Detroit – Trevor Bauer made short work of the Detroit Tigers, throwing a two-hit shutout in Cincinnati’s 4-0 victory Sunday that gave the Reds a sweep of Major League Baseball’s first seven-inning doubleheader.
Shogo Akiyama hit an RBI single in the top of the seventh that sent the Reds to a 4-3 win in the opener.
Akiyama was 1-for-3 with an RBI in the opener and didn’t play in the second game.
MLB recently decided to use doubleheaders of seven-inning games, which have been commonplace in the minor leagues and colleges, to help teams alleviate an expected crush of twinbills caused by weather and coronavirus-related postponements. The Reds-Tigers game was rained out Saturday.
Bauer was furious Saturday with the late decision to delay that game — but the postponement meant he only had to throw seven innings for his shutout Sunday. He finished with 111 pitches.
Matt Davidson had an RBI single in the first inning and Aristides Aquino added another in the second against Detroit starter Daniel Norris (0-1). Christian Colon added a two-run single in the seventh to give Bauer a four-run cushion.
At one point in the first game, Cincinnati starter Anthony DeSclafani forgot the teams were only playing seven innings.
« When the Tigers scored those three runs to tie the game in the sixth, I was thinking we still had three innings left to win the game,” DeSclafani said. « I forgot we were only playing seven. I don’t even remember the last time I played a seven-inning game.”
Nick Castellanos homered twice and drove in three runs for Cincinnati in the opener against his former team. But his three-base error in right field with the bases loaded in the sixth allowed Detroit to tie the game.
Reliever Tyler Alexander had kept the Tigers in it by striking out the first nine batters he faced, tying the American League record for consecutive strikeouts. His streak ended in the top of the sixth, one short of Tom Seaver’s major league record, when he hit Mike Moustakas with a 1-2 pitch. Moustakas left the game with a forearm injury.
The start of the first game was delayed more than two hours because of rain. Then the game took 2 hours, 25 minutes. The second game went 2:36.
The scoreboard at Comerica Park was still set to display a nine-inning game.
With the score tied and the new doubleheader rules in place, Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire brought in closer Joe Jimenez (0-1) to start the seventh inning of the opener.
Freddy Galvis led off with a double, took third on Tucker Barnhart’s single and scored on Akiyama’s bouncer through the drawn-in infield.
Raisel Iglesias (1-1) got the final out of the sixth before pitching a scoreless seventh. The Reds still don’t have a save this season, and their bullpen couldn’t hold on after DeSclafani left them a 3-0 lead.
Lucas Sims started the sixth and the Tigers loaded the bases with two out on a single, a walk and a hit batter. Victor Reyes lifted a fly ball to right-center. Castellanos called off center fielder Nick Senzel, but the ball bounced off the tip of his glove and all three runners scored.
The Reds took a quick 2-0 lead. Rony Garcia walked Akiyama to start the game, and Castellanos homered into the Cincinnati bullpen.
Castellanos homered again in the third inning. It was his second two-homer game at Comerica Park, the other coming on Aug. 22, 2017. Castellanos played his first 837 games with the Tigers before being traded to the Chicago Cubs last season.
Braves 4, Mets 0
In Atlanta, Kyle Wright and the Braves bullpen combined on a 10-hit shutout and Atlanta won its fifth in a row, blanking a New York lineup that found out late that slugger Yoenis Cespedes had opted out of playing any more this season.
The Mets released a statement from general manager Brodie Van Wagenen in the early innings that Céspedes wasn’t at the ballpark and the team hadn’t been able to contact him.
After the game, Van Wagenen said: « He’s decided to opt out of the remainder of the season for COVID-related reasons.”
A two-time All-Star, the 34-year-old Céspedes returned to the lineup this season for the first time since July 20, 2018, after a series of injuries.
Dodgers 3, Diamondbacks 0
In Phoenix, Clayton Kershaw threw 5 2/3 sharp innings in his season debut for Los Angeles, and NL MVP Cody Bellinger hit his first home run of the season.
Mookie Betts homered and doubled before leaving early because of a finger injury on his left hand. The Dodgers won three times in the four-game series, and have taken five of six overall.
Orioles 5, Rays 1
In Baltimore, Hanser Alberto doubled in the tiebreaking run in the seventh inning, Renato Nunez and Pat Valaika homered, and the Orioles beat Tampa Bay to complete a three-game sweep.
Yoshitomo Tsutsugo did not play for the Rays.
White Sox 9, Royals 2
Athletics 3, Mariners 2
Yankees 7, Red Sox 9
Twins 3, Indians 1
Cubs 2, Pirates 1 (11)
Rockies 9, Padres 6
Rangers 9, Giants 5
Source : Baseball – The Japan Times