Jackson Merrill knocks in run in Padres’ 3-1 win

Walker knocked a base hit and scored a run in a five-run second inning for the Cardinals. He then took Seth Halvorsen deep for a two-run homer in the fourth to extend the St. Louis lead. Walker later added a double in the eighth for his third hit. The 24-year-old slugger is hitting .288/.345/.505 with 28 homers, 88 runs scored, 99 RBI, and 18 steals across 577 plate appearances.

Saggese had his best career day at the plate so far, starting with a solo homer off Eric Lauer in the second inning. After driving in a run on a sacrifice fly in the third inning, he went yard again in the fifth for a solo shot off Alex Vesia. Saggese then drew a walk and scored a third run in the eighth. The 24-year-old infielder was making his second start since he was recalled from Triple-A Memphis following injuries to Blaze Jordan and JJ Wetherholt.

With the bases loaded in the third inning, Betts put the Dodgers on the board with a bases-clearing double. He doubled again in the fifth to collect his fourth RBI before drawing a pair of walks. The 33-year-old outfielder is slashing .242/.304/.411 with 16 homers, 52 runs scored, and 51 RBI across 428 plate appearances.

McGreevy tossed two scoreless innings before the Dodgers got to him for three runs in the third, with all three runs scoring on a bases-clearing double by Mookie Betts. After a clean fourth inning, McGreevy gave up a fourth run on three hits in the fifth. He’d end his day after five at 90 pitches with four strikeouts and in line for a win. The 26-year-old right-hander will take a 3.97 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and a 102/40 K/BB ratio across 147 1/3 innings into a start against the Rockies in Colorado on Sunday.

Lauer stranded a runner in the first inning, then gave up back-to-back solo homers to Thomas Saggese and Ramón Urías in the second. The Cardinals piled on five more runs on five hits, a walk, and a hit batter in the third inning. Lauer wouldn’t make it out for the fourth, ending his day at 63 pitches. He struck out two. The 31-year-old left-hander will look to bounce back when he takes a 5.23 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, and a 72/35 K/BB ratio across 108 1/3 innings into a start against the Nationals in Los Angeles on Sunday.

Montes’s homer off Wyatt Olds in the fifth was only out of 11 ballparks, but it was a legitimate blast, traveling 407 feet to center. It’s obviously his first in the majors, but it’s the 39th he’s hit on the year. The Mariners had Montes DH his debut, even though reports suggest he’s a better option in right field than Dominic Canzone. He’ll probably take a seat in favor of Victor Robles with the Red Sox throwing left-hander Patrick Sandoval in Wednesday’s game.

Woo had great velocity again tonight, averaging 97.1 mph with his fastball and topping out at 98.8 mph. His four highest average fastball velocities of the season have all come in his last four starts, even as the third of those was pushed back by a shoulder issue. The win tonight makes Woo 10-9 with a 4.25 ERA. He has a favorable start at home against the A’s coming up on Sunday.

The Mariners certainly weren’t intending to use Muñoz after taking a 9-4 lead into the ninth, but the Red Sox scored twice to force them to make the move. Muñoz got four outs in Monday’s loss, and working two straight days probably takes him out of play for Wednesday, even if he only threw four pitches tonight. Then again, while the Mariners haven’t used him three straight days this year, they did do it once last September; it’s something they’d only consider when they’re as desperate as they are right now.

Paez gave up runs each inning of his spot start in place of Sonny Gray and threw 87 pitches to get his 11 outs. He’ll almost surely head back to Triple-A on Wednesday.

Jones put the Yankees on the board early, taking Grayson Rodriguez deep for a two-run blast in the first inning. He later drew a walk and stole second in the sixth before walking again and scoring a run in the eighth. The 25-year-old slugger has homered in back-to-back games and is up to nine with nine steals while hitting .245/.320/.451 across 206 plate appearances.