Apr 14, 2022 4 min read

Jared Kelenic hit a two-run homer off the right-field foul pole in the second inning, and the Seattle Mariners stopped a four-game losing streak with a 5-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on a windy Thursday when popups became adventures.

“It was like we were playing in a tornado,” Kelenic said.

Chicago scored in the fifth after Adam Engel’s two-out popup was blown from the middle of the infield into foul territory behind third base and dropped. Engel then reached second when his popup to the first-base side came back and kicked off the mitt of catcher Cal Raleigh in front of the plate for an error.

Jake Burger followed with a popup over the mound that drifted to the left side and fell for an RBI single, bouncing off the arms of shortstop J.P. Crawford, who tried for a basket catch with his back to the plate on the infield dirt.

“You see the ball change five different directions when it’s in the air, it’s tough to determine where it’s going to come down,” Burger said.

Logan Gilbert (1-0) allowed an unearned run and four hits in five innings, and four pitchers followed with an inning each of hitless relief.

Oakland 6, Tampa Bay 3: Cole Irvin pitched into the seventh inning,and the Oakland Athletics beat Tampa Bay 6-3 to take three of four from the Rays,

Irvin (1-1) allowed three runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings as the rebuilding A’s under new manager Mark Kotsay improved to 4-3. Two of the runs off Irvin were in his final inning.

Brandon Lowe homered for the Rays.

COVID symptoms sideline pitcher: Texas Rangers reliever Dennis Santana was placed on the COVID-19 injured list after he arrived at the ballpark with symptoms before Thursday night’s game, and tested to determine if he was positive.

General manager Chris Young said the team was conferring with Major League Baseball about protocols and working to determine any necessary contact tracing. Young, who didn’t know the results of the test when he spoke to media before the game against the Los Angeles Angels, didn’t say what symptoms Santana had.

“We’re in contact with the league, and going to continue to follow (protocol). It’s changed a little bit from last year,” Young said. “But we’ll follow MLB’s guidance on that, and do everything as required to make sure we’re protecting everyone.”

National League

Milwaukee 5, St. Louis 1: Brandon Woodruff threw five shutout innings and Omar Narváez homered and doubled as the Milwaukee Brewers opened their home schedule with a 5-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Woodruff struck out two and allowed just three hits and a walk to bounce back from an uncharacteristically poor performance in his first start, a 9-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs.

The two-time All-Star worked 3 2/3 innings in the Cubs game and gave up seven runs, matching a career high. He had opened the loss to Chicago by walking three men and hitting a batter.

Roberts defends pulling Kershaw: Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts’ decision to pull Clayton Kershaw while pitching seven perfect innings against Minnesota drew strong reaction and debate around the majors.

Roberts wasn’t second-guessing himself a day later.

“I can’t manage a ballclub and players with my fan cap on,” he said Thursday before the team’s home opener against Cincinnati. “There’s a cost to everything and I wasn’t, and Clayton wasn’t, willing to take on that cost.”

Roberts said Kershaw “kind of initiated” the move, which came after 80 pitches in a 7-0 victory Wednesday. The three-time Cy Young Award winner struck out 13 of the 21 batters he faced.

Padres’ Gore to make debut: Left-hander MacKenzie Gore, the San Diego Padres’ top pitching prospect, is scheduled to make his big league debut Friday night with a start against the World Series champion Atlanta Braves.

The 23-year-old Gore, the third pick overall in the 2017 draft, will take the rotation spot of left-hander Blake Snell, who is heading to the injured list with a tight left adductor.