Bryan De La Cruz homered, and the visiting Miami Marlins struck early and never looked back to earn a 6-1 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday in the first game of a doubleheader.

Friday night’s rainout of the series opener caused the twin bill, and Saturday’s first game was delayed by nearly two hours due to more showers in the Cleveland area.

The Marlins jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning off Guardians starter Shane Bieber, who wasn’t sharp from the start. He walked De La Cruz to open the frame, and, after a one-out single by Jean Segura, De La Cruz scored on a base hit by Yuli Gurriel. Segura scored on an error by Guardians shortstop Amed Rosario.

Cleveland’s Josh Bell doubled into the gap in the bottom of the fourth to drive in Rosario from first to cut the lead to 2-1.

De La Cruz put the Marlins up 3-1 in the sixth when he lined a fastball from Bieber inches over the wall in right for a 353-foot opposite-field homer.

The Marlins broke the game open in the seventh. Jon Berti and Jorge Soler drew walks and advanced into scoring position on a passed ball before Luis Arraez drove both home with a sharp single to right. Avisail Garcia’s RBI single then made it 6-1.

Bieber (1-1) lasted just 5 2/3 innings. He allowed three runs on four hits while walking four and fanning four. Miami hitters drew a total of seven walks in the game.

Marlins left-hander Devin Smeltzer made the start because Sandy Alcantara, the 2022 National League Cy Young Award winner, was scratched because of biceps tendinitis. Smeltzer went four innings, struck out three, walked one and allowed only one run on three hits before giving way to the Miami bullpen.

Marlins relievers Andrew Nardi (2-1), Huascar Brazoban, Matt Barnes and Steven Okert combined for five innings of scoreless relief to preserve the victory.

–Field Level Media

Randy Arozarena, who homered in his first at-bat, delivered an RBI single to right field in the 10th inning to lift the host Tampa Bay Rays to a 4-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Arozarena finished 3-for-5 and drove in all four Rays’ runs.

The Rays improved to 18-3, and for the second straight game, walked-off the White Sox.

In the 10th inning, Vidal Brujan was the placed runner at second base. With one out, Wander Franco was intentionally walked, and Arozarena ended it with his single to right off Jimmy Lambert (1-1).

Garrett Cleavinger (1-0) threw a scoreless top of the 10th to earn the win.

Rays starter Shane McClanahan was simply dominant over six innings, striking out 10 while walking one. The southpaw allowed three hits, but two of them were solo home runs. With his pitch count at 88, Tampa Bay went to the bullpen.

McClanahan’s bid for a win was erased in the eighth inning when Gavin Sheets connected on a pinch-hit home run off Jason Adam, knotting the score at 3-3.

In the first inning, Arozarena’s two-run homer off Dylan Cease set a major league record for Tampa Bay, which has homered in each of its first 21 games. The 2019 Seattle Mariners did it in 20 games.

The White Sox chipped back in the second inning on Eloy Jimenez’s home run. And in the fifth inning, Yasmani Grandal’s home run to lead off the inning pulled the White Sox even at 2-2.

The Rays effectively ran up Cease’s pitch count, and the White Sox went to the bullpen with no outs and two on in the fifth inning.

Yandy Diaz and Franco each singled to open the fifth, and Cease exited at 101 pitches with runners on the corners in a 2-2 game. Arozarena bounced an RBI single to left off Keynan Middleton, putting Tampa Bay back in front 3-2.

Diaz went 3-for-4 for the Rays, but the first baseman removed himself from the game during warmups in the top of the eighth inning. The team announced Diaz felt dehydrated. Isaac Paredes took over at first.

–Field Level Media

Brandon Crawford launched a three-run home run in the first, Logan Webb retained a comfortable lead through seven innings for his first win of the season and the San Francisco Giants finally got the better of the visiting New York Mets with a 7-4 victory Saturday afternoon.

Wilmer Flores also homered for the Giants, who had lost seven of their previous eight, including 9-4 and 7-0 blowouts to the Mets on the first two nights of the four-game set.

After being shut out for seven innings by left-hander Joey Lucchesi the night before, the Giants jumped on fellow lefty David Peterson (1-3) for six runs in the first two innings, including four in the first.

Singles by Thairo Estrada and Michael Conforto, and a walk to Flores, set the stage for the early uprising. David Villar put the Giants ahead with a sacrifice fly, after which Crawford smacked his third homer of the season to make it 4-0.

The Mets got one back in the second on a Daniel Vogelbach RBI double, but the Giants countered with two more after Heliot Ramos doubled and Estrada singled. Darin Ruf made it 5-1 with an RBI single, and Conforto’s infield out plated Estrada to give Webb (1-4) a five-run cushion.

Peterson was pulled after five innings, charged with seven runs and seven hits. He walked one and struck out eight.

A 15-game winner last season, Webb finally broke into the win column this year, allowing two runs and five hits in his seven innings. He walked one and struck out eight.

The only other run against Webb was the product of a Brandon Nimmo homer, his second, in the third inning.

The Giants got that run back on Flores’ solo shot, his third of the year, in the fifth, then held on when the Mets attempted to rally from down 7-2 in the eighth.

An RBI single by Starling Marte made it 7-3 and brought the potential tying run to the on-deck circle. But Scott Alexander got Francisco Lindor to fly to left field and Pete Alonso to ground to short to retain the four-run lead.

A two-out, two-strike RBI single by Brett Baty closed the gap to 7-4 in the ninth before Giants closer Camilo Doval got pinch hitter Luis Guillorme to ground out, ending the Mets’ winning streak at three.

Estrada finished with two hits and scored twice, while Flores also scored twice for the Giants, who were outhit in the game, 10-7.

Marte, Mark Canha and Baty had two hits apiece for the Mets, who fell to 7-2 on a 10-day California swing that ends Sunday.

–Field Level Media

Colorado Rockies outfielder Kris Bryant exited Saturday afternoon’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies in the third inning due to back tightness.

Bryant was serving as the designated hitter when he struck out swinging in the first inning. But when his spot came up in the third inning, Elehuris Montero came up as a pinch hitter.

Bryant is batting .288 with three homers and six RBIs in 21 games this season.

Last season, Bryant batted .306 with just five homers and 14 RBIs in his first season with the Rockies after signing a seven-year, $182 million deal. He was limited to 42 games due to back and foot injuries.

Bryant was National League MVP in 2016 for the Chicago Cubs. The four-time All-Star has a .280 career average with 175 homers and 507 RBIs in 947 games with the Cubs, San Francisco Giants and Rockies.

–Field Level Media

The Pittsburgh Pirates extended the contract of manager Derek Shelton, general manager Ben Cherington told reporters on Saturday afternoon.

Cherington declined to reveal terms of the extension.

“I am very excited to have a chance to continue to work with him,” Cherington said. “I really believe that he’s the right person for the job. He’s worked tirelessly for over three years now to help put us in a stronger position to win.”

The Pirates are one of the biggest surprises in the majors this season with a 14-7 record entering Saturday’s home game against the Cincinnati Reds. They have won their last five games.

This is Shelton’s fourth season at the helm of the Pirates, who are coming off consecutive 100-loss seasons.

Shelton, 52, has a 156-249 career mark entering Saturday’s game.

–Field Level Media

Nick Castellanos hit two solo home runs and also doubled to lift the host Philadelphia Phillies past the Colorado Rockies 4-3 on Saturday.

Cristian Pache added a solo homer, single and two RBIs for the Phillies, who have won two in a row.

Phillies starter Cristopher Sanchez tossed 4 1/3 innings in his season debut and allowed five hits and three runs, with five strikeouts and two walks.

Connor Brogdon (1-0) earned the win in relief. He gave up one hit in 1 2/3 innings.

Craig Kimbrel threw a scoreless ninth inning for his second save in two chances. Kimbrel has 396 career saves.

Yonathan Daza had two hits and an RBI while C.J. Cron and Elias Diaz also added two hits apiece for the Rockies.

Rockies starter Kyle Freeland (2-2) gave up five hits and four runs, with six strikeouts and one walk in six innings.

Castellanos doubled with two outs in the eighth inning but J.T. Realmuto grounded out to the pitcher to end the threat.

In the ninth, Harold Castro lined out to center, Charlie Blackmon flied out to left and Jurickson Profar struck out to end the game against Kimbrel.

The Phillies went ahead 1-0 in the second inning after Castellanos ripped a solo homer over the fence in left field. It was the longest stretch of his career without a home run to open the season.

The Rockies tied the game at 1 in the third when Profar hit an RBI groundout to shortstop. Kris Bryant was then lifted for a pinch hitter because of a sore lower back.

In the third, Pache crushed a two-run homer to center for a 3-1 advantage.

Daza ripped an RBI double in the fourth and Mike Moustakas hit a pinch hit sacrifice fly in the fifth to equalize at 3.

Castellanos lofted another solo homer to left in the sixth for a 4-3 advantage. It’s the 10th career multi-homer game for Castellanos.

–Field Level Media

James Outman and Max Muncy each homered twice and combined for seven RBIs as the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs 9-4 on Saturday.

Muncy, who clubbed a two-run drive in the seventh and a solo shot in the ninth, pushed his homer total to 10 with three in this series. Meanwhile, Outman, whose two-run homer also came in the ninth for his fourth hit, has four of his seven home runs during the set.

Dustin May (2-1) allowed two runs with two hits, while walking three and striking out six, in 5 1/3 innings for Los Angeles, which has split its first 22 games but has taken two of three in this four-game set.

Nico Hoerner belted his second homer in as many days for the Cubs, who had won four straight entering this series and rolled to a 13-0 win on Friday.

Chicago’s Hayden Wesneski (1-1) yielded three runs and five hits over 4 1/3 innings.

After not recording a hit or baserunner until the eighth inning against Drew Smyly on Friday, Los Angeles got to Wesneski early. Mookie Betts opened with a single, Freddie Freeman doubled and Muncy drew a walk to load the bases with nobody out. However, the Dodgers managed just one run in the first.

The Cubs also loaded the bases with their first three batters in the first. But they also settled for just one run via Seiya Suzuki’s RBI fielder’s choice.

Los Angeles regained its lead when Outman, who clubbed a tiebreaking grand slam in the ninth of Thursday’s 6-2 win over Chicago, again homered into the right field basket to open the second. Outman’s flared, fourth-inning single brought home J.D. Martinez, who doubled, for a 3-1 edge.

The Cubs got within a run in the fourth on Eric Hosmer’s RBI double. However, the visitors added on with Miguel Vargas’ pinch-hit RBI single in the sixth and Muncy’s drive into the right field bleachers with a man on in the seventh.

With one on in the seventh, Hoerner clubbed his second homer of the season to make it 6-4.

–Field Level Media

C.J. Abrams hit a three-run home run and Joey Meneses collected four hits and two RBIs, helping the Washington Nationals defeat the Minnesota Twins 10-4 on Saturday in Minneapolis.

Abrams, the sixth overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, deposited a Simeon Woods Richardson pitch into the right-field seats to give the Nationals an 8-2 lead in the seventh inning. It was his first home run since the Nationals acquired him in a deal with San Diego last August that sent Juan Soto and Josh Bell out west.

Meneses had an RBI single in each of the first two innings. Dominic Smith, Luis Garcia, Jeimer Candelario and Victor Robles each added two hits for the Nationals, who can sweep the three-game series with a win on Sunday.

Byron Buxton homered for the Twins, who have lost six of their last seven. Carlos Correa had three hits for Minnesota.

Neither starting pitcher made it to the fifth. Washington’s Chad Kuhl gave up one run on three hits in 3 2/3 innings. He threw 96 pitches, struck out five and walked four. Minnesota’s Pablo Lopez (1-2) took the loss, allowing five runs on eight hits over four innings. He struck out six and walked two.

Mason Thompson (2-1) earned the win, limiting the Twins to one run in 2 1/3 innings. He struck out four.

After Washington scored twice in each of the first two innings, Buxton’s home run sliced Minnesota’s deficit to 5-1 in the bottom of the third. The Nationals regained a four-run lead in the fourth when Candelario’s sacrifice fly drove in Robles.

Minnesota scored its second run in the sixth. Joey Gallo reached on a third-strike wild pitch, took second on a throwing error and scored on a Correa single.

After Abrams’ home run, Minnesota made it an 8-4 game on Trevor Larnach’s two-run double in the seventh.

Washington capped the scoring with two runs in the ninth. Riley Adams scored on a double by Robles, who scored on a Candelario single.

–Field Level Media

Pinch hitter DJ LeMahieu singled in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning as the New York Yankees defeated the visiting Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 Saturday afternoon.

The Yankees took the lead on Anthony Volpe’s two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the eighth. Toronto pinch hitter Danny Jansen tied the game with a two-run homer in the top of the ninth.

Anthony Rizzo led off the bottom of the ninth with a double against Jordan Romano (2-1). Pinch runner Isiah Kiner-Falefa reached third on an infield single by Gleyber Torres. Willie Calhoun walked to load the bases and LeMahieu singled to left, scoring Rizzo.

The teams have split the first two games of the three-game series.

Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole allowed four hits and two walks in 5 2/3 scoreless innings. He struck out four and hit a batter.

Toronto right-hander Alek Manoah limited New York to two hits and one walk while striking out five in seven scoreless innings.

Cole survived a single and a double to start the first and a leadoff double and a hit batter in the second. Cole’s 0-2 pitch hit second baseman Santiago Espinal on the wrist. Espinal was replaced by Cavan Biggio. The initial diagnosis on Espinal was a bruised wrist.

Cole retired nine in a row before a two-walk in the fifth that was erased on a caught stealing.

Ron Marinaccio replaced Cole after a single and a walk with two outs in the sixth. He pitched around a stolen base and a walk before ending the threat on a flyout.

Marinaccio retired the first two batters in the seventh before being replaced by Clay Holmes, who ended the inning with a strikeout.

Bo Bichette led off the eighth with a double against Holmes. With two outs, Wandy Peralta replaced Holmes and ended the inning on a groundout.

Yimi Garcia replaced Manoah in the eighth and allowed Oswald Peraza’s two-out single and Volpe’s second home run of the season.

Peralta walked Alejandro Kirk to start the ninth and allowed Jansen’s first homer of the season. After a one-out single, Jimmy Cordero (1-0) replaced Peralta to finish the inning with a double-play grounder.

–Field Level Media