WASHINGTON (AP) — Kyle Schwarber hit a game-ending homer in the ninth inning, helping the Washington Nationals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 1-0 on Friday night after Max Scherzer passed Cy Young on baseball’s career strikeouts list.

The lefty-batting Schwarber connected on a 2-1 pitch from left-hander Alex Young (0-3), sending a drive to right that traveled an estimated 463 feet for his first homer for Washington.

“Phenomenal,” Schwarber said. “That’s a moment I’m not going to forget.”

CHICAGO (AP) — Slumping slugger José Ramírez connected for a go-ahead, two-run homer off Lance Lynn in the sixth inning and the Cleveland Indians bounced back from being no-hit, beating the Chicago White Sox 4-2 on Thursday.

After Carlos Rodón just missed a perfect game Wednesday night, there was a different kind of tension this time as the benches emptied in the bottom of the first.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are ready to open the season in familiar fashion: with Mad Bum on the mound.

Madison Bumgarner was tabbed by manager Torey Lovullo to make his second straight opening day start for the Diamondbacks on Thursday at San Diego.

The 31-year-old four-time All-Star struggled last season — his first in Arizona — going 1-4 with a 6.48 ERA. He was 2-1 with a 6.35 ERA in three spring starts, including allowing six earned runs against Cincinnati on Friday.

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Minnesota Twins bench coach Mike Bell, the younger brother of Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell, died Friday of kidney cancer. He was 46.

At the request of Bell's family to take the field in his honor, the Twins said their exhibition game against Atlanta would be played as scheduled.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have uncertainty in their bullpen this spring and essentially every role is up for grabs.

Veteran right-hander Tyler Clippard is completely fine with that situation. After 14 years in the bullpen, he's done just about everything.

Atlanta manager Brian Snitker expects to approach key pinch-hit situations with renewed confidence this season as he looks at the Braves' newly bolstered bench.

More depth was added on Tuesday when the Braves finalized a $1 million, one-year contract with third baseman Jake Lamb that is not guaranteed. The signing adds another veteran bat to an already deep competition for bench spots in spring training.

NEW YORK (AP) — Jared Porter went from rising star to unemployed — literally overnight.

Just more than a month after joining the New York Mets as general manager, Porter was fired Tuesday for sending sexually explicit, uninvited text messages and images to a female reporter in 2016 when he was working for the Chicago Cubs in their front office.

PHOENIX (AP) — Mookie Betts will be making his first start at second base since 2014 on Thursday night when the Los Angeles Dodgers play the Arizona Diamondbacks.

A look at what’s happening around the majors today:

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Ketel Marte homered, doubled twice and singled as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the San Francisco Giants 6-5 on Friday night to snap a five-game losing streak.

Marte went deep in the first inning off Giants lefty Tyler Anderson. The Diamondbacks escaped a late jam and ended an eight-game losing streak on the road.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Trent Grisham of the San Diego Padres hit three home runs in a game for the first time in his career Saturday night against the Houston Astros.

Grisham launched a leadoff homer and added a three-run shot in the second inning, both off rookie Brandon Bielak. The outfielder hit a two-run drive in the seventh off Joe Biagini to give the Padres a 13-2 lead. The six RBIs were also a career high for Grisham.

DENVER (AP) — Starling Marte homered and drove in four runs as the Arizona Diamondbacks battered the Colorado Rockies 13-7 Wednesday in a Coors Field slugfest featuring 34 hits, but none by blistering Charlie Blackmon.

Blackmon began the game batting an astonishing .500 for the Rockies. He went 0 for 4, ending his hitting streak at 15 games, and his average dipped to .472.

Blackmon was on deck when Trevor Story, who doubled twice and singled, grounded into a game-ending double play.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Ketel Marte hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly off struggling Kirby Yates on Sunday, and Arizona rallied for four runs off San Diego’s vaunted bullpen to earn a 4-3 victory after the Diamondbacks' Torey Lovullo became the first manager to be ejected in the COVID-19 era.

The Padres had been MLB’s last undefeated team after St. Louis and Houston lost earlier in the day.

The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:

___

Cincinnati Reds infielder Matt Davidson tested positive for COVID-19 and went on the 10-day injured list one day after he started the opener as a DH.

A seventh-inning stretch without fans at Yankee Stadium was far from the oddest happening on the second day of summer exhibitions in the majors.

The first inning ended at Dodger Stadium without Los Angeles making a single out Sunday night, a game went to the 10th inning in Philadelphia even with the Orioles leading the Phillies 4-1, and the Yankees hit in the bottom of the ninth with a 6-0 lead over the Mets.

PHOENIX (AP) — Major League Baseball's COVID-19 testing sweep appears to be having some success even as large swaths of the United States continue to struggle with containing the fast-spreading virus.

MLB and the players' union released statistics Friday saying six of 10,548 samples were new positives in the week ending Thursday, a rate of 0.05%. In addition to five players, one staff member tested positive.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Baseball's two World Series teams canceled workouts Monday because of coronavirus testing delays that one executive worried could endanger the season.

The defending champion Washington Nationals and reigning American League champion Houston Astros called off training camp practices after not receiving test results from Friday. The St. Louis Cardinals also scrubbed their scheduled workout for similar reasons.

Before all the self-proclaimed purists forecasting the destruction of baseball strategy and the very sanctity of the sport as we know it go berserk bemoaning the inclusion of a designated hitter in the National League this season, remember this:

In a most remarkable October full of huge momentum swings, the pivotal blow that decided last year’s World Series was delivered by, yep, the NL DH.