MLB report: Ronald Acuña Jr. hits 2 HRs as Atlanta beats Twins

Ronald Acuña Jr. hit two of Atlanta’s five homers — all in the first two innings — and power-hitting Atlanta beat Joe Ryan and the Minnesota Twins, 6-2, on Tuesday night.

Acuña sparked the barrage of long balls by hitting Ryan’s first pitch into Atlanta's bullpen in rightfield. Thanks to a productive June, Atlanta leads the majors with 146 homers. Beginning the night, the Los Angeles Dodgers were second with 124.

Atlanta hit five homers in its first 10 at-bats and has 54 this month, only two shy of the franchise record for any month set with 56 in June 2019.

Austin Riley hit a two-run shot and Sean Murphy also hit a homer in Atlanta's four-run first inning. Michael Harris II and Acuña added back-to-back shots in the second. It marked the first time Atlanta hit five homers in the first two innings since May 28, 2003, against Cincinnati.

Ryan (8-5), coming off a shutout in a 6-0 win over Boston on Thursday, had allowed only two homers in four June starts, and eight for the season.

Bryce Elder (6-1) overcame four walks to allow two runs in six innings, leaving his NL-leading ERA at 2.44.

Marlins 10, Red Sox 1: Bryan De La Cruz hit a two-run home run, and Jean Segura added a solo homer as visiting Miami totaled 19 hits.

Jazz Chisholm contributed three RBIs in his return from a 38-game absence with a right turf toe injury. Garrett Cooper added two RBIs, Jorge Soler had an RBI double, and Joey Wendle finished with four hits.

Luis Arraez, who entered the day with a .399 average, struck out for the first time since June 14. But he had a single and RBI double to extend his hitting streak to 10 games.

Phillies 5, Cubs1: Brandon Marsh homered twice and drove in three runs as visiting Philadelphia won its second straight.

Giants 3, Blue Jays 0: Thairo Estrada had a two-run double and scored a run, Alex Wood and three relievers combined on an eight-hitter for visiting San Francisco.

Cardinals 4, Astros 2: Jordan Montgomery (5-7) pitched six-hit ball into the seventh inning in his second straight win for host St. Louis. Paul DeJong homered for the Cardinals in their return after splitting two games against the Cubs in London over the weekend.

Pirates 9, Padres 4: Nick Gonzales homered and tripled in his first home game at PNC Park, and host Pittsburgh broke out of an offensive funk. The Pirates won for just the second time in 14 games behind Gonzales, the seventh overall pick in the 2020 draft who was called up during a brief road trip to Miami last week.

Rangers 8, Tigers 3: Ezequiel Duran’s solo home run into the second deck in left sparked a five-run eighth inning for host Texas.

...... — AP