 7, YANKEES 5: Renato Nunez, Trey Mancini and Joey Rickard hit Baltimore’s first home runs of the year and the Orioles started strong at Yankee Stadium, beating New York in a game delayed more than three hours by rain.

Coming off a 115-loss season under Buck Showalter, the Orioles and their new manager, Brandon Hyde, took two of three from the 100-win Yankees. Baltimore hadn’t won two in a row since August.

A’S 2, ANGELS 1: Khris Davis homered for the fourth time in six games, Frankie Montas pitched into the seventh inning and Oakland beat visiting Los Angeles.

Marcus Semien and Matt Chapman had two hits apiece for the A’s, who took three of four from the Angels after getting swept by Seattle in a two-game series in Tokyo to start the season.

RAYS 3, ASTROS 1: Yonny Chirinos covered splendidly for Tampa Bay’s taxed bullpen, Austin Meadows hit his second homer, and the Rays took three of four games from Houston in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The Rays had planned to use an opener for the first time this season, but Manager Kevin Cash instead turned to the 25-year-old Chirinos rather than push his fatigued relievers. Chirinos pitched seven innings, allowing one run, two hits and no walks while striking out six. The only run came on Jake Marisnick’s homer in the sixth.

TIGERS 4, BLUE JAYS 3: Nicholas Castellanos singled home the go-ahead run in the 11th inning, Jeimer Candelario had five hits and Detroit won in Toronto after blowing a late lead.

Castellanos drove in Grayson Greiner, and the Tigers salvaged a split of the four-game series to open the season. The decisive hit came off left-hander Thomas Pannone (0-1), the eighth pitcher for Toronto.

TWINS 9, INDIANS 3: Nelson Cruz hit his first homer with Minnesota, Michael Pineda was stellar in his first pitching appearance since 2017 and the Twins won at home.

Pineda had Tommy John surgery after his previous start in July 5, 2017, while with the New York Yankees, and this was his first time back on a big league mound. Pineda pitched four scoreless innings, striking out five with one hit and one walk.

WHITE SOX 6, ROYALS 3: Lucas Giolito took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning, and Chicago won in Kansas City, Missouri, to avoid a three-game sweep in the season-opening series.

Giolito walked Whit Merrifield on four pitches to begin the game, then retired 19 straight before Alex Gordon’s single with one out in the seventh. Gordon fouled off four consecutive pitches before lining a curveball into center field.

INTERLEAGUE

RANGERS 11, CUBS 10: Joey Gallo scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth and Texas beat Chicago in Arlington, Texas.

With one out in the ninth and the Cubs playing five infielders, Gallo raced home from third base when Pedro Strop’s pitch to Nomar Mazara bounced past catcher Willson Contreras and high onto the net behind home plate to give the Rangers a series win after the Cubs’ 12-4 victory on Opening Day.

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