Nationals get back at Pirates

PITTSBURGH (AP) — CJ Abrams went 3 for 4 with a home run, a double and two RBIs as the Washington Nationals held off the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-4 on Tuesday night.

Abrams hit a solo shot down the left-field line in the fourth inning to extend the Nationals’ lead to 4-1. He also hit the third of three consecutive RBI singles in the first inning, following Brady House and Daylen Lile, as Washington took a 3-0 lead.

The shortstop is 9 for 17 in his last five games with three home runs and seven RBIs.

Recalled from Triple-A Syracuse earlier in the day, left-hander Mitchell Parker (1-0) struck out five in two scoreless innings of relief as the Nationals won for the fourth time in five games.

Gus Varland pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save, working around a double and a walk.

Brandon Lowe and Joey Bart hit solo homers for the Pirates. It was Lowe’s seventh of the season.

Lowe became just the fourth Pirates player to hit at least four home runs and drive in 11 runs in a three-game span. Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner did it in 1947 and 1949, and Jose Castillo did it in 2006.

Pittsburgh’s Marcell Ozuna, who entered the game with a .070 batting average, had two hits and his first RBI of the season. Oneil Cruz’s 12-game hitting streak ended as he went 0 for 5.

Left-hander P.J. Poulin opened for the Nationals and gave up Lowe’s homer. Miles Mikolas followed and allowed three runs in 3 1/3 innings.

Mitch Keller (1-1) gave up five runs and six hits over four innings.

The start of the game was delayed 18 minutes because of rain.

Up next

Nationals RHP Jake Irvin (2-2, 7.09 ERA) will start on Wednesday night. The Pirates have not named a starter.

Guardians blow late lead

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Cardinals rookie JJ Wetherholt homered twice, second baseman Juan Brito allowed Masyn Winn’s potential game-ending grounder to bounce into right field and St. Louis stopped a three-game losing streak when it rallied to beat the Cleveland Guardians 6-5 in 10 innings on Tuesday night.

Wetherholt had his first multi-homer game, going deep for the first time since homering in his debut on opening day. His solo homer off Joey Cantillo tied the score 2-2 in the third and his two-run drive against Erik Sabrowski cut the Cardinals’ deficit to 5-4 in the eighth.

With two outs in the ninth, Winn reached when his two-hopper hit off Winn’s left wrist for just the sixth error by Cleveland this season. Winn advanced on Cade Smith’s wild pitch and scored on Yohel Pozo’s opposite-field double that bounced to the right-center field wall.

Riley O’Brien (2-0) pitched a perfect 10th, stranding automatic runner Chase DeLauter at third when Brito grounded out.

Automatic runner Thomas Saggese advanced to third in the bottom half on a wild pitch by Tim Herrin (0-1) and scored with a headfirst slide, just beating the throw from right fielder Angel Martínez on Nathan Church’s sacrifice fly.

Iván Herrera hit his first home run this season for St. Louis, which improved to 4-0 in extra innings with its seventh comeback win.

José Ramírez hit a first-inning homer off Michael McGreevy and with 288 moved past Bernie Williams and Bobby Bonilla into sole possession of 11th place among switch-hitters.

Cleveland opened a 5-2 lead in the eighth on George Valera’s tiebreaking double and Martínez’s two-run double.

Up next

Cleveland RHP Slade Cecconi (0-2, 5.74 ERA) goes against St. Louis RHP Dustin May (1-2, 9.45) on Wednesday.

Manager nurses broken jaw

BALTIMORE (AP) — With a big bruise on the right side of his face and several fractures, Baltimore Orioles manager Craig Albernaz was back at the ballpark a day after being hit by a foul ball in the dugout.

“I can’t blow my nose for six weeks, because one of the fractures is kind of like where my orbital bone is,” he said. “If I blow my nose it’s going to go up into my eye.”

Albernaz said he has over a half-dozen fractures in his cheek area and a broken jaw, but he was relieved to avoid surgery and said he doesn’t need his jaw wired. Albernaz joked he might grab a Ravens helmet from his desk to wear in the dugout.

Albernaz, in his first season as Baltimore’s manager, was in the part of the dugout closest to the on-deck circle when Jeremiah Jackson’s foul ball struck him in the fifth inning Monday night. He returned to the dugout an inning later when Jackson hit a grand slam, but he ultimately ended up listening to the game on the radio en route to a hospital, where he says he remained until about midnight.

“I was trying to get back out there after my concussion protocol was fine, but they wanted me to get a CT scan,” Albernaz said. “I was trying to get it after the game, but obviously the medical team has better judgment than I do.”

He was back in the dugout Tuesday, but the healing process could take time.

“Six weeks of soft foods,” Albernaz said. “Can’t do anything strenuous.”

Including argue with umpires?

“Medically speaking, yeah I probably shouldn’t,” he said. “I think everything gets thrown out the window when that first pitch happens.”

The Orioles also announced that infielder Jackson Holliday was recalled from his rehab assignment Monday because of mild right wrist soreness. The team said that’s not uncommon following hamate surgery. He will be shut down for a few days.

Albernaz has been loath to give timelines on players returning from injury so as not to create added pressure.

“I said I don’t believe in timelines, and this is a perfect example of that. It all depends on the player,” he said. “It’s great to see Jackson being communicative and open at every turn.”

Ball eliminates Heat

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — LaMelo Ball made a layup with 4.7 seconds left in overtime, Miles Bridges blocked Davion Mitchell’s attempt at a winning layup at the buzzer, and the Charlotte Hornets beat Miami 127-126 in a wild start to the NBA’s play-in games, eliminating the Heat from the playoffs on Tuesday night.

Ball finished with 30 points and 10 assists and Bridges had 28 points and nine rebounds as the Hornets won their first postseason home game in a decade. Coby White had 19 points, including a turnaround 3 with 10.8 second left in regulation to send the game to OT.

Mitchell scored 28 points and Andrew Wiggins added 27 for the Heat, who lost Bam Adebayo to a lower back injury when Ball tripped him in the second quarter.

The Hornets will travel to face the loser of Wednesday’s matchup between Philadelphia and Orlando on Friday night for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Charlotte is seeking its first playoff appearance in a decade.

Ball’s driving layup put the Hornets up by five with 26 seconds left in OT. But he made two critical mistakes after that.

Tyler Herro, who scored 23 points for Miami, hit a twisting, corner 3, and Ball then turned the ball over in the backcourt and fouled Herro on a 3-point shot. Herro made all three free throws to give Miami a 126-125 lead with 8.7 seconds left.

After a timeout, Ball drove the right side of the lane and made a leaning, right-handed layup to give Charlotte the lead. Miami, without any timeouts, pushed the ball up the court and Bridges chased down Mitchell to block his layup attempt, setting off a frenzied celebration.

Ball flexed at midcourt as players mobbed each other.

Despite the loss of Adebayo, the Heat remained in control until late in the third quarter, when White banked in a 3-pointer and then added another 3 at the top of the key as part of a 10-0 Charlotte run.

White, acquired in a midseason trade with Chicago, drained another 3 in the closing seconds of the third quarter to give Charlotte a 89-83 lead.

The Heat then built a 102-95 lead in the fourth quarter behind two 3s from Wiggins.

The Hornets tied it when White caught an inbounds pass and made a unbalanced 3 from the corner. Herro had a chance to win it in regulation but hit the back iron on a 3-point try.