Cubs Walk Off Reds, Cardinals Host Brewers

Cubs Walk Off Reds

(Chicago, IL) -- Anthony Rizzo hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth lifting the Cubs to a 1-0 win against the Reds in the first of three from Wrigley Field. It was Rizzo's 31st long ball of the season and second hit of the night. Travis Wood tossed six shutout innings and reliever Hector Rondon earned his fourth victory. Chicago has won two of three. Pedro Villarreal gave up the homer to Rizzo to take the loss. Cincinnati was held to three hits as they fell for the third time in four games.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo was back in the lineup last night. It was Rizzo's first game since injuring his back and missing 18 games. Right fielder Jorge Soler also returned to the order. He was back after a three-day paternity leave.

Cardinals Host Brewers Tonight

(St. Louis, MO) -- After a day off Monday, the Cardinals resume their final homestand of the regular season with the first of three against the Brewers tonight at Busch Stadium. John Lackey puts his 13-9 mark up against Milwaukee's Wily Peralta, who is 16-10. First pitch on ESPN is at 7 p.m.

The Cardinals open play today with a three-and-a-half game lead atop the National League Central. The Cards have won three straight and are 83-67. The Pirates are second in the division at 79-70 with the Brewers five games back. St. Louis' magic number to clinch is ten.

Royals Rally Past White Sox

(Kansas City, MO) -- Lorenzo Cain legged out a walk-off infield single as the Royals rallied for a 4-3 win over the White Sox at Kauffman Stadium. Jarrod Dyson tied the game after stealing third then scoring on a wild pitch earlier in the inning, bringing Kansas City back from a three-run deficit. Omar Infante and Alex Gordon added RBI singles as the Royals won their second in third games and sit two games ahead of the Mariners for the second wild card spot in the AL. James Shields allowed three runs over seven innings while Wade Davis logged the win. Avisail Garcia and Conor Gillaspie each singled in a run for Chicago, which has lost two straight. John Danks pitched six scoreless innings while Jake Petricka took the loss in relief.

Nationals Hold Off Braves

(Atlanta, GA) -- With the tying runs on base, B.J. Upton grounded out to shortstop in the bottom of the ninth as the Nationals held on for a 4-2 win against the Braves in the opener of a three-game set at Turner Field. Drew Storen got the final out for the save after Rafael Soriano was charged with two runs.  Stephen Strasburg earned his 12th win, throwing seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts. Wilson Ramos hit a solo home run for Washington, which reduced its magic number to clinch the NL East to two. Justin Upton and Christian Bethancourt each had an RBI in the defeat. Ervin Santana took the loss. Atlanta is 4 1/2 games behind the Pirates for the second wild card spot in the NL.

Marlins Edge Mets

(Flushing, NY) -- Jeff Mathis ripped an RBI single in the eighth to send the Marlins to a 6-5 win over the Mets at Citi Field. Adeiny Hechavarria tied the game with a two-run single earlier in the inning as Miami won its second straight since a four-game slide. Jordany Valdespin also drove in two while Jarred Cosart pitched six innings of two-run ball. Sam Dyson got the win in relief while Steve Cishek notched his 36th save. Jacob deGrom struck out the first eight hitters he faced to tie a MLB record for New York. He finished with 13 K's and gave up three runs over seven innings in a no-decision. Jeurys Familia took the loss while Wilmer Flores doubled in a pair. The Mets have lost three straight.

Dodgers Throttle Rockies

(Denver, CO) -- Matt Kemp hit a two-run homer as the Dodgers thrashed the Rockies 11-3 at Coors Field. Adrian Gonzalez was 2-for-5 with three RBI while Juan Uribe finished 3-for-4 and drove in a run. Roberto Hernandez allowed two runs in just 3 1/3 innings while Jamey Wright logged the win in relief. Los Angeles increased its NL West lead to four games over the Giants. Christian Bergman was tagged for six runs in five-plus innings and fell to 2-4 for Colorado. Wilin Rosario went 3-for-4 with a solo homer while Michael Cuddyer and Corey Dickerson each drove in a run. The Rockies have lost seven straight.

Trumbo's Slam Leads Diamondbacks Past Giants

(Phoenix, AZ) -- Mark Trumbo clubbed a grand slam and drove in five runs total to lead the Diamondbacks past the Giants 6-2 in the opener of a three-game series at Chase Field. A.J. Pollock tripled in the other run and scored twice for the D'backs, who have won three in-a-row since a seven-game skid. Wade Miley fired seven innings of one-run ball to up his record to 8-11. Brandon Crawford and Buster Posey plated a run each for San Francisco, which lost its third straight to fall four games behind the NL West-leading Dodgers. Ryan Vogelsong surrendered four runs in 5 2/3 frames as he dipped to 8-11.

Cashner, Padres Blank Phillies

(San Diego, CA) -- Andrew Cashner tossed his second complete game shutout of the season as the Padres blanked the Phillies 1-0 in the first of four at Petco Park. Cashner struck out seven while giving up just two hits and one walk as he improved his mark to 4-7. Rene Rivera scored the lone run on an error as the Friars snapped a two-game skid. Jerome Williams allowed an unearned run in 7 2/3 frames and fell to 3-2 with the loss. The Phils have dropped two in-a-row.

Rays Walk Off On Yankees

(St. Petersburg, FL) -- Ben Zobrist singled in the lone run of the game in the ninth to send the Rays to a 1-0 walk-off win over the Yankees at Tropicana Field. Zobrist finished 2-for-5 while Logan Forsythe crossed the plate for Tampa Bay. Joel Peralta earned the win in relief for the Rays, who have won three of four  Martin Prado was 2-for-4 for the Yankees while Chris Capuano threw six scoreless innings. Shawn Kelley took the loss in relief for New York, which has lost four of five and fallen six games out of a Wild Card spot.

Astros Clip Indians

(Houston, TX) -- Collin McHugh struck out seven and gave one unearned run in six-and-two-thirds innings to lead the Astros to a 3-1 win over the Indians at Minute Maid Park. McHugh improved to 10-and-9 with the win and Chad Qualls closed it out for his 18th save. Jose Altuve went 3-for-4 with a two-run single and Dexter Fowler plated the other run to help Houston to its fourth victory in its last six games. Zach McAllister took the tough loss after fanning six in six innings of two-run ball. Carlos Santana singled in the lone run in the first as Cleveland dropped its fourth straight. The Indians sit six games behind the Royals for the second AL Wild Card spot.

Tigers Top Twins

(Minneapolis, MN) -- Torii Hunter and Miguel Cabrera hit back-to-back homers in the top of the ninth inning to lift the Tigers to an 8-6 win over the Twins in first of three games at Target Field. Andrew Romine went 3-for-4 with a two-run single for Detroit, which won its fourth straight despite squandering a 6-0 lead. The Tigers remain a game-and-a-half up on the Royals for first place in the AL Central. J.D. Martinez also had three hits, an RBI and scored in the victory. Kyle Ryan picked up the win after Phil Coke blew the lead in the eighth inning. Joakim Soria closed it out for his 18th save. Oswaldo Arcia homered and Joe Mauer drove in four runs including a game-tying two-run single in the eighth for the Twins, who have dropped nine of 11  Casey Fien took the loss.

Angels Smoke Mariners

(Anaheim, CA) -- The Angels became the first team to clinch a spot in the MLB playoffs with an 8-1 victory over the Marlins to open a four-game series in Anaheim. Matt Shoemaker cruised into the eighth inning, striking out five and allowing one run before getting pulled with one out left. Shoemaker improved to 16-4. Albert Pujols drove in three runs, but was pulled in the third inning with a hamstring cramp. Hisashi Iwakuma didn't make it out of the fourth inning, giving up seven runs to take the loss. Humberto Quintero drove in Seattle's only run. The Mariners are two games out of the second wild card spot in the AL.

Monday, September 15 Scoreboard

MLB National League

Washington Nationals 4, Atlanta Braves 2

Miami Marlins 6, New York Mets 5

Chicago Cubs 1, Cincinnati Reds 0

Los Angeles Dodgers 11, Colorado Rockies 3

Arizona Diamondbacks 6, San Francisco Giants 2

San Diego Padres 1, Philadelphia Phillies 0

MLB American League

Baltimore Orioles 5, Toronto Blue Jays 2

Tampa Bay Rays 1, New York Yankees 0

Kansas City Royals 4, Chicago White Sox 3

Houston Astros 3, Cleveland Indians 1

Detroit Tigers 8, Minnesota Twins 6

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 8, Seattle Mariners 1

MLB Interleague

No Games Scheduled

Tuesday, September 16 Schedule (All Times Central)

MLB National League

6:10 p.m. - Washington Nationals at Atlanta Braves

6:10 p.m. - Miami Marlins at New York Mets

7:05 p.m. - Cincinnati Reds at Chicago Cubs

7:15 p.m. - Milwaukee Brewers at St. Louis Cardinals

7:40 p.m. - Los Angeles Dodgers at Colorado Rockies

8:40 p.m. - San Francisco Giants at Arizona Diamondbacks

9:10 p.m. - Philadelphia Phillies at San Diego Padres

MLB American League

6:05 p.m. - Toronto Blue Jays at Baltimore Orioles

6:10 p.m. - New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays

7:10 p.m. - Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals

7:10 p.m. - Cleveland Indians at Houston Astros

7:10 p.m. - Detroit Tigers at Minnesota Twins

9:05 p.m. - Seattle Mariners at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

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

MLB Interleague

6:05 p.m. - Boston Red Sox at Pittsburgh Pirates