Nationals Clip Cardinals, Reds Roll Cubs

Nationals Clip Cardinals To Split Series

(Washington, DC) -- Denard Span's sac-fly in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the Nationals to a 3-2 win over the Cardinals in DC. Ian Desmond and Danny Espinosa drove in a run each in the seventh to tie the game for the Nats, who earned a split in the four-game set. Rafael Soriano picked up his first win in relief. Shelby Miller doubled in a run for the Redbirds, who have alternated wins and losses over their last six games. On the mound, Miller allowed four hits over five scoreless innings in a no-decision. Seth Maness suffered his first loss.

The Cardinals are headed to New York where they start a four-game series with the Mets tonight at Citi Field. Left-hander Tyler Lyons takes the hill for the Redbirds, taking the rotation spot of Joe Kelly. The Mets counter with Jenrry Mejia. First pitch is at 6:10.

Reds Roll Cubs

(Chicago, IL) -- Homer Bailey struck out eight over six scoreless innings to guide the Reds to an 8-2 win against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Bailey allowed six hits and three walks as he moved to 1-1. Jay Bruce and Zack Cozart each left the park for Cincinnati, which has won four of five. Cozart ended 3-for-5 with two runs and three RBI in the win.  Anthony Rizzo had two hits and a pair of walks in defeat. Ryan Sweeney went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI for Chicago, which has lost six of seven. Carlos Villanueva gave up five runs in under five innings for the loss.

The Cubs welcome the Arizona Diamondbacks to the Friendly Confines this evening for the start of a four-game series. Chicago sends Travis Wood to the mound searching for his first win after two defeats. The D'backs counter with Bronson Arroyo. First pitch is set for 7:05.

White Sox Rout Rangers To Avoid Sweep

(Arlington, TX) -- Marcus Semien went 4-for-6 with four RBI and two runs scored to lead the White Sox to a 16-2 rout of the Rangers in Arlington. Jose Abreu added a two-run homer and drove in three, while Jordan Danks also hit a two-run blast for Chicago, which snapped a four-game losing streak. Dayan Viciedo went 3-for-5 with a solo homer, two RBI and three runs scored in the lopsided victory. Erik Johnson gave up two runs, one earned, on a hit and five walks in five innings of work for his first win. Shin-Soo Choo plated a run and Elvis Andrus scored on a wild pitch for the Rangers, who had won their previous five.  Robbie Ross was rocked for seven runs, four earned, in 5 1/3 frames as he fell to 1-1.

The White Sox are in Detroit to start a four-game series with the Tigers tonight at Comerica Park. John Danks looks to push his record to 2-0 for Chicago. The Tigers counter with Anibal Sanchez, who is in search of his first win. First pitch is set for 6:08.

Mets Edge Braves In 14 Innings

(Flushing, NY) -- Curtis Granderson drove in the winning run on a sac-fly in the bottom of the 14th inning as the Mets edged the Braves 4-3 to avoid a three-game sweep at Citi Field. David Wright went 4-for-6 with an RBI and a run scored, while Lucas Duda also plated a run and scored for the Mets, who evened their record at 9-9. Jose Valverde picked up his first win. B.J. Upton and Freddie Freeman doubled in a run each during a three-run fifth inning for Atlanta, which lost for just the second time in nine games. Jason Heyward finished 3-for-6 with a run scored in defeat. Gus Schlosser suffered the loss.

Phillies Beat Rockies In Shootout

(Denver, CO) -- The Phillies scored seven runs in the sixth inning or later to pull out a 10-9 victory in the finale of a three-game set against the Rockies at Coors Field. Philadelphia avoided the sweep behind Ryan Howard going 4-for-5 with a home run, three RBI and three runs scored. Jimmy Rollins also sent one out of the park with three hits, two RBI and two runs scored. Reliever Jacob Diekman picked up his second win and Jonathan Papelbon nailed down his fifth save. The Phils are 8-10. Justin Morneau hit a two-run home run on his way to five RBI, while Troy Tulowitzki got on base in all five at bats with three hits and two walks. Matt Belisle dropped to 0-and-2 as Colorado fell to 10-10.  

Giants Hold Off Padres

(San Diego, CA) -- The Giants scored two in the first inning and two in the second as they held on for a 4-3 win to avoid getting swept by the Padres at Petco Park.  Buster Posey smacked a two-run homer to get the scoring started and Angel Pagan had a two-run single. Tim Lincecum grabbed his first win of the season striking out seven and allowing three runs in six innings. Sergio Romo closed out the game for his fifth save for San Francisco, which moved to 11-8. Nick Hundley hit his first home run of the season, while Chase Headley had two RBI in the loss. Robbie Erlin took his second loss despite settling down and tossing four scoreless innings after the first two. San Diego is 9-10.

Brewers Clip Pirates In 14 Innings

(Pittsburgh, PA) -- Khris Davis hit a go-ahead solo homer in the top of the 14th inning as the Brewers clipped the Pirates 3-2 at PNC Park. Ryan Braun hit a solo shot in the ninth to tie the game and Mark Reynolds belted a solo homer in the eighth for Milwaukee, which took three-of-four in the series and leads the majors at 14-and-5.  Zach Duke pitched two scoreless innings for the win. Francisco Rodriguez closed it out for his seventh save. Neil Walker went deep for the Bucs, who have gone 2-and-8 since a 6-and-3 start to the season. Jason Grilli blew his third save and Jeanmar Gomez suffered the loss.

Dodgers Down D'backs In Rubber Match

(Los Angeles, CA) -- Yasiel Puig belted a three-run homer during a four-run sixth inning as the Dodgers downed the Diamondbacks 4-1 in the rubber match of a weekend series at Chavez Ravine.  Carl Crawford tripled in a run and scored for the Dodgers, who are 7-1 against the D'backs this season and 12-7 overall. Jamey Wright picked up the win in relief, while Kenley Jansen struck out the side in the ninth for his seventh save. Eric Chavez doubled in the lone run in the seventh for Arizona, which has lost eight-of-nine and is a MLB-worst 5-16 on the season. Josh Collmenter gave up all four runs in six frames as he fell to 0-2.

Tigers Top Angels

(Detroit, MI) -- Nick Castellanos singled in the winning run during the bottom of the sixth inning to help the Tigers to a 2-1 win over the Angels at Comerica Park. Torii Hunter and former Halo Andrew Romine each had two hits for Detroit, which took two of three in the series. Rick Porcello allowed the one run in seven innings for his second win. Joe Nathan locked up his third save. Hector Santiago struck out seven and allowed two unearned runs in five-and-two-thirds frames for the loss. Howie Kendrick was 3-for-4 with the lone RBI for Los Angeles, which has lost four of six.

Yankees Rally By Rays

(St. Petersburg, FL) -- A Dean Anna walk helped the Yankees rally for four runs in the top of the 12th inning in a 5-1 win over the Rays at Tropicana Field.  Carlos Beltran knocked in two runs with a single, and Alfonso Soriano singled in Anna one batter later. Preston Claiborne picked up his first career win in relief. New York earned a split of the four-game series. Matt Joyce drove in the lone run for Tampa Bay, which has lost five of seven.  Heath Bell took the loss.

Twins Avoid Sweep In KC

(Kansas City, MO) -- Trevor Plouffe went 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored as the Twins topped the Royals 8-3 to avoid a three-game sweep at Kauffman Stadium. Josmil Pinto homered and scored twice, while Kurt Suzuki had two hits and drove in two for Minnesota, which evened its record at 9-9. Phil Hughes permitted three runs over six innings as he improved to 1-1. Alcides Escobar hit a two-run homer for the Royals, who had a five-game winning streak snapped.  Yordano Ventura yielded four runs in four frames to suffer the loss and fall to 1-1.

A's Sweep Astros

(Oakland, CA  -- Josh Donaldson was 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI to carry the Athletics to a 4-1 victory and a three-game sweep of the Astros at the O.co Coliseum. Jesse Chavez earned his first win of the season tossing six inning of one-run ball with six strikeouts. Luke Gregerson nailed down his third save with a perfect ninth. The A's are 13-5 winning seven of eight. Marwin Gonzalez hit a solo homer for Houston. Brad Peacock dropped to 0-and-2 giving up two runs in five innings. The Astros fell to 5-14.

Red Sox Storm Back To Top O's

(Boston, MA) -- The Red Sox rallied from five down to score a 6-5 walk-off win over the Orioles at Fenway Park. Dustin Pedroia scored the winning run on a throwing error by left fielder David Lough in the ninth to send Boston to its fourth win in five games. Jonny Gomes lifted a three-run homer while Edward Mujica recorded the win in relief. Nelson Cruz hit a solo homer while Adam Jones went 4-for-5 with an RBI to help Baltimore to a five-run lead. The O's committed three errors which led to three unearned runs. Brian Matusz was charged with the loss as the Birds dropped a second straight after a three-game win streak.

Marlins Sweep M's

(Miami, FL) -- Adeiny Hechavarria drove in the go-ahead run on a sac-fly in the eighth inning, as the Marlins completed a three-game sweep of the Mariners with a 3-2 win in Miami. Garrett Jones plated the tying run in the eighth for the Fish, who have won four-of-five since an eight-game losing streak. Mike Dunn picked up his first win and Steve Cishek earned his third save. Justin Smoak and Dustin Ackley both knocked in a run for Seattle, which has dropped six straight. Tom Wilhelmsen suffered his first loss.

Sunday, April 20 Scoreboard

MLB National League

New York Mets 4, Atlanta Braves 3 (14th)

Washington Nationals 3, St. Louis Cardinals 2

Milwaukee Brewers 3, Pittsburgh Pirates 2 (14th)

Cincinnati Reds 8, Chicago Cubs 2

Philadelphia Phillies 10, Colorado Rockies 9

San Francisco Giants 4, San Diego Padres 3

Los Angeles Dodgers 4, Arizona Diamondbacks 1

MLB American League

Cleveland Indians 6, Toronto Blue Jays 4

Detroit Tigers 2, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 1

New York Yankees 5, Tampa Bay Rays 1 (12th)

Minnesota Twins 8, Kansas City Royals 3

Chicago White Sox 16, Texas Rangers 2

Oakland Athletics 4, Houston Astros 1

Boston Red Sox 6, Baltimore Orioles 5

MLB Interleague

Miami Marlins 3, Seattle Mariners 2

Monday, April 21 Schedule (All Times Central)

MLB National League

6:05 p.m. - Cincinnati Reds at Pittsburgh Pirates

6:10 p.m. - St. Louis Cardinals at New York Mets

6:10 p.m. - Miami Marlins at Atlanta Braves

7:05 p.m. - Arizona Diamondbacks at Chicago Cubs

7:10 p.m. - San Diego Padres at Milwaukee Brewers

7:40 p.m. - San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies

9:10 p.m. - Philadelphia Phillies at Los Angeles Dodgers

MLB American League

10:05 a.m. - Baltimore Orioles at Boston Red Sox

6:05 p.m. - Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Indians

6:08 p.m. - Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers

9:05 p.m. - Texas Rangers at Oakland Athletics

9:10 p.m. - Houston Astros at Seattle Mariners

MLB Interleague

6:05 p.m. - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Washington Nationals