Wong's Homer Gives Cardinals Win In 14, Cubs Lose

Kolten Wong went up there hacking. Starting a rally wouldn't satisfy.

"I didn't want to bloop something in or anything like that," Wong said after he homered in the 14th inning and the St. Louis Cardinals beat Pittsburgh in extra innings for the third straight time, 3-2 on Sunday. "I wanted to drive something and either score myself or get in scoring position," he said.

Starter Michael Wacha, who'd been three outs away from becoming the majors' second 5-0 pitcher, returned to the dugout just in time to watch the winner.

"Myself and all the other relievers that had already thrown, we were like, `We've got to go out there and support these guys," Wacha said. "Sure enough, Wong comes through."

The Cardinals swept a three-game series all in extra innings for the first time in franchise history. They're the first team to do it since June 4-7, 1925, when the Cincinnati Reds beat the Boston Braves, according to STATS.

Brewers 5, Cubs 3

The Milwaukee Brewers needed a team-record 25 games to get their first consecutive wins of a season. And hours after they did it, the Brewers fired manager Ron Roenicke. Aramis Ramirez homered and broke an eighth-inning tie with a two-run single, helping the Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 5-3 Sunday.

Milwaukee, a big league-worst 7-18 following a 2-13 start, took two of three against the Cubs for its first series win of the year. Before 2015, the most games Milwaukee needed for consecutive wins was 18 in 1972, according to STATS.

"We're just getting healthy," Ramirez said. "We're starting to swing the bat better. We're pitching really good. That's the key. If you pitch good, you're going to win some ballgames."

The Brewers said they will announce a replacement for Roenicke on Monday.

Twins 13, White Sox 3

Extra time with his hitting coach has paid off for Trevor Plouffe. Plouffe hit his first grand slam in the majors and drove in a career-high five runs, powering the Minnesota Twins past the Chicago White Sox 13-3 Sunday for a four-game sweep.

Brian Dozier added a career-high four hits as the Twins won for the seventh time in nine games. Plouffe was batting .143 on April 17 but has hit .364 since. He credits much of that to working with hitting coach Tom Brunansky to find a rhythm.

Sunday, May 3 Scoreboard

Cleveland 10, Toronto 7

Washington 1 New York Mets 0

Philadephia 6, Miami 2

Baltimore 4, Tampa Bay 2

Atlanta 5, Cincinnati 0

Detroit 6, Kansas City 4

Minnesota 13, Chicago White Sox 3

Houston 7, Seattle 6

St. Louis 3, Pittsburgh 2

Milwaukee 5, Chicago Cubs 3

Oakland 7, Texas 1

San Francisco 5, Los Angeles Angels 0

Los Angeles Dodgers 1, Arizona 0

San Diego 8, Colorado 6

New York Yankees 8, Boston 5

Monday, May 4 Schedule (All Times Central)

Miami at Washington, 6:05 p.m.

New York at Toronto, 6:07 p.m.

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

Philadelphia at Atlanta, 6:10 p.m.

Los Angeles at Milwaukee, 6:20 p.m.

Chicago at St. Louis, 7 p.m.

Oakland at Minnesota, 7:10 p.m.

Texas at Houston, 7:10 p.m.

Arizona at Colorado, 7:40 p.m.

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

San Diego at San Francisco, 9:15 p.m.