Cardinals Down Reds, Padres Beat Cubs, MLB Scores

Two on and two out in the eighth inning with the heart of the Cincinnati Reds lineup due in a tie game, Adam Wainwright was at a crossroads. In a brief mound meeting that matched the brisk pace of the game in a 2-1 victory Sunday night, St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny showed faith in his ace.

"He just said, `You feel good?" Wainwright recalled. "I said `Yes sir.' He said `All right, this is your game, let's go."

Wainwright walked cleanup man Jay Bruce on a full count, giving him nothing to hit, before escaping. Kolten Wong then hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly off Mike Leake in the bottom half to help the Cardinals finish a three-game sweep.

"At that point he's the guy we want in the game," Matheny said. "It's hard taking him out of the game in that situation."

Padres 5, Cubs 2

Jon Lester believes he is getting close to pitching like the ace the Cubs signed in the offseason. Lester made a nifty play with his glove, but lost again and the San Diego Padres beat Chicago 5-2 Sunday. Lester (0-2), who signed a $155 million, six-year contract as a free agent, has a 6.89 ERA after three starts.

"I don't like to evaluate things that way as far as being almost there or not almost there, but it was better," Lester said.

"For the most part, I did a pretty good job of keeping the ball on the ground and that's important, it means I'm getting action on the pitches I need, getting some mishits, which was good today."

Tigers 9, White Sox 1

Yoenis Cespedes has added a bit more power to Detroit's lineup, and the guy who hits after him has taken notice. Cespedes hit a grand slam and a two-run homer and Shane Greene pitched seven impressive innings in another fine start to begin the season, helping the Tigers rout the Chicago White Sox 9-1 on Sunday.

Sunday, April 19 Scoreboard

Atlanta 5, Toronto 2

Detroit 9, Chicago White Sox 1

New York Mets 7, Miami 6

Baltimore 8, Boston 3

Washington 4, Philadelphia 1

Pittsburgh 5, Milwaukee 2

Kansas City 4, Oakland 2

Minnesota 7, Cleveland 2

Houston 4, Los Angeles Angels 3

San Diego 5, Chicago Cubs 2

Arizona 5, San Francisco 1

Seattle 11, Texas 10

Los Angeles Dodgers 7, Colorado 0

St. Louis 2, Cincinnati 1

Monday, April 20 Schedule (All Times Central)

Baltimore at Boston, 10:05 a.m.

New York at Detroit, 6 p.m.

Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh, 6:05 p.m.

Cincinnati at Milwaukee, 6:20 p.m.

Cleveland at Chicago White Sox, 7:10 p.m.

Minnesota at Kansas City, 7:10 p.m.

San Diego at Colorado, 7:40 p.m.

Oakland at Los Angeles, 9:05 p.m.

Houston at Seattle, 9:10 p.m.