Cardinals Walk-Off Pirates, Cubs Sweep Brewers

Cardinals Walk-Off Pirates To Win Fifth-Straight

(St. Louis, MO) -- Peter Bourjos drove in the only run of the game with a walkoff single in the ninth inning as the Cardinals beat the Pirates 1-0 from Busch Stadium for the three-game sweep.  Bourjos and John Jay both went 2-for-3 in the victory. Trevor Rosenthal picked up the win in relief to jump to 2-and-6.  Shelby Miller threw seven scoreless innings of three-hit ball for the Cardinals, who have won five straight. Pirates closer Mark Melancon was saddled with the loss after giving up the run in his second inning of relief. Neil Walker went 3-for-3 with a double for the Bucs, who have lost four in-a-row.

Cardinals starting pitcher Michael Wacha will be back on the mound tonight as St. Louis begins a four-game series at the Milwaukee Brewers. He is making his return after going down with shoulder stress to his right pitching arm. Wacha has been out since June 17.

Cubs Sweep Brewers

(Chicago, IL) -- Chris Valaika clubbed a two-run homer as the Cubs cruised past the Brewers 6-2 to sweep the three-game series at Wrigley Field. Jorge Soler had a two-run double during a four-run third inning for the Northsiders, who have won five of seven. Welington Castillo and Logan Watkins both went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored in the victory.  Kyle Hendricks tossed five-and-two-thirds innings of two-run ball as he moved to 6-1. Logan Schafer and Lyle Overbay plated a run each for Milwaukee, which has lost eight straight to fall three games behind the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals. Matt Garza gave up six runs in three frames in his return to the mound as he fell to 7-8. He was making his first start since August 3rd due to a strained left oblique.

The Cubs may be without shortstop Starlin Castro for the rest of the season. The 24-year-old has a high left ankle sprain. He was hurt on Tuesday while sliding into home during the first inning. X-rays were negative, and an MRI showed no ligament damage.

Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks is the National League Rookie of the Month for August. Hendricks was 4-0 during the month while the Cubs won all six of his starts. Hendricks led all qualifying NL rookies with a 1.69 ERA.  

Twins Hammer White Sox

(Minneapolis, MN) -- Kennys Vargas blasted a two-run homer and totaled three RBI to guide the Twins to an 11-4 win over the White Sox at Target Field.  Eduardo Nunez went 4-for-6 with two RBI, and Eduardo Escobar batted in a pair of runs for Minnesota, which has won two of three. Trevor May struck out six in five frames to pick up his first career win. John Danks got rocked for seven runs in 4 2/3 innings to fall to 9-10 for Chicago, which had won three of four entering the game. Dayan Viciedo drove in three runs, including a two-run homer, in the loss.

Braves' Offense Breaks Out To Beat Phillies

(Atlanta, GA) -- Christian Bethancourt had three hits and drove in two in his return to the big leagues as the slumping Braves busted out for a 7-4 win over the Phillies from Turner Field.  Bethancourt, who was recalled from Triple-A on Tuesday, also scored twice. B.J. Upton added a two-run homer in a three-run second inning that ended a 25-inning scoreless streak. Ervin Santana went six innings, allowing four runs to improve to 14-7. Craig Kimbrel shut the door for his major league-leading 42nd save. Mario Hollands took the loss in relief of starter David Buchanan to fall to 2-2. Grady Sizemore connected for his third home run of the season, and Ben Revere added three hits as the Phils could not complete the three-game sweep.

Nationals Nip Dodgers In 14 Innings

(Los Angeles, CA) -- Adam LaRoche plated the go-ahead run in the top of the 14th inning and Asdrubal Cabrera followed with a two-run homer, as the Nationals nipped the Dodgers 8-5 in LA. LaRoche had a game-tying two-run blast in the ninth and drove in five runs total for Washington, which took two of three in the series. Blake Treinen earned the win. Justin Turner and Carl Crawford both hit two-run homers for the Dodgers, who have dropped four of six but remain two games ahead of the Giants for first place in the NL West. Crawford's long ball tied the game at five in the bottom of the 12 after the Nats took a 5-3 lead in the top of the frame. Kevin Correia suffered the loss.

Rockies Rough Up Giants For Series Win

(Denver, CO) -- Nolan Arenado clubbed a three-run homer and Corey Dickerson hit a pair of solo shots as the Rockies roughed up the Giants 9-2 at Coors Field.  Michael McKenry also went deep and Josh Rutledge had a two-run triple. Christian Bergman navigated through six innings of two-run ball to improve to 2-2 for the Rockies, who took two of three in the series. Buster Posey plated both runs for San Francisco, which had won six straight before running into Colorado. Ryan Vogelsong was rocked for eight runs in five-plus frames as he fell to 8-10 with the loss.

Mets Edge Marlins In Rubber Match

(Miami, FL) -- Travis d'Arnaud and Dilson Herrera plated a run each in the eighth inning as the Mets held on for a 4-3 win over the Marlins in the rubber match of a three-game set in Miami. Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit a two-run homer in the fourth for New York, which has won four of its last six. Carlos Torres picked up the win and Jenrry Mejia notched his 23rd save. Giancarlo Stanton smacked a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth to pull the Fish within one. Casey McGehee and Christian Yelich also drove in a run each for the Marlins, who have dropped six of eight. Reliever Mike Dunn fell to 10-6 with the loss.

Diamondbacks Cruise Past Padres

(San Diego, CA) -- David Peralta tripled and drove in two as the Diamondbacks cruised past the Padres 6-1 at Petco Park. Chris Owings plated a run and scored, while Josh Collmenter helped his own cause with an RBI for Arizona. On the mound, Collmenter tossed seven innings of one-run ball to up his mark to 10-7. Daniel Hudson pitched a scoreless inning in his first appearance since June 2012. The 27-year-old is just the fourth player ever to return from two Tommy John surgeries in consecutive years. Seth Smith doubled in the lone run for the Friars. Andrew Cashner allowed four runs, two earned, in seven frames to fall to 2-7.

Mariners Edge Athletics In Rubber Match

(Oakland, CA) -- Kyle Seager and Corey Hart hit back-to-back home runs in the seventh inning to lift the Mariners past the Athletics 2-1 in the rubber match of a three-game series in Oakland. Felix Hernandez tossed eight innings of one-run, three-hit ball to up his mark to 14-5. Fernando Rodney closed it out for his 41st save. The M's have won three of four since a three-game skid. Jon Lester yielded the two homers over eight frames as he fell to 3-3 with Oakland and 13-10 overall.  Adam Dunn homered in the fourth for the A's, who have dropped six of their last seven but still lead the AL Wild Card race.

Yankees Dump Red Sox

(Bronx, NY) -- Brian McCann carried the Yankees offense as they defeated the Red Sox, 5-1, in the second of three from the Bronx. McCann went 4-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury each drove in a run, while Hiroki Kuroda earned his 10th win. Kuroda allowed one run over seven innings with eight strikeouts. New York ended a three-game losing streak and is four games behind the Detroit Tigers for the second wild card spot in the AL. Brock Holt had the only RBI for Boston. Anthony Ranaudo gave up three runs and didn't make it out of the sixth inning to take the loss. The Sox are 61-78.

Indians Blank Tigers

(Cleveland, OH) -- Danny Salazar stepped up pitching a complete-game shutout leading the Indians to a 7-0 win over the Tigers in the third of four games at Progressive Field. Salazar struck out nine and allowed eight hits as he picked up his sixth win. Cleveland had lost the first two in the series. Carlos Santana hit a two-run homer, while Jose Ramirez compiled three hits, two runs, an RBI and a stolen base. The Tribe is four games behind Detroit for the second wild card spot in the AL. Justin Verlander got lit up for six earned runs in 6 2/3 innings, falling to 12-12. Miguel Cabrera had two of the Tigers' eight hits.

Royals Earn Sweep Against Rangers

(Kansas City, MO) -- Alex Gordon launched a two-run home run to power the Royals to a 4-1 series-clinching win over the Rangers at Kauffman Stadium. Billy Butler doubled in a run for Kansas City, which holds a 1 1/2 game lead over Detroit in the AL Central following the sweep. Jason Vargas threw 6 2/3 innings of shutout ball to pick up the win, and Greg Holland closed it out for his 42nd save. Nick Tepesch got tagged for three earned runs in just under seven innings of work to fall to 4-9 as Texas dropped its fifth straight game. Ryan Rua went 2-for-4 and singled in the lone Rangers' run.

Orioles Blast Reds

(Baltimore, MD) -- Miguel Gonzalez tossed a four-hit shutout with eight strikeouts to power the Orioles to a 6-0 win over the Reds at Camden Yards. He moved to 8-7 while Chris Davis hit a two-run homer for Baltimore, which is 9 1/2 games up on the Yankees for first place in the American League East. Jonathan Schoop and David Lough also went deep for the O's. Dylan Axelrod allowed four runs in six innings for the loss. Cincinnati is 7 1/2 games back of the Brewers for the second Wild Card spot in the National League.

Wednesday, September 3 Scoreboard

MLB National League

Atlanta Braves 7, Philadelphia Phillies 4

St. Louis Cardinals 1, Pittsburgh Pirates 0

Washington Nationals 8, Los Angeles Dodgers 5 (14 inn)

Colorado Rockies 9, San Francisco Giants 2

New York Mets 4, Miami Marlins 3

Chicago Cubs 6, Milwaukee Brewers 2

Arizona Diamondbacks 6, San Diego Padres 1

MLB American League

Seattle Mariners 2, Oakland Athletics 1

New York Yankees 5, Boston Red Sox 1

Cleveland Indians 7, Detroit Tigers 0

Toronto Blue Jays 7, Tampa Bay Rays 4

Houston Astros 4, LA Angels of Anaheim 1

Minnesota Twins 11, Chicago White Sox 4

Kansas City Royals 4, Texas Rangers 1

MLB Interleague

Baltimore Orioles 6, Cincinnati Reds 0  

Thursday, September 4 Schedule (All Times Central)

MLB National League

7:10 p.m. - St. Louis Cardinals at Milwaukee Brewers

8:10 p.m. - Arizona Diamondbacks at San Diego Padres

MLB American League

6:05 p.m. - Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees

6:05 p.m. - Detroit Tigers at Cleveland Indians

6:10 p.m. - Toronto Blue Jays at Tampa Bay Rays

7:05 p.m. - Seattle Mariners at Texas Rangers

7:10 p.m. - LA Angels of Anaheim at Minnesota Twins

MLB Interleague

6:05 p.m. - Cincinnati Reds at Baltimore Orioles