Cubs Hold Off Pirates, Cardinals Drop Reds

Cubs Hold Off Pirates For First Win

(Pittsburgh, PA) -- Mike Olt homered and Jason Hammel pitched into the seventh inning as the Cubs held on to beat the Pirates 3-2 at PNC Park. Anthony Rizzo singled in a run for Chicago, which built a 3-0 lead in the third inning and hung on from there for their first win of the season. Hammel allowed just two hits and one run over 6 2/3 innings for the victory. Pedro Strop pitched the ninth for his first save as the Cubs salvaged the finale of the three-game series. Wandy Rodriguez gave up three runs in six innings to take the loss for Pittsburgh. Tony Sanchez singled in both Bucs' runs in the seventh.

Baseball finally returns to Wrigley Field as the Cubs and Phillies meet in Chicago's home opener this afternoon. The Cubs send Travis Wood to the hill opposite Roberto Hernandez. Wood went 9-12 with a 3.11 ERA in 32 starts last season. Both teams are 1-2.

Cubs outfielder Junior Lake is removing some egg from his face after wearing the wrong jersey for Thursday's game in Pittsburgh. Chicago has two road gray jerseys this season, one with "Cubs" across the front and the other with "Chicago." Lake took the field wearing the "Chicago" jersey before a teammate pointed out the mistake. He switched to the "Cubs" jersey after the first inning.

Cardinals Drop Reds

(Cincinnati, OH) -- The Cardinals answered a three-run Reds opening inning with seven consecutive runs, and they held on for a 7-6 win in the rubber match of a three-game set at Great American Ball Park. Jhonny Peralta launched a two-run shot, his first homer in a St. Louis uniform. Matt Adams complied three hits and scored two runs, while Matt Holliday was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Lance Lynn grabbed the victory, tossing five innings of three-run ball with seven strikeouts. Todd Frazier homered twice and knocked in four runs for Cincinnati. Trevor Rosenthal picked up a four-out save, his second of the year. Reds starter Homer Bailey took the loss.

Twins Rally Past White Sox In Ninth

(Chicago, IL) -- Oswaldo Arcia tripled in the go-ahead run in a two-run ninth inning as the Twins outlasted the White Sox 10-9 at U.S. Cellular Field.  Trevor Plouffe tied the game at nine with an RBI single for Minnesota, which led 5-1 before Chicago scored seven times in the fifth and sixth innings to take an 8-5 lead. Chris Colabello went 2-for-5 with six RBI for the Twins, who salvaged the finale of the three-game series. Caleb Thielbar got the win and Glen Perkins his first save. Matt Lindstrom took the loss for Chicago. Alejando De Aza, Adam Dunn and Marcus Semien all homered for the White Sox.

The White Sox head out on a six-game road trip beginning with a three-game series against the Royals kicking off this afternoon.  Erik Johnson takes the hill for Chicago, while Kansas City counters with Jeremy Guthrie.  Kansas City is 0-and-2.  

Marlins Rally Past Rockies With Four-Run Eighth

(Miami, FL) -- Giancarlo Stanton singled in the go-ahead run in a four-run eighth inning as the Marlins rallied to beat the Rockies 8-5 at Marlins Park.  Christian Yelich singled in the tying run ahead of Stanton and Casey McGehee capped the frame with a two-run single as Miami took three-of-four in the series. A.J. Ramos got the win and Steve Cishek his second save. Matt Belisle blew the save and took the loss for Colorado. Michael Cuddyer hit a two-run homer and drove in three for the Rockies. Nolan Arenado had a two-run single for Colorado, which squandered an early.

Zimmerman's Bat Carries Nationals To Sweep Of Mets

(Flushing, NY) -- Ryan Zimmerman went 4-for-5 with a home run and Adam LaRoche drove in three runs as the Nationals beat the Mets 8-2 at Citi Field.  Emergency starter Tanner Roark gave up two runs in the first inning, but settled down to get through six and pick up the win as Washington swept the three-game series.  Roark started in place of Jordan Zimmerman, who was out with the flu. Zack Wheeler gave up three runs in six innings to take the loss for New York. Curtis Granderson had an RBI double and Juan Lagares lofted a sac-fly for the Mets, who are off to an 0-and-3 start for the first time since 2005.

Giants Sink D'Backs With Late Rally

(Phoenix, AZ) -- The Giants used a five-run rally keyed by an Angel Pagan three-run homer to pull out an 8-5 win against the Diamondbacks at Chase Field.  Hector Sanchez's one-run double made it a one-run game and Michael Morse's RBI single knotted everything up at five before Pagan's blast put San Francisco ahead. Will Harris was charged will all five runs and took the loss. Tim Lincecum struck out seven across six innings, but allowed four to cross the plate.  Jean Machi earned the win as the Giants took three of four. Paul Goldschmidt and Mark Trumbo as Arizona fell to 1-5.

Red Sox Sink Orioles

(Baltimore, MD) -- Jackie Bradley Junior singled in the winning run during the top of the sixth inning as the Red Sox held on for a 4-3 win over the Orioles in Baltimore. Xander Bogaerts was 3-for-4 with two runs for Boston, which won the three-game series at Camden Yards. Felix Doubront allowed three runs in five-and-a-third innings for the win. Koji Uehara locked up his first save. Wei-Yin Chen gave up four runs in under six frames for the loss. Matt Wieters went 3-for-4 with a run scored and driven in for the O's.

Yankees Double Up Astros

(Houston, TX) -- Yangervis Solarte went 3-for-3 with two runs and an RBI as the Yankees dropped the Astros 4-2 in Houston to salvage the three-game series.  Derek Jeter was 1-for-3 with the eventual game-winning RBI for New York, which leaves Minute Maid Park 1-2. Ivan Nova walked five and allowed six hits and two runs in five-and-a-third innings for the win. David Robertson locked up his first save. Dexter Fowler had two hits, an RBI and a run scored for Houston. Brett Oberholtzer gave up three runs in five-and-two-thirds innings for the setback.

Athletics Rally Past Mariners In Extras

(Oakland, CA) -- Coco Crisp hit a walk-off solo home run in the 12th inning to lift the Athletics over the Mariners 3-2 in Oakland. Yoenis Cespedes hit a triple to drive in the game-tying run in the eighth for the A's. Starting pitcher Jesse Chavez struck out four in six frames while allowing two runs. Drew Pomeranz got the win for Oakland. Roenis Elias allowed just one run off two hits in five innings of work in his big league debut for Seattle. Robinson Cano and Abraham Almonte each drove in a run for the Mariners, who suffered their first loss of the young season. Hector Noesi took the loss in relief.

Thursday, April 3 Scoreboard

MLB National League

Chicago Cubs 3, Pittsburgh Pirates 2

St. Louis Cardinals 7, Cincinnati Reds 6

Miami Marlins 8, Colorado Rockies 5

Washington Nationals 8, New York Mets 2

San Francisco Giants 8, Arizona Diamondbacks 5

MLB American League

Kansas City Royals at Detroit Tigers  (PPD)

Minnesota Twins 10, Chicago White Sox 9

Boston Red Sox 4, Baltimore Orioles 3

Tampa Bay Rays 7, Toronto Blue Jays 2

New York Yankees 4, Houston Astros 2

Oakland Athletics 3, Seattle Mariners 2  (12 inn)

MLB Interleague

No Games Scheduled

Friday, April 4 Schedule (All Times Central)

MLB National League

12:05 p.m. - Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals

1:20 p.m. - Philadelphia Phillies at Chicago Cubs

3:10 p.m. - San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers

3:10 p.m. - Arizona Diamondbacks at Colorado Rockies

6:05 p.m. - St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates

6:10 p.m. - Cincinnati Reds at New York Mets

6:10 p.m. - San Diego Padres at Miami Marlins

MLB American League

12:08 p.m. - Baltimore Orioles at Detroit Tigers

2:05 p.m. - Minnesota Twins at Cleveland Indians

3:10 p.m. - Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals

6:07 p.m. - New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays

6:10 p.m. - Texas Rangers at Tampa Bay Rays

7:10 p.m. - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Houston Astros

9:05 p.m. - Seattle Mariners at Oakland Athletics

MLB Interleague

1:05 p.m. - Milwaukee Brewers at Boston Red Sox