Cubs Cruise To Win, Cardinals Fall To D'backs

Wood, Cubs Cruise Past D'backs

(Chicago, IL) -- Travis Wood clubbed a three-run homer and threw seven strong innings to lead the Cubs to a 5-1 win over the Diamondbacks in the opener of a four-game set at Wrigley Field. Wood struck out nine while giving up one run on six hits as he improved to 1-2. He also doubled in a run and homered, while Welington Castillo went 2-for-3 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored for the Northsiders, who won for just the second time in eight games. Mark Trumbo hit his Major League-leading seventh homer of the year for Arizona, which has lost three in-a-row and nine-of-10 overall. Bronson Arroyo allowed all five runs in five-and-a-third frames as he fell to 1-2.

The Cubs resume their four-game series with the Diamondbacks tonight at Wrigley Field. Chicago sends Jason Hammel and his 2-1 record to the mound. Arizona counters with Brandon McCarthy, who has struggled to an 0-and-3 record. First pitch is set for 7:05.

Mets Blank Cardinals Behind Mejia

(Flushing, NY) -- Jenrry Mejia tossed six-and-two-thirds innings of four-hit ball to power the Mets in a 2-0 win over the Cardinals at Citi Field. Mejia struck out seven and walked three to improve to 3-0. David Wright ripped an RBI single in the third and Travis d'Arnaud added an RBI single of his own in the sixth to back the outing. Kyle Farnsworth closed it out for his first save as New York won its fifth in seven games. Tyler Lyons gave up the two runs in six innings to suffer the loss in his first start of the season for St. Louis. Matt Carpenter, Allen Craig and Yadier Molina each managed two hits to account for all the offense for the Cards, who have lost three out of four.

The Cardinals continue their series with the Mets in New York tonight. St. Louis sends Adam Wainwright to the hill sporting a 3-1 record. The Mets counter with Dillon Gee, who is 1-0. First pitch from Citi Field is set for 6:10.

The Cardinals have announced that Craig Unger is taking over as the General Manager of the Memphis Redbirds, the team's Triple-A affiliate. Unger is a five-year veteran of the Cards front office. He has spent the last few months in Memphis helping with the ownership transition.

White Sox Rally Past Tigers

(Detroit, MI) -- The White Sox used a three-run seventh to down the Tigers 3-1 at Comerica Park. Jose Abreu doubled in a run and scored on a double by Dayan Viciedo. Alexei Ramirez then singled Viciedo in as Chicago won its second straight after a four-game slide. John Danks allowed a run over six-and-one-third innings to improve to 2-0 while Matt Lindstrom notched his second save. Torii Hunter was 2-for-4 and scored on Alex Avila's RBI groundout in the second for Detroit. Anibal Sanchez fell to 0-2 after allowing all three runs over 6 1/3 innings as the Tigers lost their fourth in seven games.

White Sox left-hander Chris Sale is heading to the 15-day disabled list. The Sox have announced he has a strained flexor tendon in his throwing arm. He threw a career-high 127 pitches in his last start. An MRI showed the ligament to be sound structurally.

The White Sox continue their four-game series with the Tigers in Detroit tonight. Chicago sends left-hander Charlie Leesman to the mound to make the start for Chris Sale. Detroit counters with ace Justin Verlander, who is 2-1 this year. First pitch from Comerica Park is at 6:08.

Pirates Edge Reds In Ninth

(Pittsburgh, PA) -- Neil Walker singled in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Pirates edged the Reds 6-5 in the opener of a four-game series at PNC Park. Ike Davis smacked a grand slam and Andrew McCutchen finished 3-for-3 with a game-tying solo homer in the eighth for the Bucs, who snapped a three-game skid. Jared Hughes was credited with the win. Brandon Phillips, Todd Frazier and Devin Mesoraco all had three hits, an RBI for Cincinnati, which has lost two-of-three after a three-game winning streak. J.J. Hoover fell to 1-2 with the loss.

Mattis Lifts Braves Past Marlins In 10th

(Atlanta, GA) -- Evan Gattis clubbed a walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning as the Braves edged the Marlins 4-2 in the first of three games at Turner Field.  Andrelton Simmons added a solo shot and Jason Heyward singled in the other run for the Braves, who have won eight of their last 10.  Anthony Varvaro picked up his first win. Garrett Jones went deep and Derek Dietrich doubled in a run for Miami, which was coming off a weekend sweep of Seattle at home. Arquimedes Caminero suffered his first career loss.

Giants Rolled By Rockies

(Denver, CO  -- Ryan Vogelsong could not get out of the second inning as the Rockies tagged the Giants starter for five runs in just 1 1/3 innings and ended with an 8-2 victory at Coors Field. Vogelsong also walked three and gave up six hits including three long balls for his first loss and decision of 2014. Colorado scored all their runs through the long ball as Nolan Arenado, Wilin Rosario and Charlie Blackmon went deep in the first two innings and Blackmon followed up with his second dinger in the eighth inning. Corey Dickerson also tagged a home run in the victory. Jorge De La Rosa grabbed his first win of the season with five innings of one-run ball.

Phillies Cruise Past Dodgers

(Los Angeles, CA) -- Cliff Lee tossed eight innings of four-hit ball with ten strikeouts to lead the Phillies in a 7-0 win over the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine.  Lee improved to 3-and-2 and lowered his ERA to 3.09.  Carlos Ruiz went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and four RBI while Ryan Howard also connected on a two-run shot. Philadelphia has won three out of five. Paul Maholm was tagged for five runs in as many innings as he fell to 0-2 for the Dodgers. Adrian Gonzalez, Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig each manged singles for Los Angeles, which had won three out of four.

Orioles Hold On To Beat Red Sox

(Boston, MA) -- The Orioles built a 6-0 lead and hung on to beat the Red Sox 7-6 in the Patriots' Day matinee at Fenway Park. Tommy Hunter got Mike Carp to ground out to end the game with the tying run on third base. Wei-Yin Chen improved to 3-and-1 with five innings of three-run ball and Hunter notched his fifth save. Steve Lombardozzi went 2-for-4 with an RBI as Baltimore earned a split of the four-game series. Clay Buchholz gave up six runs in less than three innings to take the loss.  David Ross and Mike Napoli homered for Boston in defeat.

Indians Snip Royals

(Cleveland, OH) -- Jason Kipnis' two-run home run in the sixth inning lifted the Indians to a 4-3 over the Royals in the opener of a four-game set at Progressive Field. Michael Brantley also connected for a two-run shot, while Zach McAllister improved to 3-0 with a quality start. John Axford nailed down his seventh save with a perfect ninth for Cleveland, which is 9-10. Omar Infante and Alcides Escobar each drove in a run in the loss. Jeremy Guthrie took his first "L" of the season giving up four runs and 10 hits in six-and-one-third innings. The Royals are 9-9.

Rangers Sink A's Late

(Oakland, CA) -- Donnie Murphy's RBI single in the eighth inning completed the Rangers comeback as they pulled out a 4-3 win against the Athletics in the first of three at O.co Coliseum. Kevin Kouzmanoff and Prince Fielder also had one-run singles, while Shin-Soo Choo hit a leadoff homer. Yu Darvish wasn't apart of the decision after giving up three runs in six innings. Neal Cotts picked up the win and Joakim Soria the save for Texas, which is 12-8. All three Oakland runs came in the second inning on a Brandon Moss solo shot and a two-run base knock from Coco Crisp. Sean Doolittle took the loss. Oakland is 13-6.

Astros Pummel Mariners

(Seattle, WA) -- The Astros pitching staff racked up 14 strikeouts and capitalized on miscues by Seattle to grab a 7-2 victory at Safeco Field. Dallas Keuchel grabbed his second win of the season after six innings of two-run ball while punching out eight Mariners in the process. Alex Presley grabbed three hits including a triple while Matt Dominguez and Marc Krauss went yard in the victory. The Astros bullpen threw three scoreless innings with six punch outs. Felix Hernandez lost his first outing of 2014, only being charged for two of the six runs through his seven-innings of work. Stefen Romero finished with two hits while Abraham Almonte drove in both runs for Seattle, which has lost seven consecutive games.

Angels Double Up Nationals

(Washington, DC) -- A four-run eighth gave the Angels a 4-2 win over the Nats in the opener of a three-game set at Nationals Park. Erick Aybar had an RBI single and a Raul Ibanez double scored three, but the runs were all unearned. Reliever Fernando Salas grabbed his first victory, while Ernesto Frieri nailed down his second save. Los Angeles is 9-10. Ian Desmond hit his fourth homer of the season in the loss. Reliever Tyler Clippard fell to 1-2 as Washington dipped to 11-9.

Monday, April 21 Scoreboard

MLB National League

Pittsburgh Pirates 6, Cincinnati Reds 5

New York Mets 2, St. Louis Cardinals 0

Atlanta Braves 4, Miami Marlins 2 (10 inn)

Chicago Cubs 5, Arizona Diamondbacks 1

Milwaukee Brewers 4, San Diego Padres 3

Colorado Rockies 8, San Francisco Giants 2

Philadelphia Phillies 7, Los Angeles Dodgers 0

MLB American League

Baltimore Orioles 7, Boston Red Sox 6

Cleveland Indians 4, Kansas City Royals 3

Chicago White Sox 3, Detroit Tigers 1

Texas Rangers 4, Oakland Athletics 3

Houston Astros 7, Seattle Mariners 2

MLB Interleague

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 4, Washington Nationals 2

Tuesday, April 22 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

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

6:07 p.m. - Baltimore Orioles at Toronto Blue Jays

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

6:10 p.m. - Minnesota Twins at Tampa Bay Rays

6:10 p.m. - New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox

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