White Sox hit 4 straight homers against Cardinals reliever in his debut

St. Louis Cardinals reliever Roel Ramirez set a record in his debut, but not the kind a pitcher wants.

The host Chicago White Sox tied a major-league mark with four consecutive home runs, all against Ramirez, and beat the Cardinals 7-2 on Sunday.

Ramirez is the first pitcher to allow four straight homers in his debut. Yoan Moncada, Yasmani Grandal, Jose Abreu and Eloy Jimenez connected during a six-run fifth inning.

“Clearly, it gets you on your heels,” Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said. “One of the reasons we liked Roel in spring training … was the fact that he was not afraid to go after guys. He’d get after it.”

Ramirez took the mound in the fifth with Chicago up 1-0. He struck out Luis Robert to start, but things went south. After two singles, a caught stealing and a walk, Moncada hit a three-run homer to right.

Grandal followed with a drive into the right-field seats, and Abreu and Jimenez each homered to left.

“It feels good every time that you hit a home run,” Moncada said via an interpreter. “But it feels better when you’re a part of history. … It’s definitely something special for all of us. I am very happy for it.”

Ramirez, a 25-year-old right-hander, is among players promoted by the Cardinals following a coronavirus outbreak that stalled St. Louis’ season for 2 ½ weeks.

“He got his first punchout today in the big leagues, which is pretty cool,” Shildt said. “I have every confidence he’s gonna go out and be aggressive when he gets an opportunity again.”

Dodgers 8, Angels 3: In Anaheim, catching prospect Keibert Ruiz homered in his first major-league at-bat, Corey Seager hit a three-run homer and the Dodgers swept the Freeway Series. Anthony Rendon homered for the fifth time in six games for the Angels.

Diamondbacks 5, Padres 4: Eduardo Escobar hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the eighth inning as host Arizona rallied past San Diego to complete the three-game sweep.

Yankees 4, Red Sox 2: J.A. Happ won in his return to the rotation after being skipped for a turn, Mike Ford drove in three runs and host New York beat Boston for the ninth straight time.

Rays sweep Jays: In Buffalo, N.Y., Willy Adames hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning and Tampa Bay beat the Blue Jays 7-5 to win both games completed Sunday. Earlier, in the finish of a game suspended Saturday night because of rain, Brandon Lowe hit a solo home run in the ninth to lift the Rays to a 3-2 win.

Philles 6, Mets 2: Andrew McCutchen didn’t start but hit a go-ahead, two-run home run for host Philadelphia.

Nationals 6, Orioles 5: Max Scherzer fanned 10 in seven innings, and visiting Washington scored on an error in the eighth.

Braves 4, Marlins 0: Nick Markakis drove in three runs, and five pitchers combined on a two-hitter for visiting Atlanta.

Indians 8, Tigers 5: Franmil Reyes hit two home runs as visiting Cleveland beat Detroit for the 20th straight time. Baltimore holds the mark with 23 consecutive wins over Kansas City in 1969-70. The Indians host Detroit for three games next weekend.

Astros 3, Mariners 2: Kyle Tucker hit a game-ending homer in the ninth inning as host Houston won its fourth straight game.

Twins 4, Royals 2: In Minneapolis, Max Kepler hit a two-run home run to support a strong start from Randy Dobnak.

Brewers 6, Cubs 5: Keston Hiura and Orlando Arcia homered, and visiting Milwaukee won its third straight against Chicago.

Rockies 10, Rangers 6: Jon Gray struck out seven in seven innings and was backed by 14 hits as host Colorado beat Texas.

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