Pirates Beat Cubs, Cardinals Punch Up Another Win

Gregory Polanco's maturation from prospect to entrenched major league starter remains a work in progress. The pace of the Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder's education, however, is picking up speed. Facing Cubs reliever Phil Coke with the go-ahead run on second Thursday, Polanco quickly fell behind two strikes. The 6-foot-4 right fielder worked the count full then slapped a single to left field to drive in Josh Harrison with the go-ahead run in a 5-4 win.

Coke intentionally walked pinch-hitter Corey Hart to set up a lefty-on-lefty matchup with Polanco. Though Polanco didn't take the slight personally, it certainly provided ample motivation.

"You're more focused and you say, `I want to win this fight," Polanco said. "You always want to be ready every pitch because they walked the hitter before to try and make you out."

The hit was set up by Josh Harrison's second double of the game with one out. Chicago rookie Kris Bryant, a third baseman making a spot start in center while Dexter Fowler rested a groin injury, took a roundabout path to the ball, though Cubs manager Joe Maddon hardly placed the blame on Bryant.

Cardinals 4, Nationals 1

One of these days, Michael Wacha might be the guy who forces the other team's starting pitcher to excel. For now, the St. Louis Cardinals right-hander is having a delightful time trying to outdo the opposing team's ace.

Wacha got the best of Max Scherzer, Matt Adams singled in the tiebreaking run in the sixth inning and the Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals 4-1 Thursday for their fourth straight series win.

In his previous two starts, Wacha outpitched Cincinnati star Johnny Cueto. This time, he was better than Scherzer -- the 2013 Cy Young winner who came in with a sparkling 0.83 ERA.

Royals 3, White Sox 2

The Kansas City Royals stayed in their fighting mood. They also stayed in their winning mood. A benches-clearing fight led to five ejections several innings before Eric Hosmer hit the go-ahead double in the 13th to lead the Royals to a 3-2 win over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday night.

With two outs, Hosmer's hit off Chicago's Jake Petricka (0-1) brought in Jarrod Dyson. Wade Davis then pitched a scoreless 13th for his fourth save, giving Franklin Morales (2-0) the victory. That gave Kansas City a win for the fourth time in five games, during a night that tempers flared.

"With two or three scrums going on you're always worried about somebody getting hurt," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "I found myself at the bottom of one of those piles. It's not fun being down there."

He got to the bottom of a pile after what looked like a routine play.

In the seventh, Yordano Ventura snagged a grounder from Chicago outfielder Adam Eaton and they appeared to exchange words before Ventura threw to first to end the inning. Eaton had to be restrained from Ventura, who was ejected from a second straight start. Players from both dugouts and bullpens ran onto the field and punches were thrown during a fight that lasted a couple of minutes.

Thursday, April 23 Scoreboard

Pittsburgh 5, Chicago Cubs 4

Miami 9, Philadelphia 1

New York Yankees 2, Detroit 1

New York Mets 6, Atlanta 3

Milwaukee 4, Cincinnati 2

Colorado 2, San Diego 1

San Francisco 3, Los Angeles Dodgers 2

St. Louis 4, Washington 1

Los Angeles Angels 2, Oakland 0

Toronto 7, Baltimore 6

Tampa Bay 2, Boston 1

Kansas City 3, Chicago White Sox 1

Friday, April 24 Schedule (All Times Central)

New York Mets at New York Yankees, 6:05 p.m.

Boston at Baltimore, 6:05 p.m.

Atlanta at Philadelphia, 6:05 p.m.

Cleveland at Detroit, 6:05 p.m.

Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati, 6:10 p.m.

Washington at Miami, 6:10 p.m.

Toronto at Tampa Bay, 6:10 p.m.

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

St. Louis at Milwaukee, 7:10 p.m.

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

Pittsburgh at Arizona, 8:40 p.m.

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

Houston at Oakland, 9:05 p.m.

Minnesota at Seattle, 9:10 p.m.

Los Angeles Angels at San Diego, 9:10 p.m.