REIVER SANMARTIN

José Ramírez homered, doubled and drove in three runs, Owen Miller hit two home runs and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-3 for their fourth straight win.

Clayton Kershaw took a perfect game through seven innings for the Los Angeles Dodgers in his season debut before being pulled.

Charlie Morton allowed only two hits while pitching into the sixth inning while returning from a broken leg, Travis d’Arnaud drove in three runs and the Atlanta Braves held off the Cincinnati Reds 7-6.

The hangover from being officially eliminated from the playoffs last week threatened to blunt the significant strides the Cincinnati Reds made in 2021. One big gut check by rookie pitcher Reiver Sanmartin and one last big swing from Joey Votto instead sent the Reds into the offseason with something akin to momentum. Sanmartin wriggled out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam with minimal damage in the first inning, Votto capped off a resurgent campaign by blasting his 36th home run and the Reds topped Pittsburgh 6-3 on Sunday.