In his major league debut, highly touted Brewers prospect Jacob Misiorowski tossed five hitless innings before exiting with a leg cramp to pace Milwaukee to a 6-0 victory over the visiting St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday in the opener of a four-game series.

The hard-throwing 23-year-old right-hander struck out five before appearing to stumble on his third pitch of the sixth inning to Victor Scott II. Nick Mears relieved and finished the walk to Scott, the fourth charged to Misiorowski in an 81-pitch outing. The Brewers announced later that Misiorowski left with right calf and quad cramping.

Misiorowski (1-0) topped 100 mph on four of his six pitches to Lars Nootbaar to open the game, hitting 102.2 mph on his fifth pitch, and fanned Pedro Pages on a 101.1 mph four-seam fastball to end the fifth. Jackson Chourio hit a two-run homer to cap a five-run fifth against Sonny Gray (7-2) that put the Brewers up 6-0. Sal Frelick, who went 3-for-4 and scored twice, hit a two-run single before Chourio’s homer.

Gray, who was 4-0 in his previous six starts, allowed six runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out four and walked one. The Cardinals did not get a hit until Willson Contreras’ leadoff single off Aaron Ashby in the seventh. Ashby covered the final three innings for his first save.

Mets 4, Nationals 3

Starting pitcher Kodai Senga sustained a hamstring strain in a victory over Washington to complete a three-game series sweep. Senga will spend time on the injured list and undergo an MRI on Friday.

The starter allowed only two baserunners and zero runs in 5-2/3 innings before exiting, lowering his ERA to an MLB-best 1.47. Jeff McNeil’s three-run home run in the first and Brandon Nimmo’s solo shot in the fifth gave the Mets a 4-0 advantage.

Washington’s bats were silent until the ninth inning. Mets reliever Ryne Stanek gave up three consecutive singles and a run before Edwin Diaz replaced him. Diaz surrendered a walk and a single, and threw a wild pitch to allow two more runs before coaxing a pair of groundouts to pick up his 15th save of the season.

Yankees 1, Royals 0

Pablo Reyes scored an unearned run from second base on a wild play in the eighth inning following a pitching duel in New York’s victory over the host Royals.

The Yankees’ Will Warren and Royals’ Seth Lugo each pitched 5 2/3 innings and the game was still scoreless in the eighth, when Paul Goldschmidt sent a liner off the glove of Vinnie Pasquantino, who tried to get the out at first but was late. Reyes, meanwhile, stopped between third and home, then again broke for the plate, where Freddy Fermin was unable to grab the low throw from Lucas Erceg, who was covering first. Erceg was charged with an error.

New York managed just five hits against four Royals pitchers, yet it was enough for the victory to claim all six games this season versus Kansas City. The Royals sit in a 10-19 rut that has dropped them below .500 for the first time since April 27.

Rangers 16, Twins 3

Texas hit six home runs, including a trio of three-run home runs, in a trouncing of Minnesota. The Rangers matched the season-high run total they set on Tuesday in the first game of their series against the Twins.

Wyatt Langford, Adolis Garcia and Sam Haggerty hit the three-run shots, while Jake Burger, Josh Smith and Evan Carter added solo homers. Texas had 16 hits, including six hits and four home runs off Minnesota starter Bailey Ober.

A five-run second inning allowed Texas to quickly pull away, and a six-run sixth inning to grow the Rangers’ lead to 13-1 was further assurance. Minnesota had a solid eight hits, but went 3-13 with runners in scoring position and failed to dig themselves out of an early five-run hole.

Rockies 8, Giants 7

Orlando Arcia hit a two-run, walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth to lift Colorado over San Francisco and snap a five-game Rockies skid. The loss snapped the Giants’ six-game winning streak in one-run games.

San Francisco has had a penchant for tight games this year, with a major-league-leading 30 one-run games, including today’s contest. The Giants quickly built a four-run lead in the second inning on the back of a sacrifice fly and a pair of RBI singles.

Colorado notched two runs in the fourth to narrow the lead, but San Francisco swiftly responded with a three-run Dominic Smith homer in the fifth. After falling down 7-2, the Rockies scored six unanswered runs, highlighted by a three-run ninth inning and capped by Arcia’s decisive base hit.

Tigers 4, Orioles 1

Tarik Skubal pitched seven scoreless innings as Detroit won at Baltimore in the decisive game of a three-game set.

Dillon Dingler and Parker Meadows drilled fourth-inning home runs, with Meadows’ three-run shot the big blow. Skubal (7-2) struck out six and allowed three singles and two walks. Will Vest handled the ninth for his 12th save.

Baltimore’s Dylan Carlson (three hits) led off the eighth with a home run. Dean Kremer (5-7) permitted four runs on five hits in seven innings.

Cubs 3, Pirates 2

Pete Crow-Armstrong belted a two-run homer and Jameson Taillon recorded his fifth win in as many starts as host Chicago earned a victory over Pittsburgh.

Taillon (7-3), who began his career with Pittsburgh, allowed two runs on four hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings. Seiya Suzuki added a solo shot for the Cubs, who won the opener of their 10-game homestand despite mustering just four hits.

Adam Frazier sliced an RBI double in the seventh among the four hits for the Pirates, who lost for just the second time in seven games. Pittsburgh starter Andrew Heaney (3-5) yielded three runs on four hits with seven strikeouts and no walks in six innings.

Astros 4, White Sox 3

Framber Valdez recorded a season-high 12 strikeouts while leading Houston to a victory over visiting Chicago.

Isaac Paredes slugged his club-leading 15th homer and Jose Altuve added a two-run double as the Astros claimed the decisive game of the three-game series. Valdez (7-4) won his fifth consecutive start, firing five innings of two-run ball while permitting seven hits and a walk.

Chicago’s Miguel Vargas finished 3-for-4 with two doubles, a triple, a walk and two runs. Edgar Quero had three hits, including a pair of RBI singles. Davis Martin (2-7) Martin allowed four runs on seven hits and two walks with five strikeouts over six innings.

–Field Level Media