WHITE Stockings 12, ANGELINOS 8
ANAHEIM, California. – Yermín Mercedes failed to stand out in the Washington Nationals organization for three years.
Now he says he wants to cry to see he’s made it to the majors with the Chicago White Sox. After what he achieved at his first opening meeting this Friday, the Dominican is sure to be sobbing.
Mercedes had its first five Major League-hits, producing four runs for the White Sox to beat the Los Angeles Angels 12-8 on Friday-evening.
Cuban José Abreu participated in the battle festival, with a grand slam for Chicago. Mercedes, the 28-year old catcher who played the second game of his career, went 5-for-5 in an extraordinary performance as the designated hitter.
He hit a two-run single in the fourth and a double that led to another pair in the ninth. Thus Chicago took its first victory in the starting campaign. “Now I am very excited,” said Mercedes.
“I don’t even know what to say or what to say, but I am very happy.” After the failure with Washington, Mercedes played an independent ball in 2014, before breaking through in the minors with Baltimore and Chicago, who selected him under the so-called Rule 5 of draft in 2017.
Mercedes had only one record appearance, as a pinch-hitter, in the previous season of the White Sox. “I want to cry every time I see I’m in the majors now,” he said.
“It’s been a long time. I have a great story, so it was a matter of time, but it was hard for me. Now I look around and have to repeat to myself, ‘It’s real, I’m here.’ Mercedes joined Cecil Travis of the Washington Senators as the only player since 1900 to have five hits in their first opening game.
Travis did it in 1933. Fred Clarke had done it before, in 1894, with the Louisville Colonels. “A lot has happened, and the biggest was the designated hitter,” said manager Tony La Russa, who took his first win in his second stint with the White Sox.
Albert Pujols hit a three-run homer and hit 663 home runs in his life. Shohei Ohtani also hit a homerun in the ninth inning and Mike Trout had some hits for the Angels.
Cuban José Iglesias and Dexter Fowler brought their first hits with their new club, but the Angels’ old problems with their rotation resurfaced.
The victory went to Michael Kopeck (1-0) and the rescue to Liam Hendriks. Andrew Heaney (0-1) took the loss.
For the White Sox, Mercedes 5-5 with one run scored and four RBI’s.
For the Angels, Pujols 3-1 with one run scored and three RBI’s.
TAMPA 6, MIAMI 4
MIAMI – Joey Wendle hit a three-run homer to end an attack with four touchdowns in the ninth inning, and the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Miami Marlins 6-4 on Friday-evening.
In that meeting, Dominican reliever Diego Castillo worked one inning, giving up a single and a strikeout and earning his second save of the young season.
Wendle’s club came out with two outs off closer Anthony Bass (0-1). The ball landed on the top floor of the right field grandstand and erased a 4-2 deficit.
Manuel Margot then hit a hat-trick and scored on a sacrifice fly by fellow countryman Francisco Mejía.
Margot also homered, while Austin Meadows did the same for the second game in a row.
For the Rays, the Dominicans were Margot 4-2 with two runs scored and one RBI, Mejía 2-1 with an RBI.
For the Marlins, the Dominicans Starling Marte 5-3, Magneuris Sierra 1-0 with a run scored.
DODGERS 14, ROCKIES 6
DENVER. – Trevor Bauer didn’t tolerate a hit until the seventh inning of his debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who defeated the Colorado Rockies 14-6 on Friday.
After flirting with the no-hitter, Bauer gave up a few homeruns with two runs, but the Dodgers were able to keep their lead.
Everything happened during the meeting. Seven of Los Angeles’s 16 basehits were extra singles, but none homered.
Also, a gray cat entered the field in the eighth inning. The cat paced briefly with Cody Bellinger in midfield, before park officials captured and removed it.
Bauer (1-0) made no bones about it in his presentation with the Dodgers. The most recent winner of the NL Cy Young trophy shone through six innings, mistaking the Rockies for the slider and four-seam fastball. In the seventh inning, he ran into problems.
Trevor Story ended the no-hitter with a single and Charlie Blackmon ended the shutout with a two-run homer. Ryan McMahon followed with another two-round homerun.
For the Dodgers, they didn’t hit Latin Americans.
For the Rockies, Raimel Tapia 5-1.
HOUSTON 9, OAKLAND 5
OAKLAND, California. – Alex Bregman hit a three-run homer, his second homerun in two games, and the Houston Astros defeated the Oakland Athletics 9-5 on Friday.
Cuba’s Yuli Gurriel also hit a close homer, while Michael Brantley added an RBI double for Houston, who took another big lead – one night after winning the season opener 8-1, thanks to a great run by Zack Greinke, who went six scoreless threw innings.
Peruvian lefthanded Jesús Luzardo (0-1) struckout eight batters and walked one batter in five innings. He had eight hits, including two home runs, and gave up five runs. Victory went to the Dominican Bryan Abreu (1-0).
There were no Dominicans before the Astros
For the Athletics, Ramón Laureano 3-1 with a run scored and an RBI.