MLB – ROCKIES – HOLLAND NAILS DOWN 16TH STRAIGHT SAVE, VALAIKA HOMERS TWICE
Pat Valaika homered twice and drove in four runs, Antonio Senzatela got the win in an emotional Mother’s Day start and the Colorado Rockies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-6 on Sunday.
Senzatela (6-1) was pitching on Mother’s Day for the first time since his mom died of breast cancer last July. Like many around the league, Senzatela used a pink bat to raise awareness about the disease.
The rookie right-hander is tied for the majors’ lead in wins. He allowed four runs in five innings, his shortest outing since his first career start at Milwaukee on April 6.
Nolan Arenado also went deep as the Rockies hit their first homers of the series to salvage a four-game split. Their lead in the NL West is back up to 1 1/2 games.
Los Angeles led 4-3 before Valaika hit a two-run homer in the fourth off starter Julio Urias (0-1).
Greg Holland struck out three in the ninth for his 16th save.
ROCKIES – HOLLAND GAMBLE PAYING OFF
It’s mid-May, and the Colorado Rockies are still in first place.
One big reason for that unexpected development is the performance of their resurgent closer.
The Rockies signed Greg Holland last offseason to a contract laden with performance bonuses , hoping the right-hander could regain his status as one of the game’s top relievers after missing the entire 2016 season because of Tommy John surgery. The move has paid off so far. Holland leads the major leagues with 16 saves — nobody else has more than 11 — and has a 1.06 ERA. The 31-year-old is the first Rockies pitcher ever to start a season with 16 straight successful save opportunities.
Colorado (24-15) leads the Los Angeles Dodgers by 1 ½ games in the NL West. The Rockies have outscored their opponents by only seven runs on the season, and they’re 9-0 in one-run games. Some good luck, to be sure, but also a reflection of how important Holland has been.
MLB – MOTHER’S DAY RECAPS
Derek Jeter has become the 22nd player to have his number retired by the New York Yankees.
Wearing No. 2, Jeter captained the ballclub during much of a 20-year career that ended in 2014 and included five World Series titles and a team-record 3,465 hits.
The Yankees also unveiled a plaque in his honor that will be placed in Monument Park behind center field.
He said “there isn’t a person or player I would trade places with that’s playing now or ever.”
Jeter picked Mother’s Day for the ceremony, and his grandmother, parents, sister, nephew and pregnant wife joined him for the ceremony before Game 2 of a twinbill against the Astros.
Before the festivities, Chase Headley was in a 1-for-24 slide before supplying a bases-loaded triple in a six-run seventh that carried the Yankees past the Astros, 11-6 in Game 1. The Yanks trailed 3-1 until Starlin Castro’s two-run blast in the fourth and Aaron Judge’s major league-leading 14th home run. New York ended a three-game skid and handed the Astros their first loss in six games.
Houston seemed inspired following the Jeter coronation as they grabbed an 8-0 lead in the second inning while chasing Masahiro Tanaka in a 10-7 win against the Bombers. George Springer and Josh Reddick started the game with home runs before Alex Bregman’s grand slam capped the Astros’ six-run first. Springer also went deep in the second for his ninth homer of the season.
AROUND MLB SUNDAY:
— Manny Pina provided a three-run homer with two out in the bottom of the eighth to give the Brewers their fourth consecutive win, 11-9 win over the Mets. Milwaukee scored 10 runs over its final three at-bats after falling behind 7-1. Jonathan Villar and Hernan Perez each had two hits and two RBIs as the Brewers dealt the Mets their fourth consecutive loss.
— Yadier Molina homered twice and had three RBIs as the Cardinals won for the eighth time in nine games, 5-0 over the Cubs. Matt Carpenter added a two-run blast to back Adam Wainwright, who allowed four hits over seven innings. The Cubs have dropped seven of nine to fall one game under .500.
— Jose Osuna hit a two-run homer with two outs in the 10th inning to help the Pirates earn a 6-4 victory and a four-game split of the Diamondbacks at Arizona. Tony Watson worked two scoreless innings and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the 10th. Josh Bell and Andrew McCutchen hit home runs during the Pirates’ three-run third, and Paul Goldschmidt went deep twice for the Diamondbacks.
— The Giants have their first three-game winning streak of the season after Brandon Belt homered for the third time in four games to help San Francisco whip the Reds, 8-3. Joe Panik and Eduardo Nunez drove in two runs apiece to back Jeff Samardzija, who was 0-5 before allowing three runs and fanning eight over 6 2/3s. Scooter Gennett had two ribbies for Cincinnati.
— The Phillies scored three times off Shawn Kelley in the ninth inning to earn a 4-3 win at Washington in Game 1 of a day-night doubleheader. Aaron Altheer started the rally with a homer and Cameron Rupp added an RBI double before scoring on Ty Kelly’s single. The Nationals lost despite Bryce Harper’s 12th homer of the season and Trea Turner’s two-run blast.
— The Nats also blew a late lead in the nightcap before Michael Taylor’s two-run homer in the eighth gave them a 6-5 victory over the Phils. Bryce Harper was 3-for-4 with two RBIs as the Nationals stretched their lead in the NL East to 7 ½ games over the Mets. Freddy Galvis put Philadelphia ahead with a two-run triple in the eighth.
— The Marlins halted a five-game losing streak by beating Atlanta, 3-1 on pinch-hitter Tyler Moore’s three-run homer in the seventh. Kyle Barraclough got the victory after working out of a bases-loaded situation in the seventh. Lefty Justin Nicolino made his Miami season debut and allowed one run over six innings following his recall from Triple-A New Orleans.
— Mike Moustakas slammed a three-run homer and had four RBIs as Kansas City won its fourth in a row, 9-8 over Baltimore. Jorge Soler and Drew Butera also homered after the Royals fell behind 5-0. Chris Davis and Caleb Joseph homered for the Orioles, who have dropped four in a row since a 22-10 start.
— Jason Kipnis was 4-for-5 with two homers and four RBIs as the Indians slammed Minnesota, 8-3 in Cleveland to end a three-game skid. Kipnis hit a solo blast and a three-run shot in his first game as Cleveland’s leadoff hitter this season. Carlos Santana and Lonnie Chisenhall also homered for the Indians, who had scored one run in 24 innings before Kipnis ripped a leadoff blast in the first.
— The Rays crushed the Red Sox, 11-2 as Steven Souza Jr. hit a three-run homer and Jesus Sucredrove in three runs. The Rays beat the Red Sox for the second time in three games after winning just four of their previous 17 meetings. Tampa Bay starter Matt Andriese gave up two runs over five innings for his third win.
— Nomar Mazara had the go-ahead hit for the second game in a row and the Rangers extended their winning streak six with a 6-4 win over Oakland. Mazara hit a tiebreaking RBI single with two outs in the seventh following a run-scoring double by Elvis Andrus. The Athletics lost despite homers by Trevor Plouffe, Adam Rosales and Matt Joyce.
— Mike Trout homered in his third straight game and Alex Meyer pitched three-hit ball into the seventh to send the Angels past the Tigers, 4-1. Danny Espinosa hit a tiebreaking homer off Justin Verlander to help the Angels win for the fourth time in 12 games. Andrelton Simmons added an RBI single to chase Verlander in the seventh.
— The Blue Jays completed a four-game sweep by beating Seattle, 3-2 on Kevin Pillar’s walk-off homer with two out in the bottom of the ninth. Pillar also made a jumping catch in center to take away a potential run-scoring hit from Danny Valencia in the fourth inning. Justin Smoak added a two-run homer in Toronto’s fifth straight win and seventh in eight games.
— Pinch-hitter Melky Cabrera had a go-ahead, two-run single while the White Sox exploded for eight runs in the eighth inning of a 9-3 win against San Diego. Padres shortstop Luis Sardinas committed an error on a potential double-play ball that could have made it a scoreless inning. The White Sox rallied after Jered Weaver held them to a run and five hits over six frames.