Australian rookie Travis Bazzana hit his first major league homer, a two-run shot as part of a four-run first inning, sending the Cleveland Guardians on their way to a 6-4 victory over the visiting Minnesota Twins on Friday night.

Bazzana, the first overall draft pick in 2024 by Cleveland, hammered a 427-foot drive to center field off Connor Prielipp (1-1). The 23-year-old also stole two bases and scored twice in his ninth game since being recalled from Triple-A Columbus on April 28.

Guardians starter Parker Messick (4-1) worked 5 2/3 innings, giving up one run on seven hits. The left-hander struck out seven and walked one, helping American League Central-leading Cleveland to its third consecutive victory.

Closer Cade Smith worked his third day in a row, picking up his 11th save in 13 opportunities, despite allowing Byron Buxton to single and score in the ninth.

Minnesota pulled within 4-3 in the seventh on Buxton’s 12th homer, a two-run blast against Matt Festa that scored Royce Lewis. He drew closer to Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees and Munetaka Murakami of the Chicago White Sox, who lead the league with 15 home runs.

Jose Ramirez extended the Guardians’ advantage to 5-3 in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI single off Eric Orze. Austin Hedges singled off the upper body of reliever Anthony Banda in the eighth, scoring Bazzana with another insurance run.

The Twins got on the board in the sixth when Austin Martin dropped a double into short right, then scored on Ryan Jeffers’ sharp single. Jeffers later attempted to come home on Luke Keaschall’s single, but was thrown out by center fielder Petey Halpin.

Bazzana’s home run made it 4-0 and scored Ramirez, who had reached on an error by second baseman Keaschall. Baserunner Angel Martinez grazed Keaschall, but the umpires ruled no impediment took place before the ball was fumbled.

Steven Kwan came home on the error and Martinez scored on Rhys Hoskins’ subsequent sacrifice fly, prompting three of the four runs charged to Prielipp to be unearned.

Prielipp struck out six over five innings, giving up four hits and two walks. The rookie lefty has allowed two or fewer earned runs in all four of his starts in the majors.

Steady rain fell throughout the first six innings, but play was not delayed.

–Field Level Media

Shakira Austin had 18 points and 11 rebounds and scored the game’s last four points as the visiting Washington Mystics defeated the expansion Toronto Tempo 68-65 in the season opener for both teams Friday night.

Sonia Citron led the Mystics with 26 points and Kiki Iriafen added 12 points and 16 rebounds.

Marina Mabrey scored 27 points and Brittney Sykes added 14 to lead the Tempo.

Toronto scored the first five points of the third quarter to close within 37-35. Citron made a jumper for Washington’s first points of the period, but Mabrey’s 3-pointer pulled the Tempo within one point.

Citron made consecutive 3-pointers during an 8-0 run that gave Washington 47-38 lead. Mabrey made a free throw to end the run and Sykes scored the Tempo’s final four points to trim the lead to 51-47 at the end of the third quarter.

Toronto’s Laura Juskiate scored on a put-back to start the fourth quarter and trim the lead to two before Iriafen scored the next three points to give the Mystics a 54-49 lead. Mabrey scored four points during an 8-2 run that gave Toronto a 57-56 lead.

Citron scored five points as Washington took a five-point lead, but Sabally made a layup and Juskaite added a 3-pointer to tie the score at 63 with 1:53 left. Iriafen made one free throw, but Mabrey made two to give the Tempo a 65-64 lead with 32 seconds remaining.

Austin canned two free throws with 18 seconds left to retake the lead. Sykes missed a 3-pointer and Austin added two more free throws with 11 seconds left to go up by three.

A Mabrey turnover on a jump ball ended things.

The score was tied three times and the lead changed hands twice before Georgia Amoore’s 3-pointer completed a 9-0 run that gave the Mystics a 13-6 lead.

Julie Allemand’s 3-pointer ended the run as well as a 4 1/2-minute scoring drought for the Tempo. Nyara Sabally added a layup to pull Toronto within two points before Iriafen’s layup with 32 seconds left gave Washington a 17-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Citron’s layup started the second-quarter scoring and pushed the lead to six points before Mabrey’s six straight free throws pulled the Tempo even at 19. The Mystics scored the next five points, but Mabrey and Sykes each made a basket and two free throws to help Toronto take a 27-26 lead.

The score was tied at 28 before Washington scored five straight points on its way to a 37-30 halftime lead.

–Field Level Media

Luke Raley hit a grand slam and three-run homer and Julio Rodriguez and Josh Naylor also went deep to power the visiting Seattle Mariners to a 12-8 victory against the Chicago White Sox on Friday.

Raley collected a career-high seven RBIs while Naylor was 3-for-5 with three RBIs. Randy Arozarena added three hits and Rodriguez had two.

Mariners right-hander Emerson Hancock withstood early trouble to pick up the victory and send the White Sox to their fourth loss in five games.

Chicago took a 1-0 lead in the first as Munetaka Murakami smacked a solo home run to the opposite field in left.

Murakami set a major league record by homering in his eighth successive series opener. He also matched New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge for the major league home run lead with 15.

Seattle answered in the second by capitalizing on Chicago starting pitcher Sean Burke’s wildness. Burke had a walk, wild pitch and two hit-by-pitches. Cole Young absorbed the second HBP, which forced in a run and forged a 1-1 tie.

Both teams rallied for four runs in the third, with the Mariners doing all their damage with two outs. Two singles and a walk brought Raley to the plate. He drilled an 0-2 fastball from Burke over the right-field wall for his first career grand slam.

Chicago chipped away with Sam Antonacci’s run-scoring single in the bottom half before Hancock walked a pair to load the bases. Colson Montgomery followed with a three-run double to left center on the first pitch.

Rodriguez led off the fifth with a solo shot to put the Mariners ahead 6-5. Raley (seventh inning) and Naylor (eighth) put the game away with three-run blasts against the Chicago bullpen.

Raley became the first Mariner with a grand slam and three-run shot in the same game since Nelson Cruz on July 23, 2016.

Hancock (3-1) spaced five runs and five hits over six innings with three walks and four strikeouts.

Burke, who entered with a streak of 14 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings, fell to 2-3 after allowing six runs and six hits in 4 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out four.

Antonacci had two hits for the White Sox. Jarred Kelenic and Tristan Peters drove in runs in the eighth. Randal Grichuk closed the scoring with a pinch-hit solo homer off the left field foul pole in the ninth.

–Field Level Media