On his 28th birthday, usually reliable Boston Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel was perfectly positioned to kick off the celebrations with his first win of the season on Saturday.
David Ortiz had wrestled back the lead with a ninth-inning home run, and with two out in the bottom of the inning, Kimbrel had worked Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Justin Smoak to an 0-2 count.
But Smoak misread the script, driving a single up the middle. After Smoak was replaced by pinch-runner Ezequiel Carrera, catcher Russell Martin drove home the tying run on a 2-2 count. Devon Travis drove in Martin on another 0-2 count as the Blue Jays walked off with a 10-9 win.
Whatever he had planned for Saturday night, his birthday celebrations hadn’t exactly got off to the most auspicious of starts.
“(Big) Papi going out there and hitting the home run that was huge for us,” Kimbrel (0-2) said. “It was very disappointing that I wasn’t able to close the door after that.”
The winning hit from Travis got mixed reaction in the Red Sox locker room. Third baseman Travis Shaw had to dive to corral the drive, but his throw to first was dropped by Hanley Ramirez, allowing Martin’s game-winning run to stand.
“It’s a tough play, it’s a tough play for any first baseman, I don’t care how many games you’ve played over at first base,” said Dustin Pedroia. “I’ve seen that done by Gold Glovers and everybody. That’s not the reason why we lost the game.”
However, Manager John Farrell felt his first baseman would have liked to have a do-over.
“Travis gives him a throw and we’ve seen Hanley catch that ball a number of times,” Farrell said. “If we give him a chance to replay that, he probably makes that play routinely. Unfortunate situation in a key moment.”
Up 8-4 when starter Rick Porcello left the game after 6 innings, the Red Sox had looked in good position to grab a series-leveling victory. But those hopes started to unravel in the eighth, as Martin, Travis and Jose Bautista drove in runs off the bullpen, combined with another on a wild pitch from Junichi Tazawa, and the game was tied.
Ortiz’s 13th home run of the season, and league-leading 46th RBI, off Toronto reliever Gavin Floyd (2-3), gave the Red Sox another chance, but with the bullpen giving up a season-high six earned runs, it just wasn’t their day.
“With the potency in our lineup, I feel like no lead is really big enough,” Martin said.
Porcello gave up four runs on seven hits while striking out five over 6 innings.
Marcus Stroman tied his shortest outing of the season, also against Boston, surrendering seven runs on 11 hits while striking out five. He was chased in the fifth inning with one out.
Royals 8, White Sox 7
Brett Eibner capped Kansas City’s seven-run ninth inning with a game-ending RBI single, lifting the Royals to a stunning victory over the Chicago White Sox.
Jarrod Dyson was walked intentionally before Eibner drove a full-count pitch from Tommy Kahnle (0-1) off first baseman Jose Abreu and into right field. Drew Butera, who replaced Salvador Perez after the All-Star catcher got hurt in a collision, scampered home as Eibner was mobbed by his jubilant teammates near first.
Chien-Ming Wang (3-0) pitched two scoreless innings for the win. White Sox closer David Robertson began the ninth inning, but was pulled with two outs and charged with six runs and four hits.
Perez was injured in the ninth when third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert slid with a forearm and elbow into the left thigh of the All-Star catcher, who called off Wang, settled under Adam Eaton’s foul popup about 30 feet from the plate near the third-base line and snagged the ball just before he was hit.
Giants 10, Rockies 5
Buster Posey hit a pair of three-run homers, including a tiebreaking drive as part of a six-run eighth inning, and San Francisco rallied for the win.
The Rockies were limited to one run over six innings by Madison Bumgarner, but broke out in the seventh against five relievers for a 5-4 lead.
San Francisco responded with six runs in the eighth. Posey led the charge with a towering homer to right-center off Carlos Estevez (1-2).
Cory Gearrin (1-0) threw 1 scoreless innings to earn his first win since May 28, 2013.
Rays 9, Yankees 5
Evan Longoria homered and drove in four runs, powering Tampa Bay to the victory.
Longoria had a sacrifice fly during a three-run first, boosted the lead to 5-0 with a two-run homer in the second and chased Michael Pineda with an RBI single in the fourth that made it 6-1.
Pineda (2-6) allowed six runs and nine hits in 3 innings. His 6.92 ERA is the highest among 104 qualifying pitchers in the major leagues.
Matt Moore (2-3), winless in his six previous starts, gave up three runs and eight hits in 6 innings as the Rays won for the second time in eight games. New York lost for the third time in 10 games.
Carlos Beltran hit a solo homer off Moore in the fourth for his 2,500th hit.
Reds 7, Brewers 6
Joey Votto scored the go-ahead run in the ninth after an inning-ending double play was overturned, and Cincinnati snapped its 11-game losing streak.
The Reds completed their comeback from a 6-1 deficit when umpires ruled after the review that infielder Scooter Gennett didn’t have his foot on second while trying to turn a double play on Adam Duvall’s bouncer.
The review came after Manager Bryan Price, who was out of challenges, spoke to crew chief Jim Joyce. Cincinnati scratched its way for the go-ahead run off typically tough reliever Jeremy Jeffress (1-1).
Blake Wood (4-1) tossed two scoreless innings for the win. Tony Cingrani gave up a two-out walk to Chris Carter in the ninth, but struck out pinch hitter Martin Maldonado to secure his fourth save.
Cubs 4, Phillies 1
Kyle Hendricks pitched a five-hitter for his second career complete game, leading the Cubs to their fourth straight win.
Hendricks (3-4) struck out seven and walked none. He was in line for his second career shutout before giving up a run in the ninth.
Dexter Fowler sparked a two-run first against Jerad Eickhoff (2-7) with his sixth home run.
Jason Heyward had two doubles for Chicago. Ben Zobrist had two hits, including an RBI double, to extend his streak to 14 games.
The Phillies lost for the sixth time in eight games.
Athletics 12, Tigers 3
Billy Butler, Khris Davis and Danny Valencia homered, and Oakland stopped a three-game losing streak.
Coco Crisp and Jake Smolinski each drove in two runs as the A’s reached double figures in scoring for the first time this season.
Jesse Hahn (2-2) pitched six innings, giving up three runs to remain undefeated against the Tigers in three starts. He walked four and struck out five.
Warwick Saupold (1-1) got the loss. The Tigers had won nine of 11.
Indians 11, Orioles 4
Yan Gomes drove in three runs and Danny Salazar allowed two runs in six innings, leading the Indians to the victory.
Gomes’s two-run single highlighted a four-run first, and he added an RBI single in the fifth. Mike Napoli drove in two runs for the Indians, who had 13 hits and moved into first place in the AL Central.
Salazar (5-3) struck out five and walked two while rebounding from his worst start of the season.
Baltimore’s Ubaldo Jimenez (2-6) was charged with six runs in 1 innings. Third baseman Pedro Alvarez’s error in the first made three of the runs unearned.
Braves 7, Marlins 2
Gordon Beckham hit a three-run homer, Nick Markakis drove in two runs and Atlanta secured its first home series win of the season.
The Braves improved to a still-dismal 4-20 at Turner Field by winning the first two games of the three-game set. Atlanta rallied from a 2-0 deficit for the second straight day.
The Braves are 5-0 against the Marlins and 9-34 against all other teams. Atlanta swept a three-game series at Miami on April 15-17.
Atlanta took the lead by scoring three runs in the sixth off Jose Urena (1-1). Beckham hit his homer off Edwin Jackson after Jackson walked two batters in the seventh.
The Marlins committed three errors, including two by center fielder Marcell Ozuna.
Eric O’Flaherty (1-3) got the win.
Cardinals 9, Nationals 4
Adam Wainwright pitched seven gritty innings and made an ample contribution at the plate, hitting a two-run double to help the Cardinals defeat the Nationals.
Matt Holliday homered for the Cardinals, who took control with a four-run second inning highlighted by Wainwright’s fifth extra-base hit of the season.
With two on, two outs and a run in, Wainwright lined the first pitch from Gio Gonzalez (3-3) into the left-center gap. Matt Carpenter, activated from the paternity list before the game, followed with an RBI double for a 4-0 lead. That started Wainwright (5-3) on a path to his fifth straight win. The right-hander allowed four runs and six hits – including a career-record tying three home runs. He struck out five and walked none.
Ryan Zimmerman went 4-for-4 with two homers, and Bryce Harper hit a solo shot for the Nationals.
Dodgers 9, Mets 1
Chase Utley hit a grand slam and a solo homer after Noah Syndergaard threw a 99 mph fastball behind his back, and the Dodgers went deep a season-high five times in routing the Mets.
In a scene that seemed inevitable since October, Syndergaard was immediately ejected following the third-inning pitch – almost certainly his shot at retaliation against Utley for the late takeout slide that broke the right leg of then-Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada in last year’s playoffs.
Plate umpire Adam Hamari tossed Syndergaard, sending Mets Manager Terry Collins into a rage, but no trouble ensued between the teams. A longtime New York nemesis, Utley raised one hand slightly in the direction of the Dodgers’ bench to keep teammates calm – and later answered by doing all sorts of damage with his bat.
Rangers 5, Pirates 2
Yu Darvish struck out seven in five strong innings in his first start in the majors in almost 22 months, and the Rangers beat the Pirates.
The Japanese right-hander allowed three singles with a walk in his return from last year’s Tommy John surgery, ending Pittsburgh’s five-game winning streak.
Adrian Beltre had a two-run homer in the first inning off Juan Nicasio (3-3) to become the fourth third baseman with at least 1,500 RBI, finishing with 1,501.