Atlanta • Bryce Harper hit a three-run homer and the quick-scoring Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves 8-1 on Monday night for the first 4-0 start to a season in their Washington history.
Harper’s second-inning shot off Sean Newcomb (0-1) to center field gave the Nationals a 5-0 lead. He also drew four walks and scored three runs.
For the fourth straight game as the road team, the Nationals scored in the first inning to give their starting pitcher a lead before his first pitch.
This time, the beneficiary was Tanner Roark (1-0), who allowed one run in seven innings. Roark gave up four hits with one walk and six strikeouts.
Howie Kendrick’s double to right field drove in Harper, who walked, in Washington’s two-run first inning.
Cardinals 8, Brewers 4 • In Milwaukee, 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.
St. Louis shortstop Paul DeJong connected for the second straight game, hitting his third homer this season. Milwaukee had opened the season with a three-game sweep at San Diego.
Mikolas (1-0) gave up four runs in 52⁄3 innings in his first big league start since Aug. 25, 2014, when he pitched eight innings for Texas in a 2-0 win over Seattle. He also got his first major league hit in the fifth — a two-run homer off Zach Davies (0-1) that broke a 2-2 tie.
Eric Thames, Lorenzo Cain and Manny Pina homered for Milwaukee.
Reds 1, Cubs 0 • In Cincinnati, 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.
Eugenio Suarez tripled in the fourth and scored on Adam Duvall’s groundout for the game’s only run.
Cincinnati was swept at home by Washington, falling to 0-3 for the first time since 2003. It also trailed in all 27 innings — the Nationals scored in the first inning each time.Mahle (1-0) earned the victory in his fifth major league start, outpitching Tyler Chatwood (0-1) in his Cubs debut. Iglesias got four outs for the save.
Chicago has been blanked in back-to-back games for the first time since last May 26-27, when the Dodgers beat the Cubs 4-0 and 5-0.
American League
Tigers 6, Royals 1 • In Detroit, Francisco Liriano pitched into the seventh inning in his Detroit debut and Victor Martinez drove in three runs to give the Tigers a victory over Kansas City. Manager Ron Gardenhire notched his first with Detroit.
Gardenhire won 1,068 games as Minnesota’s manager from 2002-14. This is his first year at the helm in Detroit.
The temperature was in the mid-30s at Comerica Park for a matchup between the last two winless teams in the American League.
Liriano (1-0) allowed a run and four hits in 62⁄3 innings. The Tigers scored four runs in the fifth, with Martinez delivering a two-run single off Jason Hammel (0-1).
Astros 6, Orioles 1 • In Houston, Charlie Morton pitched six scoreless innings, Marwin Gonzalez homered and the Astros beat Baltimore in their home opener after winning their first World Series title last year.
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 on a night when the Astros unveiled their championship banner.
Brad Peacock pitched a perfect seventh and Will Harris allowed one hit in the eighth before Collin McHugh took over. The starter-turned-reliever allowed a homer to Trey Mancini and a double to Colby Rasmus before retiring the last three batters.
Blue Jays 4, White Sox 2 • In Toronto, Russell Martin hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning, Josh Donaldson and Aledmys Diaz each had a solo shot and the Blue Jays beat Chicago for their third straight win.
All six runs in the game came on homers.
Welington Castillo went deep twice for the White Sox, his sixth career multihomer game and third straight against Toronto. Castillo hit five home runs against the Blue Jays in 2017, his highest total against any opponent.
Martin erased a 2-1 deficit with a two-out drive into the left-field bullpen off Danny Farquhar (1-1). The homer was Martin’s first of the season.
Seung Hwan Oh (1-0) got the win despite allowing Castillo’s second homer, a tiebreaking shot in the top of the seventh, during his only inning of work.
Interleague
Red Sox 7, Marlins 3 • In Miami, Brian Johnson gave Boston its fifth solid start in five games, allowing one run in six innings. All five Boston starters have allowed fewer than two runs, a franchise first to begin a season.
Hanley Ramirez and Mookie Betts each hit his first home run of the season for the Red Sox, who doubled their season total. They scored 10 runs in their first four games but are 4-1 because they have allowed only 12 runs.
Johnson (1-0) gave up rookie Brian Anderson’s first career homer but stranded six runners. The Red Sox improved to 6-0 in Johnson’s starts over the past two seasons.
Boston starters have allowed three earned runs in 30 innings with 28 strikeouts. Trevor Richards (0-1), the Marlins’ minor league pitcher of the year in 2017, retired the first seven batters in his major league debut but then allowed five runs in 41⁄3 innings
Pirates 5, Twins 4 • In Pittsburgh, Colin Moran hit a first-inning 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.
Moran, part of a trade that sent Gerrit Cole to Houston in January, sent a full-count fastball from Lance Lynn into the seats above the Clemente Wall in right field to stake the Pirates to an early lead they nursed to just their third 4-0 start in 35 years.
Taillon (1-0) allowed two runs in 51⁄3 innings. George Kontos worked a perfect ninth for his second career save.
Brian Dozier homered for the second straight day for the Twins. Lynn (0-1) lasted just four innings in his first game with Minnesota since signing a one-year deal last month.
Donate to the newsroom now. The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity and contributions are tax deductible