Yanks Beat Cubs In 18 Innings, Cardinals Down Braves In 14

By ESPN

Aaron Hicks slid across home plate, hopped up and flexed his arms in jubilation.

No Monday morning blues for Hicks and the New York Yankees.

Hicks scored on Starlin Castro's grounder in the 18th inning, and the rolling Yankees beat the Chicago Cubs 5-4 in the majors' longest interleague game ever by innings.

"We're going to grind out games," Hicks said. "We're going to fight to the end."

The teams combined for a major league-record 48 strikeouts in baseball's longest game of the season by innings, wrapping up in a tidy 6 hours, 5 minutes.

"I know we lost, but you've got to try to have fun with it," Cubs slugger Anthony Rizzo said.

Hicks struck out four times, but he came up with a huge play in the final inning. He led off with a bunt single against Pedro Strop (0-2) and advanced to second when catcher Willson Contreras threw the ball into right field for an error.

With one out and Hicks on third, Castro hit a bouncer up the middle. Shortstop Addison Russell tried to throw home, but it was wide and Hicks scored easily.

Chasen Shreve (1-0) pitched three scoreless innings, striking out pinch-hitting pitcher Kyle Hendricks with runners on first and second for the final out in New York's fifth straight win. The Yankees (20-9) improved to 19-5 since they opened the season with four losses in five games. They also matched their high-water mark from last season at 11 games over. 500.

"It's just a crazy game," manager Joe Girardi said.

Chicago trailed 4-1 before it rallied in the ninth against Aroldis Chapman, who helped the Cubs win the World Series last year for the first time since 1908. Albert Almora Jr. and Javier Baez each singled in a run before Chapman hit slumping slugger Anthony Rizzo on his left forearm with the bases loaded on his 36th pitch, forcing home the tying run.

Rizzo got an X-ray on his arm and it came back negative.

"Thank my parents I drank my milk when I was a kid," Rizzo said. "Decent bones."

Tyler Clippard then came in and got Ben Zobrist to bounce to second for the final out. It was Chapman's first blown save since Game 7 at Cleveland.

"I felt normal. It just wasn't my night tonight," Chapman said through a translator.

Before Hicks scampered home with the winning run, the biggest highlight of extra innings belonged to Cubs slugger Kyle Schwarber. The left fielder went into the stands in foul territory for an outstanding catch on Chase Headley's foul popup in the 12th.

"Tremendous play," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said.

What was left of the crowd also sung along when the Cubs showed a tape of Harry Caray singing "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" for the second seventh-inning stretch in the 14th.

Jacoby Ellsbury hit a two-run homer for New York, and Aaron Judge had a run-scoring triple. Ellsbury went 2 for 6 in his first start since he bruised a nerve in his left elbow last Monday.

Baez homered for the Cubs, and Schwarber doubled twice. Jon Lester struck out nine in seven sharp innings in his 30th career start against New York.

Luis Severino had a similar line for New York, bouncing back nicely from a shaky start against Toronto last Monday. The right-hander allowed one run and four hits in seven innings.

Cardinals 6, Braves 4

After seeing the Braves leave runners in scoring position in the first three extra innings, Tommy Pham was sure the Cardinals would take advantage when their opportunity arrived.

He was the one who came through.

Pham hit two homers, including a two-run drive in the 14th inning, and St. Louis recovered after blowing a four-run lead to beat Atlanta 6-4 on Sunday and complete a three-game sweep.

Pham's long home run in the 14th off Josh Collmenter (0-1) drove in rookie Magneuris Sierra, who reached on second baseman Jace Peterson's fielding error.

"I was pumped," Pham said. "I was telling everybody in the dugout, `Let's go!' I was joking around -- `We don't get paid for overtime.' When Peterson made that error, it was our chance, and coincidentally I was the guy up with the opportunity. To come through and get it over with was huge."

Recalled from Triple-A Memphis on Friday, Pham had a career-high four hits and drove in three runs. He also hit a homer on Friday.

Freddie Freeman's 11th homer off Brett Cecil in the eighth tied the game, completing Atlanta's comeback from a 4-0 deficit.

Matt Carpenter had a first-inning homer for St. Louis. He went deep in all three games during the series, giving him seven home runs this season.

Sam Tuivailala (1-0), the Cardinals' seventh pitcher, allowed one hit in two scoreless innings. Kevin Siegrist worked the 14th for his first save.

The Braves used nine pitchers and the Cardinals eight in a game that lasted 4 hours, 6 minutes.

Atlanta loaded the bases against closer Seung Hwan Oh in the 11th but couldn't score. With two outs, Carpenter fielded Ender Inciarte's grounder behind first base before flipping the ball to Oh. A review confirmed the on-field call that Oh barely beat Inciarte to the bag.

"We could have won that game with that play," Inciarte said. "It's frustrating."

The Cardinals escaped more trouble in the 12th when Tuivailala struck out Kurt Suzuki to end the inning with runners on second and third.

Cardinals right-hander Jonathan Broxton fanned Matt Kemp with runners on first and third to end the 10th.

"We had the right guys up there but just couldn't get the big hit," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "It happens sometimes."

Michael Wacha allowed two runs on five hits and two walks in six innings for St. Louis.

Atlanta knuckleballer R.A. Dickey gave up four runs and eight hits in six innings. The Braves began the game ranked last in the majors with their 4.91 ERA.

Orioles 4, White Sox 0

Pitching for the first time in the big leagues since last October, Chris Tillman began his long-awaited appearance by throwing seven straight pitches outside the strike zone.

Once he finally found his groove, the Orioles right-hander powered through the Chicago White Sox lineup over five innings in a 4-0 victory Sunday that provided Baltimore with a three-game sweep.

Sidelined since March with right shoulder bursitis, Tillman came off the disabled list to join an unstable rotation in need of another arm. After walking the first two batters and working out of a bases-loaded jam in the first, Tillman bounced back nicely in his first appearance since the 2016 AL wild-card game.

"It was a real testament to his pitchability," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said, "searching for something he could survive with early where he could get in step a little bit."

Tillman (1-0) gave up three singles, walked three and struck out four. He was lifted after throwing 93 pitches, but not before proving he's still got the stuff that enabled him to go 16-6 last season.

Especially after that wild start.

"I feel like all those first seven pitches were the same mistakes," Tillman said. "It's kind of an easy adjustment because I wasn't all over the place. I was making the same mistake over and over."

It's a start, one he hopes to build upon.

"Every start the rest of the way is going to be a hurdle," he said.

Alec Asher followed Tillman, and Brad Brach got two outs for his seventh save.

Trey Mancini had three hits and drove in a run for the Orioles, who took an early 4-0 lead against Jose Quintana (2-5) and coasted to their fourth straight victory.

Sunday, May 7 Scoreboard

Miami 7, New York Mets 0

Toronto 2, Tampa Bay 1

Baltimore 4, Chicago White Sox 0

St. Louis 6, Atlanta 4 (F/14)

Milwaukee 6, Pittsburgh 2

Boston 17, Minnesota 6

Cleveland 1, Kansas City 0

Philadelphia 6, Washington 5 (F/10)

Colorado 5, Arizona 2

Houston 5, Los Angeles Angels 3

Oakland 8, Detroit 6

Seattle 4, Texas 3

Cincinnati 4, San Francisco 0

New YorkYankees 5, Chicago 4 (F/18)

Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego, postponed

Monday, May 8 Schedule (All Times Central)

San Francisco at New York Mets, 6 p.m.

Washington at Baltimore, 6:05 p.m.

Cleveland at Toronto, 6:07 p.m.

New York Yankees at  Cincinnati, 6:10 p.m.

St. Louis at Miami, 6:10 p.m.

Kansas City at Tampa Bay, 6:10 p.m.

Chicago Cubs at Colorado, 7:40 p.m.

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

Pittsburgh at Los Angeles Dodgers, 9:01 p.m.

Texas at San Diego, 9:10 p.m.