Skip Schumaker gets 1st win, Marlins beat Mets 2-1

Sat, Apr 1, 2023
MLB News (AP)

MIAMI (AP) - Skip Schumaker got his first victory as a major league manager behind five shutout innings from Jesus Luzardo and home runs by Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Jorge Soler that carried the Miami Marlins over the New York Mets 2-1 on Friday night.

Shumaker, an 11-year-big league veteran, got his first managing job last October when he was hired to replace Don Mattingly. The 43-year-old spent last season as a St. Louis bench coach.

Luzardo (1-0) struck out five and allowed two hits, while walking four in his first start this season. The 25-year-old left-hander who had a 3.32 ERA with a 30% strikeout rate in 100 1/3 innings last season.

Soler, in his first game in right field for the Marlins, made a leaping grab against the wall on Pete Alonso's sharp fly ball to right center in the second, Soler followed with a leadoff shot in the bottom half off David Peterson (0-1) and ran in for a diving catch that robbed Starling Marte for the final out in the eighth.

Chisholm doubled the lead with an eighth-inning homer off John Curtiss, who made his Mets debut. That proved to be key when Alonso homered in the ninth off A.J. Puk. Puk then struck out Mark Canha and got Jeff McNeil to ground out for the save, ending a game that took 2 hours, 9 minutes.

MLB

ROCKIES 4. PADRES 1

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Left-hander Kyle Freeland made a brilliant defensive play while holding San Diego to three hits in six scoreless innings and Charlie Blackmon hit a two-run homer for Colorado.

The Rockies have won the first two games of the season against the Padres, who have World Series aspirations after making it to the NL Championship Series last year. Not only are the Padres off to a rough start, but they were booed for the second straight night at Petco Park.

Freeland (1-0) made a sensational play to retire Austin Nola opening the fifth. Nola hit a weak chopper down the third base line and Freeland hopped off the mound, gloved the ball, took two steps, made a leaping spin and threw to first baseman C.J. Cron, who made a nice stretch to retire the runner. Freeland ended up sprawled face down in foul territory.

The Rockies took a 2-0 lead in the first on three hits and a walk against Nick Martinez (0-1). Ezequiel Tovar singled leading off the fifth and was aboard for Blackmon's impressive shot to right with two outs.

Former Padres reliever Pierce Johnson pitched the ninth for his first career save.

ASTROS 6, WHITE SOX 3

HOUSTON (AP) - Yordan Alvarez hit a go-ahead three-run double in the seventh inning and Houston rallied past Chicago.

Kyle Tucker hit a two-run homer in the sixth and made a spectacular catch at the wall in the seventh to rob Andrew Benintendi of extra bases and keep the World Series champion Astros within a run.

Eloy Jimenez hit two RBI doubles for the White Sox, both off Astros starter Cristian Javier.

White Sox reliever Kendall Graveman (1-1) loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh on two walks and a single. Jake Diekman came on and gave up Alvarez's double to deep left-center, a drive that just eluded center fielder Luis Robert Jr. and bounced off the wall, clearing the bases.

Four Astros relievers each worked one scoreless inning. Seth Martinez (1-0) got the win and Rafael Montero handled the ninth for his first save.

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