MLB ROUNDUP: Liam Hendricks pitches first strikeout of the season after non-Hodgkin lymphoma return

Liam Hendricks made his return to the majors after stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma in the White Sox’s bizarre win over the Detroit Tigers Saturday. 

Yoán Moncada scampered home on a 10th-inning wild pitch that knocked down umpire Cory Blaser, sending the Chicago White Sox to a 2-1 victory. 

Before the unlikely ending, Hendriks pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning in his second appearance of the season after returning from stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma. 

He motioned that he wanted the ball after his first strikeout of the season and returned to the dugout to loud cheers.

‘It was clean,’ said Hendriks, who put the ball in his bag. ‘Deeper counts than I would have liked. It´s all working back.’

Hendriks was charged with two runs in an inning against the Angels in his first appearance Monday. Neither appearance was a save opportunity for the closer.

Liam Hendricks had his first strikeout of the season after return from non-Hodgkin lymphoma

RANGERS 16-6 MARINERS

Marcus Semien and Corey Seager had a hit apiece on the first two pitches of Bryan Woo’s major league career, sparking the Texas Rangers to a 16-6 rout of the Seattle Mariners on Saturday.

Semien doubled on the first pitch from Woo on his way to four hits, including a three-run homer. He extended his career-best hitting streak to 22 games, longest in the majors this season.

Seager singled Semien home on Woo’s second pitch, and Jonah Heim hit a tiebreaking two-run double later in the first after the Mariners had taken a 1-0 lead.

Seager added a two-run double in the second as Woo (0-1) allowed seven hits and six runs in just two innings. The 23-year-old right-hander got his first four outs on strikeouts.

‘I’ve been trying to do that most of the year,’ Semien said of going after the first pitch. ‘I think that’s a better way to set the tone. Two hits on two swings kind of sets the tone for our offense and puts him on his heels.’

Semien and Seager combined for seven hits, seven runs and six RBIs as the Rangers scored at least 10 runs in a majors-leading 15th game. They’ve scored at least 15 runs five times.

The Rangers had two hits on the first two pitches of Seattle pitcher Bryan Woo’s MLB career

BLUE JAYS 2-1 METS  

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit an RBI double in the ninth inning, leading Toronto to the victory.

Guerrero´s big hit came three pitches after Blue Jays manager John Schneider was ejected for arguing balls and strikes. Umpire Charlie Ramos called the first pitch of Guerrero´s at-bat, which appeared to land low and out of the strike zone, a strike. Schneider shouted at Ramos from the dugout and was tossed before coming out and arguing at the plate.

Mets closer David Robertson (2-1) got ahead of Guerrero 1-2 before the Blue Jays star doubled down the left-field line to score George Springer, who singled with one out and stole second base.

Nate Pearson (2-0) got the win, and Erik Swanson earned his first save.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit an RBI double in the ninth inning, leading Toronto to the victory

YANKEES 6-3 DODGERS 

Aaron Judge hit his 19th homer and made an outstanding catch in the corner in right, and Gerrit Cole stayed unbeaten with six innings of four-hit ball before leaving early in the New York Yankees´ 6-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.

Jake Bauers hit two two-run homers for the Yankees, who rebounded from an 8-4 loss Friday night in the opener of the high-profile interleague series.

Cole (7-0) was sharp back in his native Southern California, striking out five with two walks and only allowing a run on David Peralta´s bloop RBI single. But the Yankees pulled Cole after a season-low 80 pitches, apparently due to cramping.

Clay Holmes pitched the ninth for his sixth save.

Michael Grove (0-2) yielded four runs over five innings for the Dodgers.

Judge crashed through the outfield fence, making a catch for an out of J.D. Martinez in the 8th

PHILLIES 4-2 NATIONALS

J.T. Realmuto hit a tiebreaking home run in the sixth inning and the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Washington Nationals 4-2 on Saturday to snap a five-game losing streak.

Realmuto, Bryce Harper and Josh Harrison each had two hits for the Phillies, who began the day tied with the Nationals for last place in the NL East.

Realmuto doubled and scored in the second inning before homering into the Phillies bullpen in left center leading off the sixth. Since his last two-hit game on May 17, he was 3 for 43 (.070) with one extra-base hit and no RBIs.

‘Did a lot of work before the game in the cage trying to clean up my bat path a little bit, get on time a little better and try not to lose my barrel in my swing,’ Realmuto said. ‘Felt a little better out there today.’

Philadelphia used seven pitchers in a bullpen game and they held Washington to seven hits, all singles, while striking our four and walking two. Dylan Covey (1-1) worked two innings for the win. Matt Strahm set the tone with two perfect innings to open and Craig Kimbrel pitched the ninth for his eighth save.

J.T. Realmuto (right) hit a tiebreaking home run in the sixth inning of the Phillies’ win 

ASTROS 9-6 ANGELS 

Alex Bregman hit a grand slam and Chas McCormick homered to help Houston to its third consecutive victory.

The Astros broke it open with a five-run fourth, capped by Bregman´s eighth homer. Martín Maldonado, Mauricio Dubón and Jeremy Peña loaded the bases on three straight singles before Yordan Alvarez had an RBI infield hit to end Angels starter Patrick Sandoval´s day.

Bregman, who also walked a career-high-tying four times, greeted Jacob Webb with his fifth career grand slam. The homer extended Bregman´s hitting streak to 10 games.

Houston’s Cristian Javier (7-1) pitched six innings of one-run ball.

Shohei Ohtani had four hits and Hunter Renfroe homered for the Angels. Sandoval (3-5) was tagged for six runs in 3 1/3 innings.

Alex Bregman (2) hit a grand slam against the Angels to help Houston to its third straight win 

RED SOX 8-5 RAYS, RAYS 4-2 RED SOX – DOUBLE HEADER 

Harold Ramírez hit a tiebreaking two-run double in the ninth inning and Jose Siri made a diving catch for the final out, sending the Tampa Bay Rays to a 4-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday and a split of their day-night doubleheader.

Ramírez collected five hits on the day and drove in four runs for the major league-leading Rays (41-19), who won for just the third time in seven games.

‘I really want to go home to go to sleep,’ he joked after the teams played the second game with the temperature in the 40s and a stiff wind blowing in.

In the opener, Justin Turner´s three-run double highlighted Boston´s six-run sixth inning that carried the Red Sox to an 8-5 victory.

The nightcap was tied at 2 when Francisco Mejía and Yandy Díaz opened the ninth with consecutive singles against Kenley Jansen (1-3). Mejía and Díaz advanced on Brandon Lowe´s fly to right and scored on Ramírez’s liner into the gap in right-center.

Calvin Faucher (1-1) worked a scoreless inning for the victory, and Jason Adam got the three outs for his eighth save. Siri closed it out with his diving grab on Jarren Duran’s bloop with two runners on.

ustin Turner´s three-run double highlighted Boston´s six-run sixth inning in Game 1

GUARDIANS 4-2 TWINS 

Will Brennan hit the first homer allowed this season by Sonny Gray in the seventh inning and Logan Allen pitched six strong innings for Cleveland.

Brennan drove in three runs and Andrés Giménez and Gabriel Arias each reached base three times in front of him. Steven Kwan added a solo homer in the ninth for Cleveland, which had lost three of four.

Allen (3-2) allowed a leadoff homer to Jorge Polanco in the first and then settled in, giving up seven hits and two runs. Emmanuel Clase got three outs for his MLB-leading 18th save.

Gray (4-1) gave up a season-high 10 hits in 6 2/3 innings. He tied a season high with three runs allowed.

Will Brennan (right) hit the first homer allowed this season by Sonny Gray in Guardians’ win

PIRATES 4-3 CARDINALS

Connor Joe learned the importance of beating the St. Louis Cardinals when the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted the now well-traveled outfielder nearly a decade ago.

The Cardinals have long been a measuring stick for the Pirates, one they’ve largely failed to meet for most of the last quarter century or more.

It’s June. It’s still really, really early. Yet there are signs Pittsburgh has closed the gap on a team that’s been more tormentor than a rival for a long, long time.

Joe’s two-run double highlighted a sixth-inning rally and the Pirates surged past St. Louis for a second time in less than 24 hours, edging the Cardinals 4-3 on Saturday for their fourth consecutive victory.

The teams split a four-game set at Busch Stadium in mid-April. Nearly two months later, the Pirates have taken two at PNC Park with the kind of scrappy, grinding approach they believe has to be their identity if they want to challenge for the NL Central sooner rather than later.

Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder Connor Joe hits a two-run double against the St Louis Cardinals 

BREWERS 10-8 REDS 

Blake Perkins hit a grand slam for his first career homer and drove in five runs, helping the Brewers top the Reds.

William Contreras also went deep in Milwaukee´s third win in four games. Colin Rea (3-3) pitched five innings of three-run ball for the NL Central leaders, and Devin Williams earned his 10th save.

Brewers first baseman Jon Singleton went 1 for 4 and scored a run in his first major league game since 2015 with Houston.

Jonathan India drove in three runs for Cincinnati, and rookie Matt McLain finished with two hits and scored three times.

The Reds have dropped three in a row since a five-game win streak. They had 11 hits, 10 walks and nine steals, but were unable to overcome another shaky start by Graham Ashcraft (3-4).

Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates with Joey Wiemer  and Blake Perkins

MARLINS 12-1 ATHLETICS 

Luis Arraez had a career-high five hits and five RBIs, sending Miami to the win.

The majors´ leading hitter, Arraez hit three doubles and two singles to raise his average to .390. Arraez also became the first player in franchise history with five hits and five RBIs in a game.

Joey Wendle doubled twice and singled for the Marlins, who finished with 14 hits. Rookie Eury Pérez (3-1) threw five scoreless innings, and George Soriano got nine outs for his first major league save.

The A´s dropped to a major league-worst 12-48 and lost their 13th straight on the road.

Oakland starter Luis Medina (0-5) gave up six runs and six hits in two-plus innings.

Luis Arraez (left) had a career-high five hits and five RBIs, sending Miami to the win

PADRES 6-0 CUBS 

Yu Darvish struck out nine in seven dominant innings, Fernando Tatis Jr. homered twice and the San Diego Padres beat the Chicago Cubs 6-0 on Saturday night.

Darvish (4-4) had a masterful bounce-back game after a bad outing May 28 when he gave up seven runs in 2 2/3 innings in a 10-7 loss at the New York Yankees.

Against the Cubs, Darvish was in complete command and kept the hitters off-balance all night, giving up just two singles – Chicago’s only hits of the game – and one walk.

Tatis hit a solo homer in the third and a three-run blast in the eighth for his 11th of the season and 10th multi-homer game in his career. Both home runs were to left-center field.

Yu Darvish struck out nine in seven dominant innings as the Padres beat the Chicago Cubs 6-0

GIANTS 4-0 ORIOLES

Alex Cobb struck out seven over 7 2/3 scoreless innings to bounce back from his worst outing of the season, Wilmer Flores hit a two-run single and also doubled, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-0 on Saturday night.

J.D. Davis added an RBI single in the decisive third inning against Orioles right-hander Kyle Bradish (2-2) and pinch-hitter Austin Slater gave the Giants another run-scoring single in the sixth.

Cobb (5-2) allowed two straight one-out hits in the eighth, including Ryan O’Hearn’s double that put runners on second and third. San Francisco’s veteran right-hander recorded the second out, then gave way to Scott Alexander and walked off to a standing ovation, tipping his cap.

Alexander missed fielding Adam Frazier’s comebacker, but got to the ball and made an awkward throw to first from the ground for the final out. Camilo Doval finished the five-hit shutout.

Cobb was coming off a loss May 28 at Minnesota in which he was tagged for seven runs on seven hits in four innings and walked four. He is now 8-2 over 14 career outings against the Orioles.

Giants’ right-hander Alex Cobb struck out seven over 7 2/3 scoreless innings to bounce back

BRAVES 5-2 DIAMONDBACKS

Ronald Acuña Jr. hit a 464-foot home run, Spencer Strider struck out seven in six effective innings and the Atlanta Braves beat the streaking Arizona Diamondbacks 5-2 on Saturday night.

Scuffling at the plate lately, the Braves had 11 hits to end Arizona’s six-game winning streak.

Marcell Ozuna and Eddie Rosario had run-scoring singles against Rhyne Nelson (2-4) to help the Braves go up 3-0 through five innings. Atlanta scored another run on a double play in the sixth inning and Acuña followed by hitting his 12th homer onto the concourse behind the seats in left-center.

Strider (6-2) allowed two runs on three hits with four walks. Raisel Iglesias worked around a single in the ninth for for his sixth save in seven chances.

Raisel Iglesias (right) and Sean Murphy (left) of the Atlanta Braves celebrate a 5-2 win

ROCKIES 6-4 ROYALS 

Elehuris Montero hit a two-run triple in Colorado´s five-run first inning.

Matt Carasiti (1-0) earned the win with 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of starter Austin Gomber. Justin Lawrence recorded four outs for his second save.

Royals starter Daniel Lynch (0-1) was charged with five runs, three earned, and six hits in five innings.

Nick Pratto homered for Kansas City. Bobby Witt Jr. had three singles, but he also committed a first-inning error that led to two unearned runs.

The Royals have lost 14 of 19.