After almost four hours and 14 innings, the Miami Marlins departed Chicago on Sunday with their first victory of May, and they headed to Phoenix, where they will open a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday.

Fittingly, the Marlins’ 5-4 win over the Chicago Cubs that snapped a five-game losing streak was a one-run victory.

Miami improved to 11-0 in one-run games this season, tying the major league record for most victories in one-run contests to begin a season. The mark was set by the New York Mets in 1972.

Garrett Hampson, who opened the 14th inning at second base as the automatic runner and advanced to third on a groundout by Luis Arraez, scored the game-winner on a balk by Adbert Alzolay. Andrew Nardi then blanked the Cubs in the bottom half of the inning to notch his first career save.

“Just proud of them,” Miami manager Skip Schumaker said of his players after the latest tight victory. “That is not an easy win right there, especially after what happened (on Saturday).”

The previous day, the Marlins gave up three runs in the bottom of the eighth to blow a 2-1 lead and lose 4-2 to the Cubs.

“There were a lot of good things that happened (Sunday) that you can build off of, and hopefully that long flight to Arizona is a lot happier than it would have been if we got walked off there,” Schumaker said. “You always want to break the (losing) streak.”

Left-hander Braxton Garrett (1-1, 5.81 ERA) will try to make it two wins in a row for the Marlins on Monday when he opposes right-hander Zac Gallen (4-1, 2.53).

Garrett will try to move on from one of the worst starts in Marlins history. He gave up 11 runs on 14 hits over 4 1/3 innings in a 14-6 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday. Garrett allowed four home runs, including a grand slam by Marcell Ozuna during a seven-run second inning. Ozuna also hit a solo shot off Garrett, Ronald Acuna Jr. belted a three-run homer and Michael Harris II had a two-run blast.

Garrett will be facing Arizona for the second time in his career. The first came on April 15 in Miami when he wasn’t involved in the decision during a 3-2 Marlins victory. He allowed one run on four hits over 5 2/3 innings while striking out five and walking one.

Gallen hasn’t lost a game since an 8-2 setback to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Opening Day. He is 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA in two career starts against the Marlins, having blanked them on two hits over 6 2/3 innings in an April 16 start in Miami. The Diamondbacks won 5-0 as Gallen fanned seven without issuing a walk.

Arizona comes in off a tough 9-8 home loss to the Washington Nationals on Sunday, a result that snapped a three-game winning streak.

The Diamondbacks led 7-3 after five innings, but they squandered chances to put the game away in the sixth and seventh when Washington pitchers issued seven of their 11 walks in the contest. Arizona scored just once during those two frames.

“We could have broken the game open,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “We had some overanxious hitters. The quality of at-bats weren’t good enough.”

Still, the Diamondbacks looked in good shape heading into the ninth with an 8-6 lead. However, reliever Miguel Castro gave up three runs on his first four pitches, yielding a double to Luis Garcia, a single to Keibert Ruiz and a three-run homer to Joey Meneses.

“This game teaches you lessons every day,” Lovullo said. “There were so many things that happened before the ninth inning that allowed it to happen. Four pitches (and) they score three runs. You can’t predict that.”

–Field Level Media

After salvaging the final game of their Western road trip, the Milwaukee Brewers will turn to right-hander Freddy Peralta to keep the momentum going against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday in the opener of a three-game series.

Peralta (3-2, 3.63 ERA) will be opposed by right-hander Tony Gonsolin (0-0, 3.38), who is making his third start since coming off the injured list.

Milwaukee topped San Francisco 7-3 on Sunday after dropping the first five games of the road trip, including a sweep at Colorado. Adrian Houser was activated off the injured list and made his season debut for the Brewers, allowing two runs in 4 2/3 innings. Willy Adames hit his 100th career homer and drove in four runs.

The Dodgers rallied for a dramatic 5-2 victory at San Diego in 10 innings on Sunday. Mookie Betts tied it 2-2 with a two-out solo homer off closer Josh Hader in the ninth and James Outman had a two-run homer in the 10th to help give the Dodgers the rubber match of the three-game series.

Prior to Sunday’s 12-hit outburst, the Brewers had scored 14 runs in the first five games of the trip. Milwaukee is 16-3 when scoring at least four runs, 3-12 when scoring three or fewer.

“Obviously not a good trip, but salvaged it with a nice game today,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “Always nice flying a long flight and coming home with a win.”

Despite the road struggles, the Brewers actually moved within a half-game of first place in the National League Central behind Pittsburgh, which has lost seven straight.

In his last start, Peralta gave up a pair of solo homers in six innings, striking out a season-high 10, but did not get the decision in a 3-2 loss at Colorado last Tuesday.

“I thought Freddy pitched well, for sure,” Counsell said after Peralta’s last start. “Two pitches, really, but he pitched exceptionally well.”

Peralta, 10-5 with a 2.81 ERA as an All-Star in 2021, has shown no signs of the shoulder issues that limited him to 78 innings last season.

“I think Freddy’s pitched well a whole bunch,” Counsell said. “Maybe, the San Diego start (five runs in five innings), he might want some of that back, but the rest of the outings have been plus-plus. He’s in a good spot to continue to perform well.”

Peralta is 1-1 with a 1.93 ERA in three career starts against the Dodgers, including a 4-0 loss last season at American Family Field.

Gonsolin, 16-1 with a 2.14 ERA last season, has made two starts since coming off the IL on April 26.

In his first start back, he tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings in an 8-1 loss at Pittsburgh, allowing two hits and three walks in a 65-pitch outing.

His last time out, Gonsolin allowed three runs on five hits in 4 2/3 innings, striking out three and walking two, but building up to 80 pitches in a 13-4 win over the Phillies.

“Tonight, getting Tony, his pitch count up, getting him into the (fifth) inning, I thought was great,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after Gonsolin’s last start.

Gonsolin is 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA in two starts against Milwaukee, both last season, allowing one run on five hits over 12 innings, with 11 strikeouts and three walks.

The Dodgers, who have won eight of their last nine, will return home to host the Padres after the three games in Milwaukee.

–Field Level Media

Rookie right-hander Jake Irvin hopes to get off to a better start in his second major league outing, but he will gladly take the same ending when the Washington Nationals open a three-game road series against the San Francisco Giants on Monday night.

The cross-country pairing pits two teams playing their best baseball of the season, with the Nationals having won four of six and the Giants four of five.

Irvin (0-0, 2.08 ERA) contributed to the Nationals’ strong run with 4 1/3 innings of two-hit, one-run ball in his major league debut on Wednesday at home against the Chicago Cubs. Washington went on to win the game 2-1.

The former fourth-round draft pick had gone 2-2 with a 5.64 ERA in five starts for Triple-A Rochester before earning his promotion, then got a little too amped up for the big event, hitting Nico Hoerner in the shoulder with his first big-league pitch.

“I’ve got to imagine I’m one of few to do that, right?” Irvin was able to declare amid a chuckle afterward. “I can’t imagine many other guys have plunked the first guy, first pitch in their debut. So just laugh it off, next hitter.”

The 26-year-old responded by striking out that next man — Dansby Swanson — and had little trouble getting 13 outs, after which the game was tied 1-1 in the fifth.

A team win was all Irvin needed to have a reason to celebrate by day’s end, though.

“This is something that you dream of since the day you pick up a baseball,” Irvin said. “I’m on top of the world.”

The way the Giants have been going, that might be a temporary feeling. After winning its final two games in Houston last week, San Francisco won the first two against visiting Milwaukee before a 7-3 setback in the series finale Sunday.

Even in defeat, Giants manager Gabe Kapler saw positives, including 13 hits that constantly had Brewers pitchers in trouble. Alas, the Giants went 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position, stranding 10 runners in the process.

“It’s always disappointing when those rallies are cut short,” Kapler noted. “We’ve been able of late to capitalize on some of those and get some big knocks but we weren’t able to do that (Sunday).”

Thairo Estrada had two homers among five hits in the Milwaukee series, while Brett Wisely hit safely in all three games. Wisely also hit a homer, scored twice and drove in a pair.

Luis Garcia was Washington’s big hitter in three games in Arizona — where the Nationals scored a total of 16 runs the last two days — before Joey Meneses smacked a go-ahead, three-run homer in the ninth in Sunday’s 9-8 win.

In the San Francisco opener, the Nationals will be up against righty Anthony DeSclafani (3-1, 2.13), who has won his last two starts, including a 2-0 decision at Houston last Tuesday in which he threw eight innings of shutout ball, allowing just three hits.

The 33-year-old has gone 4-1 with a 2.44 ERA in 10 career appearances (seven starts) against the Nationals. He last faced them in 2021, when, over the course of two games, he threw 15 scoreless innings, allowing just five hits to pick up a pair of wins.

–Field Level Media

Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais wore a Kraken hockey sweater to his postgame news conference on Sunday, supporting the home team prior to Game 3 of the NHL’s Western Conference semifinal series against the Dallas Stars.

“Go, Kraken!” Servais exclaimed after his ballclub defeated the visiting Houston Astros 3-1 for its sixth victory in seven games to get back to the .500 mark (17-17).

The eyes of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex will remain on the Pacific Northwest for the next few days, as the American League West-leading Texas Rangers open a three-game road series against the Mariners on Monday night.

The teams will be facing off for the first time this season.

Monday’s opener will feature a pair of hard-throwing right-handers, Texas’ Jon Gray (1-1, 4.40 ERA) and Seattle’s Logan Gilbert (1-1, 4.01). Gray is 1-2 with a 5.53 ERA in five career starts against the Mariners. Gilbert is 2-0, 2.85 in seven lifetime starts vs. the Rangers.

The Mariners won Sunday as Julio Rodriguez broke out of a 1-for-18 slump with a 454-foot home run to center field. Rookie Bryce Miller, making his second major league start, pitched six scoreless innings for his first victory.

“It felt great, obviously,” Rodriguez said. “It’s been kind of overdue for it. It’s a buildup to it. To be able to hit that for the team against a great team, too, it’s always gonna bring a lot of emotions out of me.”

Rodriguez, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, missed two games last week due to lower back soreness. He was in a 5-for-42 (.119) slump before Sunday.

“I just keep grinding because if I start crying and complaining about it, what am I going to do with that?” he said. “What am I going to achieve with crying?

“I feel like it’s putting in the work, putting in the effort, showing up every day and just keep grinding, keep figuring out yourself, keep adjusting. That’s what this game is about. So I feel like there is no room for crying or complaining about it.”

The Rangers won 16-8 against the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday in Anaheim, Calif., as Adolis Garcia, Ezequiel Duran and Josh H. Smith hit home runs.

Leody Taveras had a career-high four hits and added four RBIs as the Rangers scored 16 or more runs for the third time this season. The major leagues’ other 29 teams have combined to hit that mark four times in 2023.

“I’ll hope we do it a few more times,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “It’s a good offense. Power and good discipline. You get to the bottom of the lineup and Leo (Taveras) hitting over .300, so it’s a lineup that is tough to navigate through.”

The Rangers’ offensive success has come with shortstop Corey Seager and catcher/designated hitter Mitch Garver on the injured list for most of the season.

“Once those two get back, it is going to be tough to put together a lineup. That’s a good problem to have,” Texas second baseman Marcus Semien said. “The group that we have right now has been playing well together and feeding off each other.”

–Field Level Media

Riding the high of their 17-4 blowout victory against the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, the Chicago White Sox will continue their seven-game road trip on Monday when they face the host Kansas City Royals in the opener of a four-game set.

The White Sox have won five of their last seven games after a 7-21 start to the season.

Chicago will be without outfielder/designated hitter Eloy Jimenez, who underwent an emergency appendectomy Saturday in Cincinnati and is expected to be out of action for four to six weeks.

“It’s taken care of now,” first-year White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. “He will be out for a little bit. … Those things are scary. He’ll be back as soon as possible.”

Jimenez owns an eight-game hitting streak, batting .424 (14-for-33) with two home runs and eight RBIs during that stretch.

Dylan Cease (2-1, 4.58 ERA) will take the mound for Chicago, opposing Zack Greinke (1-4, 5.25) in a battle of right-handers.

Cease went five innings in his most recent outing, when he allowed four runs on five hits with six strikeouts and four walks in a no-decision against the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday. In 12 career starts against the Royals, Cease is 4-3 with a 2.58 ERA.

Salvador Perez and Hunter Dozier have seen Cease the most, but the duo has struggled against the right-hander, combining to strike out 20 times in 45 at-bats.

Greinke is coming off his first win of the season. He needed just 44 pitches to complete five scoreless innings against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday. Greinke allowed three hits, struck out three and did not issue a walk.

The 20-year veteran has a lengthy history against Chicago, going 10-10 with a 3.81 ERA over 31 career appearances (28 starts).

Elvis Andrus and Yasmani Grandal have enjoyed success against Greinke throughout their careers, with Andrus hitting .344 (11-for-32) against him and Grandal batting .296 (16-for-54).

Kansas City injected a fresh arm into a beleaguered bullpen Sunday, recalling right-hander Max Castillo from Triple-A Omaha. Right-hander Jonathan Heasley was optioned to Omaha in a corresponding move.

“We’re in a little bit of a rut these last few days, and we just have to have coverage,” first-year Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “There are guys you want to stay away from in the bullpen, guys that need an extra day. Max provides us length.”

Royals relievers have been taxed for 47 2/3 innings in 11 games since Brady Singer threw Kansas City’s last quality start on April 25 at Arizona.

Left-hander Ryan Yarbrough, who left Sunday’s home game against Oakland after being struck in the head with a 106-mph line drive off Ryan Noda’s bat, had swelling on the left side of his head, but was alert after the game and was taken off-site for further testing.

“It was scary. The dugout went silent,” Quatraro said. “I can’t think of a worse thing to see on the field. Luckily, when we got out there, he was talking and aware of what was going on.”

–Field Level Media

The Los Angeles Dodgers scored three runs in the top of the 10th on Michael Busch’s tiebreaking single and James Outman’s two-run homer to rally for a 5-2 win over the host San Diego Padres in the rubber match of a three-game series.

The Dodgers tied the game in the ninth on Mookie Betts’ two-out homer to left center off Padres closer Josh Hader, who suffered his first blown save after 11 successes.

Busch had struck out as a pinch hitter in the eighth with the tying run on second and no one out. But with two outs in the 10th, he lined a full-count pitch from Brent Honeywell to left to score automatic runner Freddie Freeman from third. Outman then pulled his eighth homer of the season into the seats down the line in right.

Caleb Ferguson (2-0) struck out two in a perfect ninth to earn the win. Evan Phillips worked a perfect 10th to earn his second save in as many days and his fifth of the season. Honeywell (2-1) took the loss.

Until Betts’ clutch home run, it appeared the Padres were going to win 2-1 on two first-inning runs scored on three doubles — two of which could have been caught.

Fernando Tatis Jr. opened the Padres first with a double off Dodgers starter Julio Urias on a fly to short center that ticked off the glove of Outman. Manny Machado followed with a double to right center, driving in Tatis with the game’s first run. After Urias retired Juan Soto on a fly to right, Xander Bogaerts hit a fly to right that bounced off Betts’ glove as the right fielder was reaching for the wall. Machado scored on what was ruled the third double of the inning.

Padres starter Joe Musgrove had a no-hitter going until Chris Taylor hit a soft liner just over the glove of Padres first baseman Jake Cronenworth with two outs in the fifth.

The Dodgers scored their first run in the top of the sixth. Freeman opened the inning with a drive to left that bounced out of Soto’s glove. Originally, it was scored a double, but then changed to a two-base error. Will Smith drove in Freeman with a line-drive double to left.

Smith was on second with no one out but didn’t score — marking the first of two times in the next three innings that the Dodgers couldn’t get the tying run home from second with no outs.

Musgrove held the Dodgers to an unearned run on two hits and three walks with five strikeouts over five-plus innings. Urias gave up two runs on eight hits and a walk with three strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.

–Field Level Media

If the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates are relying on a rematch with the visiting Colorado Rockies to provide the fodder to turn things around, they could be disappointed.

The teams open a three-game series in Pittsburgh on Monday.

The Pirates were flying high and grabbing the attention of the baseball world when the teams met April 17-19 in Denver.

Pittsburgh continued its strong start with a three-game sweep of the Rockies, prevailing by a combined 33-9 run advantage.

The Pirates then stretched their winning streak to seven games with a four-game sweep against Cincinnati.

However, Pittsburgh is 4-8 since then, including a current seven-game losing streak. The Pirates were swept at home in three games over the weekend by the Toronto Blue Jays, who outscored Pittsburgh 22-3.

“Right now, we’re just not getting that big hit,” Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton said. “I think no one expected that (early) pace to keep up. …

“During that time, we were playing full games. (Now,) we’re not pitching extremely well. We’re not swinging the bats extremely well. We’ve had some plays we should have made. So we need to reset a little bit and get back to the consistency we had.”

Colorado continued to falter after the series against the Pirates, finishing with a 7-20 record in April.

May has been better. A lot better. The Rockies are 5-1 this month, including a three-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers last week, followed by a series win over the New York Mets on the weekend.

The recent stretch has Colorado in good spirits. The Rockies blasted the Mets 13-6 on Sunday, and rookie outfielder Brenton Doyle was giddy after belting his first career homer in a three-hit game. He had three runs and three RBIs.

“Freaking amazing,” Doyle told AT&T Sportsnet. “It’s even better that we clinched the series win.”

In the opener of the upcoming series, Colorado left-hander Kyle Freeland (3-3, 3.76 ERA) is slated to start against Pittsburgh right-hander Mitch Keller (3-1, 3.32).

Freeland evened his record with a win on Wednesday against Milwaukee, when he pitched five scoreless, three-hit innings with five strikeouts and no walks.

That came with a tiny scare as he winced after his first pitch of the fifth but remained in the game.

“I felt really good,” Freeland said in general of the outing. “The ball’s coming out really well. I had a slight concern with the neck, but I’ve always firmly believed if you’re not playing a little banged up, you’re not playing hard enough.”

Freeland has been susceptible to the long ball, as he has served up seven homers in his past five starts.

Against the Pirates, Freeland is 3-3 with a 5.12 ERA in eight career starts, but he is 0-2 with a 6.50 ERA in Pittsburgh. The Pirates tagged him for nine runs (seven earned) on eight hits in 2 2/3 innings on April 17 in Denver.

Keller picked up his first loss on Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays. It was a tough-luck game, as he allowed five runs — just one earned — and five hits in five innings with eight strikeouts and one walk.

Keller is 1-1 with a 0.63 ERA in three career games, two of them starts, against the Rockies. He did not face them in the teams’ series last month.

–Field Level Media

The Los Angeles Angels look to rebound from a pair of lopsided losses over the weekend when they face the Houston Astros on Monday in the opener of a three-game divisional series in Anaheim, Calif.

The Angels surrendered 10 runs on Saturday in a nine-run loss, and 16 in an eight-run loss to close out the series with American League West rival Texas on Sunday.

Los Angeles manager Phil Nevin said that struggles on the mound, including Sunday’s starter Jose Suarez exiting before he could finish three innings due to unspecified injury, impact the Angels heading into the series with Houston.

“When any of my players get injured, I’m concerned about it,” Nevin said. “In particular, our starting rotation. Where we go from here, I’m not sure.”

The bullpen worked more than five innings on Sunday and was led by Chase Silseth (3 1/3 innings) and Chris Devenski, who struck out three but gave up three runs in two innings.

“The game should not have been where it got to,” Nevin said. “To have to go to use (Devenski) in a situation like that in two innings was not good for us.”

On Monday, lefty Patrick Sandoval (3-1, 2.93 ERA) gets the start for the Angels, seeking his third win in as many outings. Sandoval struck out four and allowed one run in five innings his last time out, a 5-1 Angels defeat of St. Louis last Tuesday.

Sandoval has struggled historically against the Astros. In seven career appearances (six starts) against Houston, Sandoval is 0-4 with an 8.03 ERA. He allowed five runs on eight hits through five innings in his most recent start against the Astros, a loss on July 2, 2022.

Houston comes in having dropped its last three series, including its weekend visit to divisional counterpart Seattle. The Astros have also lost four of their last five games.

In those four losses, the Astros mustered a combined eight runs with Sunday’s 3-1 defeat. However, Houston could get some needed reinforcements back for the Angels series, as reports indicated that outfielders Michael Brantley and Chas McCormick could return to the lineup in the coming days.

Brantley, a five-time All-Star, has yet to play this season due to a right shoulder injury that sidelined him prematurely last season and required surgery last August. McCormick hit .275 in 11 games before being moved to the injured list with lower back tightness last month.

Former MVP and six-time Silver Slugger Jose Altuve (fractured right thumb) is also nearing his return. He took batting practice before Sunday’s game.

“We are close to getting some guys back,” Astros manager Dusty Baker told reporters on Sunday. “You’ve still got to play regardless of who you have out there. … We just wanted to stick around .500.”

Right-hander Hunter Brown (3-1, 2.60) will make the start for the Astros. He is looking to bounce back from his first loss of the season, last Tuesday’s 2-0 decision against San Francisco.

Brown allowed two runs and four hits over 4 1/3 innings, but that was enough for the Giants to hand Houston its only shutout loss of the season.

Monday marks Brown’s first career matchup with the Angels.

–Field Level Media