Pirates Beat Cardinals, Cubs Blank Reds

Pirates Use Three-Run Eighth To Beat Cardinals

(Pittsburgh, PA) -- Pinch-hitter Ike Davis belted a go-ahead three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Pirates beat the Cardinals 5-2 in the middle of a three-game set at PNC Park. The Bucs suffered a pair of blows, however, as outfielder Andrew McCutchen and first baseman Pedro Alvarez both exited with injuries. Tony Watson got the win and improved to 9-1 despite giving up the lead in the seventh. Mark Melancon notched his 23rd save. Josh Harrison also went deep for the Bucs, who snapped a two-game skid. Jon Jay and Randal Grichuk plated a run each to tie the game in the seventh for St. Louis, which has dropped three of five. Seth Maness suffered the loss.

Cardinals outfielder Shane Robinson is on the 15-day disabled list with an injured left shoulder. It happened while sliding into second base during Monday's 3-2 win over the Pirates. Outfielder Randal Grichuk was recalled from Triple-A Memphis to take his spot on the roster.

The Cardinals and Pirates play the finale of their three-game series today at PNC Park. Adam Wainwright goes after win No. 16 as he opposes Pittsburgh's Jeff Locke, who is 5-3. First pitch is at 11:35 a.m. After today, the Cards come home to host the Cubs Friday.

The Cardinals are sending seven players to the Arizona Fall League. St. Louis will be represented on the Peoria Javelinas by pitcher Mitch Harris, Tyrell Jenkins, Chris Perry and Samuel Tuivailala, catcher Cody Stanley, infielder Jacob Wilson and outfielder Charlie Tilson in October.

Cubs Blank Reds

(Cincinnati, OH) -- Travis Wood was lights out for six frames as Chicago blanked the Reds 3-0 at the Great American Ballpark. Wood earned the win striking out five and Hector Rondon grabbed his 22nd save. Anthony Rizzo hit a solo shot before leaving in the eighth inning with a back problem. Arismendy Alcantara launched a two-run bomb for Chicago, which has won four straight. Johnny Cueto took the loss after 6 1/3 innings of three-run ball for the Reds. Todd Frazier, Zack Cozart and Skip Schumaker each singled in the loss. Cincinnati has lost eight of its last 10.

Last night's Cubs victory came at a price. Outfielder Ryan Sweeney and first baseman Anthony Rizzo each left with injuries. Sweeney departed in the second with a left hamstring injury. Rizzo was pulled as a precaution in the eighth with back stiffness.

Prior to last night's game, the Cubs reinstated shortstop Starlin Castro from the bereavement list. Castro left the team last Wednesday after the death of his cousin. To clear a spot on the roster, the Cubs optioned infielder Logan Watkins to Triple-A Iowa.

Indians Top White Sox In Extras

(Chicago, IL) -- Zach Walters hit a two-run homer in the tenth inning to give the Indians the lead and eventual 8-6 victory over the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. Mike Aviles and Jason Kipnis drove in a run each in the win and Carlos Santana recorded an RBI double. Bryan Shaw grabbed the win in relief as the Indians won their third straight. Alexei Ramirez hit a two-run bomb and drove in three in the loss while Avisail Garcia plated two runs. Jake Petricka took the loss after failing to record an out for Chicago, which has lost seven consecutive games.

Mets Clip Braves

(Flushing, NY) -- Juan Lagares two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth helped the Mets grab a 3-2 win against the Braves in the first of three at Citi Field.  Dillon Gee improved to 5-6 allowing two runs on six hits in 6 2/3 innings, while Jenrry Mejia worked around a hit in the closing frame for his 19th save. Ruben Tejada had an RBI single for New York, which has won two in-a-row. Justin Upton went 3-for-3 with an RBI and a walk in the loss. Alex Wood took his 10th defeat despite pitching seven innings of three-run ball with six strikeouts. The Braves have lost three straight.

Phillies Nip Nationals

(Philadelphia, PA) -- Carlos Ruiz drove in the go-ahead run on a sac-fly in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Phillies nipped the Nationals 4-3 in the second of three at Citizens Bank Park. Freddy Galvis broke a scoreless tie with a two-run homer in the fifth and Darrin Ruf added a solo shot in the sixth for the Phils, who have won three straight and five of their last six. Cole Hamels tossed seven-plus innings of three-run ball but did not factor in the decision. Ken Giles picked up the win and Jonathan Papelbon notched his 33rd save. Asdrubal Cabrera clubbed a game-tying solo homer in the eighth after Wilson Ramos and Kevin Frandsen plated a run each in the seventh for the Nats, who had won two in-a-row and 12 of 13 before this series. Tyler Clippard suffered the loss.

Dodgers Use Six-Run Fourth To Beat Diamondbacks

(Phoenix, AZ) -- Matt Kemp hit a two-run homer and six different players drove in a run in the fourth inning as the Dodgers defeated the Diamondbacks 9-5 in the first of two at Chase Field. Jacob Turner plated two while Dee Gordon had three hits and an RBI in LA's fourth win in five games. Roberto Hernandez tossed six innings of three-run ball to up his record to 8-9 on the year. Ender Inciarte knocked in three runs for the D'backs, who have dropped eight of 10. Trevor Cahill was tagged for eight runs, six earned, in three-and-a-third innings as he slipped to 3-9.

Padres Best Brewers

(San Diego, CA) -- Abraham Almonte homered and drove in two as the Padres beat the Brewers 4-1 in the second of three games at Petco Park. Yasmani Grandal and Jedd Gyorko also plated a run each for the Friars, who have won two of three since a three-game skid. Tyson Ross tossed 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball to even his record at 12-12. Scooter Gennett doubled in the lone run for Milwaukee, which had won its previous two. Jimmy Nelson allowed four runs, two earned, in five frames to fall to 2-5 with the loss.

Bumgarner's Stellar Outing Leads Giants Past Rockies

(San Francisco, CA) -- Madison Bumgarner took a perfect game into the eighth as the Giants blanked the Rockies 3-0 at AT&T Park. Justin Morneau doubled to lead off the inning, giving Colorado its lone hit of the game. Bumgarner improved to 15-9 going the distance and striking out 13. Buster Posey homered twice to account for all of San Francisco's offense. The Giants stopped a three-game losing streak.  Jorge De La Rosa allowed two runs over five-plus innings and fell to 13-9 for the Rockies. Colorado had won three straight.

Orioles Double Up Rays

(Baltimore, MD) -- Nelson Cruz went 2-for-4 with an RBI double as the Orioles topped the Rays 4-2 at Camden Yards. Caleb Joseph was also 2-for-4 and had a two-run single while Jonathan Schoop drove in a run. Brad Brach logged the win in relief and Zach Britton notched his 28th save. Baltimore has won two straight since a three-game slide to increase its AL East lead to seven games. Evan Longoria was 2-for-4 with two RBI for Tampa Bay while Grant Balfour suffered the loss in relief. The Rays have lost three of four.

Red Sox Rock Blue Jays In 11

(Toronto, Ontario) -- The Red Sox used a seven-run 11th inning to beat the Blue Jays 11-7 at Rogers Centre. Dustin Pedroia batted in two runs to start the 11th and Mike Napoli and Allen Craig both went deep to finish the scoring for the Sox. Pedroia also had a solo shot in the first and Junichi Tazawa picked up the win for Boston, which has won back-to-back games after losing eight straight. Munenori Kawasaki went 3-for-4 with an RBI-single and Jose Bautista belted a solo homer as Toronto dropped its third in-a-row. Casey Janssen fell to 3-2 with the loss.

Tigers Slow Down Yankees

(Detroit, MI) -- J.D. Martinez went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored as the Tigers topped the Yankees 5-2 in the opener of a three-game series at Comerica Park. Torii Hunter had two hits and drove in a run, while Nick Castellanos and Rajai Davis plated a run each for the Tigers, who have won three straight since a three-game slide. Rick Porcello pitched eight innings of two-run ball for the win as he improved to 15-8. Joe Nathan closed it out for his 28th save. Jacoby Ellsbury homered twice for New York, which had its five-game winning streak snapped.  Brandon McCarthy yielded five runs in 6 1/3frames as he fell to 5-3 with the Yankees and 8-13 overall.

Royals Walk Off Twins

(Kansas City, MO) -- Alex Gordon hit a walk-off, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Royals to a 2-1 win over the Twins in the opener of a three-game series at Kauffman Stadium. Gordon had two of the five hits as KC snapped a two-game losing streak. Reliever Wade Davis grabbed his seventh win.  Minnesota took a 1-0 lead in the top of the seventh on a RBI single by Joe Mauer. Closer Glen Perkins blew his fifth save after giving up the home run to Gordon and took his first loss of the season. The Twins have dropped three in-a-row.

Astros Double Up Athletics

(Houston, TX) -- Chris Carter blasted a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to push the Astros to a 4-2 win over the A's at Minute Maid Park.  Dexter Fowler cracked a solo shot in the fourth to help Houston snap its three-game losing streak. Josh Fields picked up the win in relief and Chad Qualls closed it out for his 15th save. Nate Freiman and Jonny Gomes each batted in a run for Oakland, which has lost two of three. Luke Gregerson took the loss after Jason Hammel struck out six in seven innings of one-run ball.

Mariners Blank Rangers

(Seattle, WA) -- James Paxton dominated for six-and-two-thirds innings to give the Mariners a 5-0 win over the Rangers at Safeco Field. Paxton allowed four hits to improve to 4-1 for Seattle, which has won four of its last five.  Robinson Cano hit a solo shot in the win while Endy Chavez added two RBI. Texas was held to just four hits in its third defeat in five games. Nick Martinez gave up all five runs in five innings for the loss.  Adrian Beltre collected two hits for Texas while Robinson Chirinos walked twice.

Angels Throttle Marlins

(Anaheim, CA) -- Albert Pujols went 3-for-4 with two RBI to help the Angels to an 8-2 victory over the Marlins in Anaheim. Mike Trout tallied a trio of hits with an RBI and Eferen Navarro drove in a pair of runs for the Halos, who had lost three of four entering this game. Matt Shoemaker struck out six in seven shutout innings to improve to 13-4. Nathan Eovaldi got rocked for six runs in 3 1/3 innings to fall to 6-9 for Miami, which has lost four of its last six. Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Ed Lucas each plated a run in defeat.

Tuesday, August 26 Scoreboard

MLB National League

Philadelphia Phillies 4, Washington Nationals 3

Pittsburgh Pirates 5, St. Louis Cardinals 2

New York Mets 3, Atlanta Braves 2

Chicago Cubs 3, Cincinnati Reds 0

Los Angeles Dodgers 9, Arizona Diamondbacks 5

San Diego Padres 4, Milwaukee Brewers 1

San Francisco Giants 3, Colorado Rockies 0

MLB American League

Baltimore Orioles 4, Tampa Bay Rays 2

Boston Red Sox 11, Toronto Blue Jays 7 (11 inn)

Detroit Tigers 5, New York Yankees 2

Cleveland Indians 8, Chicago White Sox 6 (10 inn)

Kansas City Royals 2, Minnesota Twins 1

Houston Astros 4, Oakland Athletics 2

Seattle Mariners 5, Texas Rangers 0

MLB Interleague

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 8, Miami Marlins 2

Wednesday, August 27 Schedule (All Times Central)

MLB National League

11:35 a.m. - St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates

6:05 p.m. - Washington Nationals at Philadelphia Phillies

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

6:10 p.m. - Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati Reds

8:10 p.m. - Milwaukee Brewers at San Diego Padres

8:40 p.m. - Los Angeles Dodgers at Arizona Diamondbacks

9:15 p.m. - Colorado Rockies at San Francisco Giants

MLB American League

2:40 p.m. - Texas Rangers at Seattle Mariners

6:05 p.m. - Tampa Bay Rays at Baltimore Orioles

6:07 p.m. - Boston Red Sox at Toronto Blue Jays

6:08 p.m. - New York Yankees at Detroit Tigers

7:10 p.m. - Cleveland Indians at Chicago White Sox

7:10 p.m. - Minnesota Twins at Kansas City Royals

7:10 p.m. - Oakland Athletics at Houston Astros

MLB Interleague

9:05 p.m. - Miami Marlins at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim