Rays Blank Cardinals, Padres Roll Cubs

Cobb Deals Rays Past Cardinals

(St. Louis, MO) -- Alex Cobb struck out 10 in seven shutout innings as the Rays blanked the Cardinals 3-0 at Busch Stadium. Cobb improved to 6-6 with the win and Jake McGee notched his ninth save as Tampa won its seventh straight. Evan Longoria and Brandon Guyer drove in a run and Desmond Jennings went 3-for-5 in the victory. Lance Lynn fanned seven and allowed one earned run in 6 1/3 innings, but fell to 11-7 with the loss. The Cards have lost three in-a-row.

After a brief stint in the bullpen, the Cardinals announced that right-hander Shelby Miller will return to the starting rotation on Saturday against the Cubs. Concurrent with the move, Carlos Martinez will be shifted to the bullpen. Miller is 7-8 with a 4.29 ERA in 19 starts for St. Louis this season.

To make room for Kevin Siegrist on the main roster, the Cardinals optioned southpaw Nick Greenwood to Triple-A Memphis Wednesday. The 26-year-old Greenwood posted a 4.74 ERA in nine appearances for St. Louis this season.  

Padres Roll Cubs

(Chicago, IL) -- Tommy Medica went 3-for-5 with two RBI to help guide the Padres to an 8-3 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Yangervis Solarte tallied a pair of hits and drove in a run.  Chris Nelson and Carlos Quentin batted in a run as well for San Diego, which has won three of four. Ian Kennedy improved to 8-9 after striking out six in six innings. Tsuyoshi Wada got rocked for five runs in just four-plus frames of work as he took the loss for the Cubs, who have lost four of five since the All-Star break. Luis Valbuena hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the fourth to account for all of Chicago's runs.

Royals Edge White Sox In Ninth

(Chicago, IL) -- Mike Moustakas scored the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth inning when Tyler Flowers dropped the throw to the plate as the Royals edged the White Sox 2-1 at U.S. Cellular Field. Moustakas came around on Nori Aoki's bloop single to center. Eric Hosmer lofted a sac-fly in the first for Kansas City, which took the final two games of the three-game set. James Shields pitched seven innings of one-run ball, but Wade Davis got the win in relief and Greg Holland posted his 26th save. Zach Putnam took the loss for Chicago. Adam Dunn singled in the lone White Sox run in the bottom of the first.

Reynolds Homers Twice As Brewers Sweep Slumping Reds

(Milwaukee, WI) -- Mark Reynolds went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and a solo shot to power the Brewers past the Reds 5-1 at Miller Park. Carlos Gomez had two hits, including an RBI triple, as Milwaukee swept the three-game series. Kyle Lohse gave up just one run over six-and-two-thirds innings to improve to 11-4 on the season. Mike Leake was tagged for 11 hits and four runs in six frames to fall to 7-9 with the loss. Billy Hamilton lofted a sac-fly in the fifth to give Cincinnati a 1-0 lead. The Reds have lost all six games since the All-Star break to fall five-and-a-half back in the NL Central.

Rockies Hold Off Nationals

(Denver, CO) -- Jorge De La Rosa struck out 11 over seven-and-a-third innings of two-run ball and the Rockies held on to beat the Nationals 6-4 at Coors Field. The left-hander allowed eight hits and didn't walk a batter to improve to 11-6. Corey Dickerson went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Nolan Arenado drove in a run and scored twice for Colorado, which avoided a three-game sweep. Stephen Strasburg gave up four runs in 5 1/3 innings to slip to 7-8. Denard Span had an RBI single, and Jayson Werth and Anthony Rendon singled in runs in the ninth for Washington in the setback.

Pirates Down Dodgers In Rubber Match

(Pittsburgh, PA) -- Josh Harrison's two-run double capped a four-run first inning as the Pirates defeated the Dodgers 6-1 in the rubber match of a three-game set at PNC Park. Travis Snider went 2-for-3 with a homer and three runs scored, while Andrew McCutchen doubled in a run for the Bucs, who are 5-1 since the break. Francisco Liriano tossed seven innings of one-run ball to improve to 2-7 with his first win since May 30. Matt Kemp plated the lone run on a groundout in the sixth for LA, which has lost four of six to open the second half. Dan Haren allowed five runs in five frames as he fell to 8-8 with his fourth straight loss.

Giants Use Three-Run Ninth To Beat Phillies

(Philadelphia, PA) -- Hunter Pence broke a scoreless tie with a three-run double in the top of the ninth inning as the Giants edged the Phillies 3-1 at Citizens Bank Park. Madison Bumgarner tossed eight shutout innings as he improved to 12-7 on the year. Santiago Casilla gave up a run in the ninth but held on for his seventh save. The Giants are 5-1 since the break and now lead the Dodgers by two games in the NL West.  Marlon Byrd singled in the lone run in the bottom of the ninth for the Phils, who will try to avoid the four-game sweep on Thursday. Jonathan Papelbon suffered the loss.

Braves Dump Marlins

(Atlanta, GA) -- Freddie Freeman's three-run homer capped a four-run second inning as the Braves powered past the Marlins, 6-1, in the third of four from Turner Field. Justin Upton and Gerald Laird each drove in a run, while Ervin Santana struck out 10 and allowed one run in seven-and-one-third innings to improve to 9-6. Atlanta had lost three of its previous four. Christian Yelich had two hits and one RBI in the loss. Miami left eight players on base on its way to having its three-game winning streak snapped. Nathan Eovaldi fell to 5-6.

Yankees Edge Rangers In Rain Shortened Game

(Bronx, NY) -- Brett Gardner's third inning homer was the difference as the Yankees edged the Rangers 2-1 in a game called by rain in the fifth inning in the Bronx. Francisco Cervelli scored the tying run in the third on a balk for New York, which is 5-1 since the All-Star break. David Phelps allowed just one run on five hits in five frames as he improved to 5-4 with the win. Leonys Martin scored the lone run on a double play for Texas, which is 2-4 to open the second half. Yu Darvish fell to 9-6 with the tough-luck loss, giving up two runs in 4 1/3 frames before the rain came.

Blue Jays Bounce Red Sox

(Toronto, Ontario) -- Jose Bautista was 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI as the Blue Jays sunk the Red Sox, 6-4, from the Rogers Centre. After dropping the first game of the four-game series, Toronto has won the next two. Josh Thole also drove in two with two hits, while starter R.A. Dickey improved to 8-and-10 after allowing four runs in six inning of work. David Ortiz smacked a three-run homer, his 24th of the year in the defeat. Clay Buchholz dropped to 5-6, giving up four earned runs in six innings.

Athletics Hang On To Beat Astros

(Oakland, CA) -- Home Run Derby champion Yoenis Cespedes blasted two home runs and recorded five RBI to lead the Athletics to a 9-7 win over the Astros at O.co Coliseum. Jed Lowrie hit a solo shot and John Jaso went 3-for-3 and drove in two runs. Josh Reddick tallied a pair of hits and scored three times for Oakland, which has won three of five since the break. Jesse Chavez struck out seven in five-and-two-thirds innings to improve to 8-6 and Sean Doolittle came in and picked up the save. Brad Peacock got rocked for seven runs in just 3 2/3 innings as he fell to 3-7. Jon Singleton drove in a pair of runs and Marc Krauss and Chris Carter batted in a run as part of a five-run eighth inning.

Angels Edge Orioles To Avoid Sweep

(Anaheim, CA) -- Kole Calhoun walked in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Angels edged the Orioles 3-2 to avoid a three-game sweep in Anaheim. Erick Aybar doubled in the tying run the same frame and Albert Pujols singled in a run in the first for the Halos, who are 3-and-3 since the All-Star break. Jered Weaver tossed eight innings of two-run ball as he improved to 11-6. Huston Street pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save with LA and 25th overall. Nick Markakis and Adam Jones plated a run each for the O's, who are 3-3 to open the second half. Tommy Hunter suffered the loss.

Colon Perfect Into Seventh As Mets Hold Off Mariners

(Seattle, WA) -- Bartolo Colon took a perfect game into the seventh inning and the Mets held on to beat the Mariners 3-2 in Seattle. The 41-year-old set down the first 20 batters before Robinson Cano singled with two outs. Colon pitched seven-and-a-third innings of two-run ball to improve to 13-1 lifetime at Safeco Field. Jenrry Mejia pitched the ninth for his 13th save. Daniel Murphy and David Wright each had run-scoring hits for New York. Taijuan Walker took the loss.  Brad Miller had an RBI double for Seattle, just missing a potential game-tying three-run homer off the top of the wall.

Tigers Crush Diamondbacks In Rubber Match

(Phoenix, AZ) -- Miguel Cabrera put the game out of reach with a three-run homer in the eighth inning as the Tigers downed the Diamondbacks 11-5 to take the rubber match from Chase Field. Cabrera went 2-for-4 at the dish, and Austin Jackson collected two hits while driving in three. Anibal Sanchez improved to 7-and-4 after battling through six and-a-third innings and giving up five runs on 11 hits. Trevor Cahill fell to 1-7 after giving up seven runs, three of which were earned, in just four innings. Didi Gregorius connected for his third round tripper of the season, going 2-for-4 at the plate in the loss.

Wednesday, July 23 Scoreboard

MLB National League

Milwaukee Brewers 5, Cincinnati Reds 1

Colorado Rockies 6, Washington Nationals 4

Pittsburgh Pirates 6, Los Angeles Dodgers 1

San Francisco Giants 3, Philadelphia Phillies 1

Atlanta Braves 6, Miami Marlins 1

San Diego Padres 8, Chicago Cubs 3

MLB American League

Minnesota Twins 3, Cleveland Indians 1

Kansas City Royals 2, Chicago White Sox 1

New York Yankees 2, Texas Rangers 1 (5th)

Toronto Blue Jays 6, Boston Red Sox 4

Oakland Athletics 9, Houston Astros 7

LA Angels of Anaheim 3, Baltimore Orioles 2

MLB Interleague

New York Mets 3, Seattle Mariners 2

Detroit Tigers 11, Arizona Diamondbacks 5

Tampa Bay Rays 3, St. Louis Cardinals 0

Thursday, July 24 Schedule (All Times Central)

MLB National League

12:05 p.m. - San Francisco Giants at Philadelphia Phillies

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

7:05 p.m. - San Diego Padres at Chicago Cubs

7:10 p.m. - New York Mets at Milwaukee Brewers

MLB American League

11:37 a.m. - Boston Red Sox at Toronto Blue Jays

12:05 p.m. - Texas Rangers at New York Yankees

2:35 p.m. - Houston Astros at Oakland Athletics

7:10 p.m. - Chicago White Sox at Minnesota Twins

7:10 p.m. - Cleveland Indians at Kansas City Royals

9:05 p.m. - Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

9:10 p.m. - Baltimore Orioles at Seattle Mariners

MLB Interleague

No Games Scheduled