Just Baseball Highlight Reel: Joe Dunand Homers in First Career At-Bat

Alex Rodriguez’s nephew Joe Dunand made his MLB debut for the Miami Marlins on Saturday and announced his presence in dramatic fashion.

We weren’t the only one’s watching, as uncle Alex Rodriguez was of course tuned in to watch his debut.

Here are the rest of the highlights from Saturday’s MLB action, including the remainder of what was a blowout win for the Marlins in Dunand’s debut.

Marlins 8, Padres 0

Pablo Lopez was fantastic once again for the Marlins, this time pitching eight scoreless innings to lower his season ERA to an MLB-best 1.00 mark.

Dunand’s homer gave Lopez his first bit of run support, then Garret Cooper extended that with an RBI double in the top of the fifth. The Marlins carried a 3-0 into the ninth inning, but they were far from done scoring. First it was Jazz Chisolm, who made his only hit of the day count.

Next it was Jorge Soler, who crushed a grand slam that put the Padres away for good.

Game 1: Pirates 2, Reds 9

The Cincinnati Reds won a game!

It was against the Pittsburgh Pirates, but still they won a game.

Tyler Stephenson had a big day for the Reds. The catcher drove in the first two runs of the game in the bottom of the first with a double. Pittsburgh scored a run in the third and then another in the sixth, tying the game up two runs apiece.

Stephenson once again broke up the tie in the bottom of the eighth with another double, racking up two more RBIs for four on the day.

Those were just the first two runs scored by the Reds in what was a seven-run rally that won them their fourth game of the season.

Game 2: Pirates 8, Reds 5

The Pittsburgh Pirates seemed to take losing the first game personally, because they came out like gangbusters in the second game of their doubleheader. The Pirates hit three home runs and scored four runs to jump out to a big lead in the first.

The Reds were able to score a few runs in the bottom of the first inning, but the Pirates extended their lead again in the fourth, as Ben Gamel capped a three-run rally with a homer.

Brandon Drury hit a three-run homer for the Reds, but the Pirates were still able to cruise to the eventual 8-5 win.

Game 1: Dodgers 7, Cubs 0

It was business as usual for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday. Clayton Kershaw pitched seven scoreless innings, scattering five hits while walking just one batter. Freddie Freeman and Justin Turner each had an RBI double and Trea Turner had an RBI hit as well.

However the offensive star of the day for the Dodgers was actually catcher Austin Barnes. Barnes went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and also hit his third home run of the season.

Game 2: Dodgers 6, Cubs 2

After losing the first game of the doubleheader 7-0, the Chicago Cubs were able to take a lead in the first inning of Game 2, but that lead was short-lived. Mookie Betts had a bases-clearing double that capped off a four-run rally in the top of the second inning and the Dodgers never looked back.

Willson Contreras drew the Cubs closer with solo home run in the fifth inning, but it was Betts that got the last laugh. The Dodgers star right fielder completed a five-RBI day when he smoked a two-run homer of his own in the ninth.

Game 1: Blue Jays 8, Guardians 3

The Toronto Blue Jays erupted in Game 1 of their doubleheader against the Cleveland Guardians, scoring four runs in the top of the second inning. Raimel Tapia drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single, then George Springer cleared the bases himself with a double.

That combination of Tapia and Springer came through again in the top of the fourth, as they extended the Blue Jays lead to 6-1 with a pair of RBI singles.

Toronto tacked on two more and would go on to beat the Guardians by a score of 8-3.

Game 2: Blue Jays 2, Guardians 8

After losing in blowout fashion in the first game, Cleveland returned the favor in the nightcap of their doubleheader. The Guardians racked up 11 hits and eight runs, scoring in all but two of their eight chances at the dish.

Franmil Reyes had a big game, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and his third homer of the season.

Athletics 0, Twins 1

Eight total hits and only one run scored. This game had a real shortage of offense.

The Minnesota Twins won thanks to Jorge Polanco, who provided the lone run of the game with his third home run of the season.

Tigers 2, Astros 3

Miguel Cabrera made some more history on Saturday, adding to his lengthy Hall of Fame resume. The 39-year-old hit the 600th double of his career, joining yet another exclusive club.

Cabrera’s double gave the Tigers an early two-run lead with the double, but that was all the offense the Tigers would muster. Jose Altuve cut into that lead in the bottom half of the third, crushing his fourth home run of the season.

Altuve would later tie the game, scoring a run off a Michael Brantley RBI triple in the bottom of the 8th. Kyle Tucker later drew a walk with the bases loaded to take the lead and the Astros went on to win their 17th game of the season.

White Sox 3, Red Sox 1

Starting pitchers Dylan Cease and Nick Pivetta each struck out eight batters, but it was Pivetta who was a bit better. The Red Sox hurler went six innings compared to Cease’s five and did not allow a single run. Cease on the other hand allowed an RBI double to Rafael Devers in the bottom of the fifth inning.

The Red Sox carried that 1-0 lead all the way into the ninth inning, but as typical for their season thus far, what can go wrong will go wrong. On Saturday, it was the Red Sox bullpen who dropped the ball.

Hansel Robles came on to save the game for Boston and immediately walked the leadoff batter. He then gave up a double and sac fly and suddenly the game was tied. Robles was able to induce a few groundouts to get out of the inning, but when Boston failed to score again in the bottom half, the game went to extras.

That is when Jose Abreu gave the White Sox their first lead of the game with an RBI double. He would then score on a single by Tim Anderson and Chicago completed the comeback 3-1 win.

Brewers 2, Braves 3

Ronald Acuna Jr. is so back.

The Braves 24-year-old superstar hit a home run in the bottom fifth inning, which is his second in as many games.

The home run did not come off of some slouch either, as Acuna took the reigning NL Cy Young Corbin Burnes deep. Acuna paid homage to LeBron James with his home run celebration too, showcasing why he is one of the most exciting players in the game.

Acuna’s bestie Ozzie Albies extended the Braves lead in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI single. Hunter Renfroe got that run back for the Brewers in the top of the seventh, hitting his sixth blast of the season.

The Brewers would never get closer then that though. Each team scored runs on RBI singles late, but the Braves never trailed and went on to win their 13th game of the season.

Cardinals 7, Giants 13

The Cardinals out-hit the Giants 14-to-9, yet San Francisco still beat them by six runs. That is because they won the home run battle 3-to-1. Wilmer Flores made the first one count in a big way, blasting a grand slam off former teammate Steven Matz.

Mauricio Dubon and Darin Ruf each homered for the Giants and by the seventh inning they were rocking a 9-4 lead. Dylan Carlson finally got his team on the homer board, but it was too little too late. Especially since the Giants would still go on to score four more runs.

Rockies 4, Diamondbacks 1

Through first seven innings, neither team could get anything going offensively, as the game remained scoreless until Christian Walker hit an RBI double for the Diamondbacks in the bottom of the eighth.

Walker’s double would only hold up for so long though, as Mark Melancon failed to lock down the save in the bottom of the ninth. Melancon allowed five hits and walked one, yielding four runs (3 ER) in his first blown save of the season.

Nationals 7, Angels 3

Say what you want about the Washington Nationals, but through the first month of the season, they currently have a top-10 offense in baseball. The Nationals have found a way to score runs, even with Juan Soto getting almost nothing to hit in the early goings.

Josh Bell and Yadiel Hernandez each homered in the first two innings, then a Maikel Franco two-run single put the Nats up 4-0.

The Angels turned it into a game in the fourth, hitting a pair of home runs themselves to cut Washington’s lead to one.

That is as close as the Angels would get. In the next half inning, Nelson Cruz got two of those runs back with one swing and the Nats cruised from there.

Rays 8, Mariners 2

One final lopsided affair of the day.

The Rays pretty much dominated this game, but Julio Rodriguez did make it a little interesting in the bottom of the fifth.

Rodriguez would score on an Adam Frazier single, but the Rays pitching staff would limit them to just one run until Abraham Toro hit a solo homer for Seattle in the bottom of the ninth.

Brandon Lowe had a big day for Tampa, hitting two home runs, but it was Manuel Margot who delivered the biggest blow in their rout over Seattle.

The Rays will look to complete a four-game sweep over the Mariners at 4:10 ET today. Standing in their way though is Seattle’s top pitching prospect George Kirby, who is set to make his MLB debut Sunday.