It’s been a good week for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

It’s been an even better season for the Miami Marlins, who open a three-game home series against Arizona on Monday.

Both teams started the year 1-4.

Since then, the Marlins are 11-5, including a seven-game winning streak that was broken Sunday with a 7-3 setback against the visiting Seattle Mariners. In the past decade, this is just the second time the Marlins had a winning April.

Arizona is in last place in the NL West, but the Diamondbacks have gone 9-5 since their slow start. They took two of three at home against the powerful Los Angeles Dodgers to start last week, then split a four-game road series against the St. Louis Cardinals, falling 7-5 on Sunday.

“I liked our at-bats,” Miami manager Don Mattingly said after the latest defeat. “I felt like we gave ourselves some chances. We really just weren’t able to get that big, big hit to kind of get us over the hump.”

The Monday pitching matchup features two right-handers with sub-1.00 ERA, Miami’s Pablo Lopez (3-0, 0.39 ERA) and Arizona’s Zac Gallen (0-0, 0.60).

Lopez, who leads the majors in ERA, hasn’t been nearly as good in three career starts against Arizona, going 0-1 with a 5.28 ERA.

This season, Lopez has displayed a brilliant changeup, and he enters play Monday with a streak of 18 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings.

Gallen, who made his major league debut in 2019 for Miami, has yet to face the Marlins.

On July 31, 2019, the Marlins traded Gallen to Arizona in a swap that has worked well for both teams. Miami got star second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. in return.

This year, Gallen has allowed just one run in 15 innings, yet the Diamondbacks are only 2-1 in his three starts.

Miami ranks eighth the majors with a 3.29 ERA, and pitching helped the Marlins take two of three in the weekend series against Seattle.

“We knew coming into the series that their starting pitching is outstanding,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said of the Marlins, “but their bullpen has a lot of different looks.”

Indeed, the Marlins have four pitchers with at least one save this season, led by Anthony Bender. He has six saves and a 4.32 ERA in 8 1/3 innings. Louis Head (0.00 ERA in 6 1/3 innings), Tanner Scott (5.40 ERA in 8 1/3 innings), and Cole Sulser (0.93 ERA in 9 2/3 frames) each have one save.

The Marlins’ bullpen also includes Steven Okert (1.50 ERA) and Cody Poteet (1.04 ERA). Okert, Richard Bleier (5.06 ERA) and Scott are the bullpen’s lefties.

Arizona, meanwhile, has been winning some tight contests. In the past two series, the Diamondbacks have allowed just six total runs in their four wins.

Three of those victories were by two runs each.

“We’ve learned to embrace close games,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “We’ve learned to embrace execution in critical moments. We’re prepared to play games like this all season.”

Those close games are likely due to the fact that Arizona’s strength is canceled out by a couple of glaring weaknesses.

The Diamondbacks are ranked 10th in the majors in ERA (3.37), but they also have the lowest batting average (.181) and one of the worst fielding percentages.

Lovullo believes he finally has a handle on his team’s defensive woes, with the players becoming more “engaged” in the field, according to the manager.

“We had been kind of working into games defensively,” he said. “Nobody is good enough to do that.”

–Field Level Media

Kevin Gausman struck out 10 in seven innings, Santiago Espinal hit the go-ahead single in the seventh and the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the visiting Houston Astros 3-2 on Sunday.

Bo Bichette hit a two-run home run in support of Gausman (2-1), who allowed two runs on six hits with no walks. Bichette’s homer in the sixth inning was the Blue Jays’ first hit of the game against Astros left-hander Framber Valdez.

Jordan Roman pitched around a double in the ninth to earn his 11th save. Roman had help from a diving catch in right field by George Springer on pinch hitter Alex Bregman.

Valdez (1-2) allowed three runs, two hits, two walks and a hit batter in 6 1/3 innings. He struck out two.

Yankees 6, Royals 4

Aaron Judge homered twice and drove in three runs as New York ran its winning streak to nine games with a victory over host Kansas City.

Judge homered two batters into the game when he hit a 453-foot drive off Kansas City starter Daniel Lynch and connected again with two outs in the ninth off Josh Staumont. In between Judge’s seventh and eighth homers, he also drove in the tying run with a check-swing grounder off Scott Barlow in the seventh when the Yankees took the lead without getting a hit.

Michael A. Taylor homered, Nicky Lopez scored on a wild pitch and Carlos Santana hit an RBI double in a three-run third before the Royals lost for the eighth time in 10 games. Kyle Isbel scored Kansas City’s other run on a throwing error by Josh Donaldson in the fourth.

Cubs 2, Brewers 0

Pitching on his 31st birthday, Marcus Stroman allowed two hits over seven stellar innings and outdueled Corbin Burnes to earn his first victory for Chicago in a road win over Milwaukee.

Patrick Wisdom belted a solo home run and Seiya Suzuki delivered an RBI double for the Cubs, who snapped a three-game skid and avoided being swept. Stroman (1-3), who entered the day with a 6.98 ERA, walked one and fanned five.

Burnes (1-1) completed seven innings, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out 10 and walking one. The Brewers saw their five-game winning streak end.

Orioles 9, Red Sox 5

Jordan Lyles worked out of trouble across six innings and Baltimore defeated visiting Boston.

Rougned Odor homered and the light-hitting Orioles racked up 13 hits. Lyles struck out six, but he didn’t return after a rain delay of more than 90 minutes in the bottom of the sixth.

The Red Sox lost for the third time in their last four games, nearly failing to score more than one run in any of those setbacks until J.D. Martinez’s grand slam in the ninth.

Dodgers 6, Tigers 3

Walker Buehler tossed five shutout innings and Mookie Betts scored two runs as Los Angeles beat visiting Detroit.

The Dodgers improved to 8-2 at home this year while winning two out of three in the interleague series against Tigers.

Miguel Cabrera and Jeimer Candelario each hit a home run for Detroit, which has lost seven of its last eight games and went 1-5 on a six-game road trip.

Twins 9, Rays 3

Josh Winder pitched six shutout innings in his first major league start, Byron Buxton hit a home run and Jorge Polanco had four RBIs as Minnesota rolled to a victory over Tampa Bay at St. Petersburg, Fla.

Winder (1-0) allowed two hits and a walk while striking out seven in his fourth big league appearance. He didn’t allow a runner past second base while throwing 83 pitches, 54 for strikes.

Polanco went 2-for-5 with a pair of two-run doubles, while Carlos Correa had his fourth-consecutive multi-hit game going 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Buxton, Trevor Larnach and Gilberto Celestino each had two hits as the Central Division-leading Twins won for the ninth time in their last 10 games.

Rockies 10, Reds 1

C.J. Cron and Randal Grichuk homered as Colorado pounded out 12 hits and rolled over Cincinnati in Denver.

Brendan Rodgers, Connor Joe, Elehuris Montero and Yonathan Daza each added two hits for the Rockies. Kyle Freeland (1-3) pitched seven strong innings, giving up one run on four hits and one walk with four strikeouts.

Brandon Drury had two hits, including a home run, for the slumping Reds. Cincinnati has lost 19 of 21 games since winning on Opening Day, matching the 2018 team for the worst start in franchise history at 3-18.

Padres 5, Pirates 2

Trent Grisham went 3-for-5 with two RBIs as visiting San Diego topped Pittsburgh in the rubber game of a weekend series. Manny Machado and Jake Cronenworth added RBI singles for the Padres.

San Diego starter Joe Musgrove (4-0), a former Pirate, gave up one run and seven hits in seven innings with eight strikeouts and no walks. Taylor Rogers pitched the ninth for his ninth save.

Pittsburgh starter Mitch Keller (0-4) went six innings, the longest outing on the team this year. He gave up one run and five hits with five strikeouts and no walks.

Angels 6, White Sox 5

Michael Lorenzen fell two outs short of his first career complete game and Mike Trout had two hits, including a solo home run, as visiting Los Angeles exhaled with a close win against Chicago on Sunday afternoon.

Entering the ninth inning with a shutout intact, Lorenzen allowed three hits, the last a two-run double off the bat of Leury Garcia, before Raisel Iglesias yielded two more runs. The White Sox collected five runs and six hits and sent 11 men to the plate in the inning, but Ryan Tepera notched his first save of the season by getting Gavin Sheets to ground out to first base with the bases loaded to end the game.

Trout smacked a solo home run against White Sox lefty Dallas Keuchel two batters into the afternoon. Angels star Shohei Ohtani left the game in the ninth inning with right groin tightness.

Nationals 11, Giants 5

Yadiel Hernandez drove in a career-high five runs, including two in a five-run first inning Sunday afternoon that gave Josiah Gray an immediate comfort zone and propelled visiting Washington to a victory over San Francisco in the finale of their three-game series.

Hernandez and Juan Soto collected three hits apiece for the Nationals, who ran up a total of 45 hits in taking two of three from the host Giants one week after San Francisco swept them in a three-game set in Washington. Gray (3-2) coasted through six shutout innings, allowing just one hit, a single by Jason Krizan with two outs in the fifth.

The Nationals jumped on Alex Cobb (1-1), reinstated from the injured list before the game, for four hits, three walks and five runs before he could get a third out in the first inning.

Mariners 7, Marlins 3

Top prospect Julio Rodriguez slugged his first major league homer — a 450-foot bomb to left-center field — to lead visiting Seattle to a victory over red-hot Miami.

The loss snapped the Marlins’ seven-game winning streak, their longest since 2016. The streak fell just two wins short of the franchise record.

Miami starter Sandy Alcantara (2-1), who hadn’t allowed a homer since Opening Day, gave up two on Sunday — Rodriguez’s three-run shot and J.P. Crawford’s solo blast. Logan Gilbert (4-0), who started the day leading the American League in ERA, earned the win. He pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed three hits, four walks and one run, leaving his ERA at 0.64.

Cardinals 7, Diamondbacks 5

Harrison Bader and Nolan Arenado each hit home runs as part of a four-run rally in the seventh inning to lead host St. Louis over Arizona.

The Cardinals’ seventh started with an Andrew Knizner single, followed by a Paul DeJong double off reliever Kyle Nelson. After Brendan Donovan grounded out to score Knizner and cut the deficit to 5-4, Keynan Middleton (0-1) replaced Nelson on the mound. Bader greeted Middleton with his first home run of the season, scoring DeJong to give St. Louis a 6-5 lead.

Arenado added his sixth home run of the season with two outs. The Diamondbacks hit four home runs, two by Jordan Luplow, as the teams split their four-game series.

Rangers 7, Braves 3

Adolis Garcia’s bases-loaded triple broke open a close game and sparked Texas to a win over visiting Atlanta in Arlington, Texas.

Garcia was 3-for-5, scored a run and drove in four to help the Rangers win their second three-game series of the year. Garcia knocked in 11 of the team’s 25 runs during the seven-game homestand.

Starting pitcher Taylor Hearn (1-2) bounced back from consecutive poor outings to earn his first win. He worked five innings and gave up two runs on four hits and three walks while matching his season high with six strikeouts. The losing pitcher was Kyle Muller (0-1), who was wild in his 2 2/3 innings and allowed seven runs on four hits, six walks and three strikeouts.

Guardians 7, Athletics 3

Triston McKenzie struck out seven over 6 1/3 scoreless innings and Franmil Reyes drove in two runs as visiting Cleveland completed a three-game sweep of Oakland.

McKenzie (1-2) allowed four hits and walked one for the Guardians, who have won three straight following a seven-game losing streak. McKenzie threw a season-high 96 pitches.

Oakland starter James Kaprielian (0-1) struggled in his season debut, yielding four runs on three hits over two-plus innings. The Athletics trailed 7-0 before scoring three runs in the ninth against Anthony Gose. Oakland has lost six of its past eight games.

Mets 10, Phillies 6

Jeff McNeil and Dominic Smith tied their career highs with four hits apiece and Max Scherzer extended his unbeaten streak to 24 starts despite giving up three homers as New York won another series by beating visiting Philadelphia.

The Mets have won a franchise-record seven straight series to open the season. The Phillies lost for jus the second time in seven games.

McNeil went 4-for-5 with two singles and two doubles in his last four at-bats, his ninth four-hit game. His past four four-hit games have all come against the Phillies. McNeil’s last hit, an RBI double in the eighth, scored Brandon Nimmo with New York’s final run.

–Field Level Media

The Los Angeles Angels, who have won seven of eight, aim to take three of four from the host Chicago White Sox as the teams conclude a four-game series on Monday afternoon.

Angels star Shohei Ohtani hopes to assist in the effort.

Ohtani exited his duties as designated hitter on in the ninth inning Sunday due to right groin tightness, with the ailment having occurred when he grounded into a double play two innings earlier.

While Ohtani’s translator told reporters that the two-way star plans to play on Monday, manager Joe Maddon would not speculate on whether Ohtani might have to miss a turn on the mound in the Angels’ three-game road series against the Boston Red Sox that starts Tuesday.

Between Ohtani’s ailment appearing to be minor and Los Angeles holding on for a win on Sunday, the Angels emerged feeling relieved, if not lucky.

Carrying a 6-0 lead into the ninth inning with right-hander Michael Lorenzen primed for his first career complete game and shutout, Los Angeles escaped with a 6-5 win over the White Sox, recording the final out with the bases loaded.

Lorenzen and fellow right-handers Raisel Iglesias and Ryan Tepera recorded one out apiece in the final inning.

“I’ve been in the bullpen my whole career, so I know that (Iglesias and Tepera), you see 6-0 and I’ve been cruising, they’re not expecting to have to come into the game,” Lorenzen said. “Kudos to them for coming in and picking up my slack.”

Losers of 11 of 13, the White Sox were three outs from being shut out for the second time in six games.

Chicago sent 11 men to the plate in the ninth inning while collecting six hits.

“We fought. We fought in the ninth. That’s a positive,” center fielder Luis Robert said through a translator. “We were able to come back in that ninth inning. It was good for us.

“Even though we didn’t win the game, it was a good battle and we know that we’re not passing a very good moment, but a game like today, the battle that we had in the ninth inning was good.”

The top of the White Sox’s lineup remains consistent. Leadoff man Tim Anderson is 7-for-13 with a home run and two RBIs in the first three games of the series. He is batting .375 (24-for-64) with three home runs and eight RBIs in 15 games against Los Angeles since 2019.

Robert, the No. 2 hitter on Sunday, is starting to heat up, going 3-for-9 in the past two games. He returned to the lineup Friday following a stint on the injured list with a groin strain.

Robert connected for a three-run home run in Chicago’s 4-0 victory on Saturday and added two singles Sunday.

Left-hander Patrick Sandoval will try to pitch the Angels to a series victory. Sandoval (1-0, 0.00 ERA) has struck out 20 in 15 scoreless innings over three starts to begin the season. He is 0-1 with a 6.23 ERA in one career start against the White Sox.

Sandoval will oppose Chicago right-hander Dylan Cease (2-1, 3.27 ERA), who is 0-1 with a 6.23 ERA in three career starts against the Angels, with 13 strikeouts in 13 innings.

Chicago outfielder Andrew Vaughn may return to the lineup Monday after he was hit with a pitch on his right wrist Friday, manager Tony La Russa said.

Angels manager Joe Maddon elected not to adjust the rotation to allow right-hander Noah Syndergaard to pitch in the series. Syndergaard was scheduled to start Friday but was scratched before the game due to illness.

Syndergaard told reporters before throwing a bullpen session Sunday that he was feeling better, and he is set to take the mound Tuesday in Boston.

–Field Level Media

Cincinnati Reds second baseman Jonathan India landed on the 10-day injured list on Sunday for the second time this season, again due to a strained right hamstring.

The 2021 National League Rookie of the Year was out from April 15 through Monday due to the same ailment.

He hit well since coming off the IL, going 6-for-15 (.400) in four games. However, India’s movement was limited.

“He hasn’t been able to kind of break through being able to go full speed,” Cincinnati manager David Bell said.

India was scratched from the lineup Saturday and didn’t get into the game that day, allowing the Reds to backdate the IL move one day. For the season, India is hitting .295 with no homers and three RBIs through 11 games. Last year, he hit .269 with 21 homers, 34 doubles and 69 RBIs in 150 games.

Outfielder Jake Fraley also landed on the IL on Sunday, giving Cincinnati 13 players out due to injuries. The Reds called up outfielder TJ Friedl and infielder Alejo Lopez from Triple-A Louisville to fill the roster vacancies.

After making the moves, the Reds lost 10-1 to the Colorado Rockies in Denver, completing a three-game series sweep. Cincinnati is 3-19, the worst 22-game start in franchise history.

–Field Level Media

Jeff McNeil and Dominic Smith tied their career highs with four hits apiece and Max Scherzer extended his unbeaten streak to 24 starts despite giving up three homers Sunday night as the New York Mets won another series by beating the visiting Philadelphia Phillies, 10-6.

The Mets have won a franchise-record seven straight series to open the season. The Phillies lost for just the second time in seven games.

McNeil went 4-for-5 with two singles and two doubles in his last four at-bats, his ninth four-hit game. His past four four-hit games have all come against the Phillies. McNeil’s last hit, an RBI double in the eighth, scored Brandon Nimmo with New York’s final run.

Smith entered Sunday 6-for-36 (.167) this season amidst speculation he could lose his spot on the roster Monday, when teams must pare down from 28 players to 26 players.

However, he singled and scored in the second, laced a game-tying RBI double in the fourth, delivered a two-run single in the fifth and singled again in the seventh for his second career four-hit game and his first since collecting four hits against the Phillies on Sept. 6, 2020.

Starling Marte had three RBIs — a run-scoring groundout in the second and a two-run single in the seventh — and Luis Guillorme had an RBI double in the second for the Mets, who took the lead for good when Francisco Lindor raced home on a passed ball in the fifth.

Scherzer (4-0) allowed four runs on five hits in six innings. He surrendered a solo homer and a two-run shot by Kyle Schwarber and a solo homer by Bryce Harper. The right-hander walked one and struck out nine, fanning the first five batters he faced.

The three homers were the most allowed by Scherzer since he gave up four homers against the Atlanta Braves on April 6, 2021.

Scherzer’s streak of consecutive starts without a loss is the longest since Gerrit Cole went 28 starts without a loss from May 27, 2019 to Aug. 19, 2020.

Schwarber has 16 homers in 36 games against the Mets.

Phillies shortstop Johan Camargo hit a two-run homer in the ninth.

Philadelphia starter Zach Eflin (1-2) took the loss after allowing six runs (five earned) on eight hits and one walk with three strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings.

–Field Level Media

Yadiel Hernandez drove in a career-high five runs, including two in a five-run first inning Sunday afternoon that gave Josiah Gray an immediate comfort zone and propelled the visiting Washington Nationals to an 11-5 victory over the San Francisco Giants in the finale of their three-game series.

Hernandez and Juan Soto collected three hits apiece for the Nationals, who ran up a total of 45 hits in taking two of three from the host Giants one week after San Francisco swept them in a three-game set in Washington. The Nationals totaled just 20 hits in the three losses last week.

The Nationals jumped on Alex Cobb (1-1), reinstated from the injured list before the game, for four hits, three walks and five runs before he could get a third out in the first inning.

Four of the five runs were unearned thanks to an error on third baseman Jason Vosler, which plated the first run and set the stage for Hernandez’s two-run single, a Cobb balk that scored a fourth run and an RBI infield single by Lucius Fox that made it 5-0.

Pitching for the first time since April 19 while dealing with a strained groin, Cobb was pulled one batter later, having pitched just two-thirds of an inning without recording a strikeout.

Gray (3-2) coasted through six shutout innings, allowing just one hit, a single by Jason Krizan with two outs in the fifth.

The right-hander walked four and struck out three.

Down 8-0, the Giants made it a game when they bombed the Washington bullpen for five runs in the seventh. Luis Gonzalez contributed an RBI single and Mike Ford a two-run hit to the uprising.

But the Nationals responded immediately with three game-breaking runs of their own in the eighth, all courtesy of a bases-loaded double by Hernandez that made it 11-5.

Soto scored three times, while Yadiel Hernandez and Cesar Hernandez scored twice apiece for the Nationals, who had just two extra-base hits – both of Yadiel Hernandez’s doubles — among their 12 hits.

Fox and Victor Robles finished with two hits apiece.

Gonzalez and Wilmer Flores each scored once and drove in a run for the Giants, who have lost three of four following a five-game winning streak.

–Field Level Media

Angels two-way player Shohei Ohtani left Los Angeles’ Sunday game for precautionary reasons against the host Chicago White Sox in the ninth inning due to right groin tightness.

Interpreter Ippei Mizuhara told reporters after Sunday’s game that Ohtani intended to play in the Monday afternoon series finale at Chicago. Angels manager Joe Maddon did not speculate on when Ohtani would be available next.

Ohtani, the reigning American League MVP, did not have a hit in three at-bats as the Angels’ designated hitter. He drove in a run on a third-inning groundout and drew a walk.

In his final at-bat, Ohtani felt a tweak in his groin, according to Maddon, after he grounded into a 1-6-3 double play in the seventh inning. Jack Mayfield replaced Ohtani as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning.

In 22 games this season, Ohtani is batting .228 with four home runs and 12 RBIs. In five seasons with the Angels, he is a .262 hitter with 97 home runs with 259 RBIs.

Ohtani last pitched on Wednesday against the Cleveland Guardians, giving up two runs on five hits over five innings to earn the victory and improve to 2-2. His next turn on the mound could be as soon as Tuesday on the road against the Boston Red Sox, although the Angels have yet to announce their starters for that series.

–Field Level Media