Almora Provides Lift As Cubs Beat Cardinals, MLB Roundup

By ESPN

Albert Almora Jr. provided a big lift for the Chicago Cubs with a birthday present for his mom.

Almora robbed Matt Adams of a home run and Javier Baez made a terrific sliding stop on Kolten Wong's game-ending grounder, sending Jake Arrieta and the Cubs to a 2-1 victory against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.

It looked as if the Cardinals had tied the game in the seventh, but Almora tracked Adams' deep fly ball to the wall and hauled it in with a leaping grab at the top of the fence in center. A pumped-up Almora then celebrated with left fielder Kyle Schwarber as Adams tipped his batting helmet in appreciation of the play.

"Yesterday was my mother's birthday, and I told her, `I'm going to hit you a homer," Almora said. "Then I didn't, but then I told her `I didn't hit you one, but I robbed you one,' and she loved it and thought it was pretty funny. I love playing defense, and I love helping out my team."

St. Louis had a runner on first in the ninth when Baez went into short right field to take a hit away from Wong. The Cardinals challenged the bang-bang play, but the call was confirmed.

Arrieta pitched six innings of one-run ball, helping the World Series champions bounce back from a wild 4-3 loss to St. Louis on Sunday night. Willson Contreras hit a tying three-run homer in the ninth inning of the opener, but the Cardinals won it in the bottom half on Randal Grichuk's game-ending single.

Arrieta improved to 8-2 in 14 career starts against St. Louis. Koji Uehara then worked the seventh and Pedro Strop got three outs before Wade Davis finished for his first save since he was acquired in an offseason trade with Kansas City.

Adam Wainwright allowed two runs and three hits in five innings for St. Louis. The right-hander is hoping to bounce back this season after recording a 4.62 ERA last year.

The Cardinals also lost Stephen Piscotty to a head contusion in the fifth, part of a rough inning for the outfielder.

Piscotty reached when he was hit by a pitch from Arrieta. He was hit again by Contreras' throw when he stole second. He then scored from second on Wong's infield hit to the right side of the mound, but he was hit in the head by Baez's throw home.

Baez was charged with two errors on the play. Piscotty, who agreed to a $33.5 million, six-year contract a day earlier, was down on the field for several minutes. He eventually walked off the field.

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said he would be evaluated for a concussion later Tuesday night and on Wednesday.

"I've never seen (a trip around the bases) like that before," Matheny said.

Chicago jumped in front with two in the fourth. Addison Russell doubled and scored on Jason Heyward's single to center. Contreras then scampered home on Baez's safety squeeze.

ALMORA'S CHANCE

It was Almora's first game of the season. The last time Almora was on the field in a game that mattered, he used some savvy baserunning to help set up the go-ahead run in the 10th inning of Game 7 of the World Series.

Almora and Jon Jay are expected to draw most of the starts in center field after Dexter Fowler signed with the Cardinals over the winter. Almora hit .318 and drove in 16 runs in 23 games during spring training.

Tigers 6, White Sox 3

Justin Verlander views the Detroit Tigers as a driven team intent on reaching the playoffs after missing out the past two years.

This wasn't a bad start.

Verlander struck out 10 to match the most by a Detroit pitcher on opening day since Mickey Lolich in 1970, and the Tigers backed him with three home runs in a 6-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday.

"I think everyone had a similar feel around the locker room in spring training," said Verlander, whose team finished second in the AL Central last year and fell short of a wild card. "I think everybody is really happy with the vibe that we had going on this locker room. Everybody's excited about the season getting going."

JaCoby Jones hit his first career homer , Nick Castellanos and Ian Kinsler also went deep against Jose Quintana (0-1), and the Tigers sent Rick Renteria to a loss in his debut as White Sox manager.

A day after the teams were rained out and with a sparse crowd looking on, Jones' three-run homer and Castellanos' two-run drive in a five-run second lifted Detroit into a 5-1 lead. Kinsler added a solo shot in the fourth.

Verlander (1-0), the AL Cy Young Award runner-up last season, gave up two runs and six hits while walking two in 6 1/3 innings.

"He was just in control today," said Kinsler, who had two hits and two runs. "He got into a couple tough situations, but he didn't let it bother him."

Francisco Rodriguez relieved with two on in the ninth and retired three straight batters for the save. He gave up an RBI groundout to Jacob May before catcher James McCann leaned over the railing in front of the Tigers dugout to snag Tyler Saladino's foul for the final out.

Quintana, a first-time All-Star in 2016 and a candidate to be traded, allowed six runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings. The three homers he gave up matched a career high.

"I feel really good and have confidence in me and it was just the first start," Quintana said. "I have a long season and I'll try the next one to throw the ball better."

Melky Cabrera had two doubles, drove in a run and scored. Jose Abreu and Tyler Saladino each had two hits, but the bottom five batters were a combined 2 of 19 with eight strikeouts.

It was a familiar result for a White Sox team taking a different approach after four straight losing seasons.

Chicago traded ace Chris Sale and outfielder Adam Eaton while acquiring young players. The White Sox also promoted Renteria from bench coach to replace Robin Ventura, hoping to jolt a franchise with one playoff appearance since winning the 2005 World Series title.

Tuesday, April 4 Scoreboard

Detroit 6, Chicago White sox 3

New York Yankees 5, Tampa Bay 0

Colorado 6, Milwaukee 5

Cleveland 4, Texas 3

Houston 2, Seattle 1

Chicago Cubs 2, St. Louis 1

San Francisco 8, Arizona 4

Los Angeles Angels 7, Oakland 6

San Diego 4, Los Angeles Dodgers 0

Wednesday, April 5 Schedule (All Times Central)

Kansas City at Minnesota, 12:10 p.m.

Chicago Cubs at St. Louis, 12:45 p.m.

Detroit at Chicago White Sox, 1:10 p.m.

Toronto at Baltimore, 6:05 p.m.

Miami at Washington, 6:05 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Boston, 6:10 p.m.

Philadelphia at Cincinnati 6:10 p.m.

Atlanta at New York Mets, 6:10 p.m.

New York Yankees at Tampa Bay, 6:10 p.m.

Cleveland at Texas, 7:05 p.m.

Colorado at Milwaukee, 7:10 p.m.

Seattle at Houston, 7:10 p.m.

San Francisco at Arizona, 8:40 p.m.

Los Angeles Angels at Oakland, 9:05 p.m.

San Diego at Los Angeles Dodgers, 9:10 p.m.