Pirates Edge Cubs, Cardinals Hold Off Reds

Pirates Edge Cubs

(Chicago, IL) -- Russell Martin's sac-fly in the eighth lifted the Pirates to a 7-6 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Pedro Alvarez and Travis Ishikawa each knocked in two runs while Andrew McCutchen was 2-for-3 with two walks and an RBI. Tony Watson notched the win in relief of Charlie Morton, who allowed five runs in six innings. Jason Grilli recorded his second save for Pittsburgh, which has won three out of four. Starlin Castro was 3-for-4 with two homers and four RBI for Chicago while Emilio Bonifacio went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a stolen base. Cubs manager Rick Renteria was ejected in the ninth for arguing balls and strikes. Pedro Strop suffered the loss in relief as the Cubbies dropped their third in four games.

The Cubs and Pirates continue their three-game series from Wrigley Field tonight. Jason Hammel takes the mound for the Cubbies sporting a 1-0 record.  Pittsburgh counters with left-hander Wandy Rodriguez. First pitch from the Friendly Confines is set for 7:05.

Cardinals Hold Off Reds

(St. Louis, MO) -- Yadier Molina went 3-for-5 with a solo homer as the Cardinals downed the Reds 7-5 at Busch Stadium. Kolten Wong and Matt Holliday each knocked in two runs for St. Louis while Lance Lynn allowed five runs in six innings and notched the win to move to 2-0. Trevor Rosenthal earned his third save as the Cards won their third in four games. Jay Bruce went 2-for-4 including a two-run triple while Ryan Ludwick knocked in a pair for Cincinnati.  Homer Bailey gave up four runs in five innings the start while Logan Ondrusek was charged with the loss. The Reds have lost five out of six.

The Redbirds wrap up their three-game series with the Reds this afternoon at Busch Stadium. St. Louis sends right-hander Shelby Miller to the hill as he looks to bounce back from his rough first start. Cincinnati counters with Mike Leake. First pitch is set for 12:45.

White Sox Slam Rockies

(Denver, CO) -- Avisail Garcia and Jose Abreu each blasted a pair of home runs to guide the White Sox to a 15-3 win over the Rockies in Denver. Abreu ended with five RBI and Garcia had four hits and three RBI. Marcus Semien was 4-for-5 with two runs and two RBI for Chicago, which improved to 4-4. Jose Quintana pitched seven innings of two-run ball for the win. Franklin Morales gave up six runs in just over six frames for the loss. Michael Cuddyer had a solo home run for Colorado, which slipped to 4-5.

The White Sox and Rockies conclude their three-game series from Coors Field in Denver this afternoon. Chicago sends right-hander Erik Johnson and his 0-1 record to the hill. Colorado counters with righty Juan Nicasio, who is 1-0. First pitch is slated for 2:10.

Braun's Three Homers Leads Brewers Past Phillies

(Philadelphia, PA) -- Ryan Braun hit three homers and drove in a career-high seven runs as the Brewers spoiled the Phillies home opener with a 10-4 win at Citizens Bank Park. Mark Reynolds and Scooter Gennett both had two hits and an RBI for Milwaukee, which improved to 5-and-2 with its fourth straight win.  Kyle Lohse tossed five innings of three-run ball to even his record at 1-1. Jimmy Rollins went 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Marlon Byrd and Cody Asche also plated a run each for the Phils, who slipped to 3-4. Kyle Kendrick was rocked for six runs, four earned, in five frames as he fell to 0-1 with the loss.

Giants Down Diamondbacks In Home Opener

(San Francisco, CA) -- Brandon Belt slugged a two-run homer in the first inning as the Giants went on to beat the Diamondbacks 7-3 in the home opener at AT&T Park.  Michael Morse and Brandon Crawford each added two-run singles for San Francisco, which has won five of its last six games. Tim Hudson pitched eight innings of three-run ball to move to 2-and-0 with the win. Trevor Cahill allowed five runs in less than four innings to fall to 0-and-3 for Arizona. Martin Prado went 3-for-4 and Miguel Montero and Gerardo Parra plated runs for the D'backs, who have lost five-of-six to fall to 2-8 overall.

Nationals Blank Marlins In DC

(Washington, DC) -- Gio Gonzalez tossed six innings of three-hit ball with five strikeouts to help the Nationals in a 5-0 win over the Marlins in DC.  Gonzalez improved to 2-and-0 as Anthony Rendon went 2-for-4 with three RBI. Adam LaRoche helped out with a 3-for-3 game with an RBI and two runs. Washington has won two straight. Miami managed just four hits while Henderson Alvarez took the loss and fell to 0-2. He allowed three runs, but just one earned, over five-and-two-thirds innings as the Fish lost their second straight since a three-game win streak.

Mets Blank Braves

(Atlanta, GA) -- Bartolo Colon blanked the Braves over seven innings to help the Mets in a 4-0 win at Turner Field. Colon struck out five and allowed six hits while improving to 1-1. Ruben Tejada went 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs for New York, which has won three out of four. Aaron Harang struck out nine over six innings of one-run ball for Atlanta, but fell to 1-1. Justin Upton went 2-for-4 in the loss as the Braves dropped a second straight since winning four in-a-row.

Orioles Rough Up Yankees

(Bronx, NY) -- Adam Jones, Delmon Young and Matt Wieters hit two-run homers to help power the Orioles to a 14-5 romp over the Yankees in the Bronx. Chris Davis drove in two runs for Baltimore, which banged out 20 hits in all to even the series at a game apiece. Wei-Yin Chen pitched five innings of four-run ball for the win. Ivan Nova was tagged for 10 hits and seven runs in less than four innings to fall to 1-1 with the loss. Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits and Alfonso Soriano and Kelly Johnson hit home runs for New York, which had 13 hits in defeat. The Yanks are now 4-4.

Rangers Outslug Red Sox

(Boston, MA) -- Robinson Chirinos went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and two RBI as the Rangers outbashed the Red Sox 10-7 at Fenway Park. Adrian Beltre went 2-for-3 with two RBI while Donnie Murphy and Prince Fielder also knocked in two each.  Martin Perez allowed four runs over 6 1/3 innings to improve to 1-and-0 as Texas evened its mark at 4-4. Felix Doubront was tagged for five runs in just 2 2/3 innings for Boston, falling to 1-1.  A.J. Pierzynski was 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs while Jackie Bradley Jr. had two hits and two RBI in defeat. The Sox fell to 3-5.

Blue Jays Take Down Astros

(Toronto, Ontario) -- Dioner Navarro went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI doubles as the Blue Jays landed a 5-2 win over the Astros at Rogers Centre. Melky Cabrera hit a two-run homer while Jose Bautista added a solo shot as Toronto won its second in three games. Mark Buehrle allowed a run over 5 1/3 innings to improve to 1-1 while Sergio Santos notched his third save by striking out the side in the ninth. Jose Altuve was 3-for-5 with an RBI for Houston, which has lost five out of six. Brett Oberholtzer gave up three runs in five-and-a-third innings to fall to 0-and-2.

Rays Nip Royals

(Kansas City, MO) -- James Loney singled in a run during the top of the ninth inning to lift the Rays to a 1-0 win over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium.  Chris Archer tossed seven scoreless innings in a no decision while Joel Peralta picked up the win. Grant Balfour notched his second save for Tampa Bay, which improved to 5-4. Norichika Aoki was 3-for-5 in the loss. Yordano Ventura struck out six in as many innings for the no decision.  Greg Holland suffered the loss. Kansas City is 3-4.

Mariners Drop Angels

(Seattle, WA) -- Corey Hart hit a pair of homers and knocked in four runs to guide the Mariners to a 5-3 win over the Angels in their home opener at Safeco Field. Justin Smoak was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI for Seattle, which is 5-2. James Paxton left early with a lat strain but tossed five-plus innings of three-run ball for the win. Fernando Rodney locked up his second save. Albert Pujols and David Freese went back-to-back with a two-run and solo homer for Los Angeles, which dropped to 3-5. Hector Santiago allowed four runs in 4 1/3 frames for the loss.

Dodgers Walk-Off On Tigers Miscue

(Los Angeles, CA) -- Rajai Davis misplayed a Carl Crawford double as the Dodgers defeated the Tigers 3-2 in 10 innings. Crawford finished with three hits while Dee Gordon hit his second career home run in the win.  Hanley Ramirez and Adrian Gonzalez each recorded a hit but the Dodgers struggled to hit with runners in scoring position, going 0-for-9. J.P. Howell picked up the win in relief while Dan Haren got a no-decision giving up one run over six innings of work. Max Scherzer was just as dominant for the Tigers, tossing seven innings of two-run ball and striking out eight. Joba Chamberlain got the loss in relief. Miguel Cabrera was hitless in his four at-bats while Victor Martinez and Austin Jackson each recorded a RBI.  

Tuesday, April 8 Scoreboard

MLB National League

Milwaukee Brewers 10, Philadelphia Phillies 4

San Francisco Giants 7, Arizona Diamondbacks 3

Washington Nationals 5, Miami Marlins 0

New York Mets 4, Atlanta Braves 0

Pittsburgh Pirates 7, Chicago Cubs 6

St. Louis Cardinals 7, Cincinnati Reds 5

MLB American League

Baltimore Orioles 14, New York Yankees 5

Texas Rangers 10, Boston Red Sox 7

Toronto Blue Jays 5, Houston Astros 2

Tampa Bay Rays 1, Kansas City Royals 0

Seattle Mariners 5, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 3

MLB Interleague

Cleveland Indians 8, San Diego Padres 6

Chicago White Sox 15, Colorado Rockies 3

Los Angeles Dodgers 3, Detroit Tigers 2 (10 innings)

Wednesday, April 9 Schedule (All Times Central)

MLB National League

12:45 p.m. - Cincinnati Reds at St. Louis Cardinals

6:05 p.m. - Miami Marlins at Washington Nationals

6:05 p.m. - Milwaukee Brewers at Philadelphia Phillies

6:10 p.m. - New York Mets at Atlanta Braves

7:05 p.m. - Pittsburgh Pirates at Chicago Cubs

9:15 p.m. - Arizona Diamondbacks at San Francisco Giants

MLB American League

12:10 p.m. - Oakland Athletics at Minnesota Twins

1:10 p.m. - Tampa Bay Rays at Kansas City Royals

3:05 p.m. - Texas Rangers at Boston Red Sox

6:05 p.m. - Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees

6:07 p.m. - Houston Astros at Toronto Blue Jays

9:10 p.m. - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Seattle Mariners

MLB Interleague

11:05 a.m. - San Diego Padres at Cleveland Indians

2:10 p.m. - Chicago White Sox at Colorado Rockies

9:10 p.m. - Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Dodgers