Cardinals Come Through In 13, Pirates Break Cubs Win Streak

Rookie Randal Grichuk knew that in homer-friendly Great American Ball Park, all it takes is one decent swing to end a game.

Matt Carpenter tied it with a solo homer in the eighth, and Grichuk connected in the 13th inning, rallying the St. Louis Cardinals to a 4-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night.

Grichuk was moved up to second in the Cardinals' struggling batting order. He doubled home a run in the sixth inning and hit his 15th homer in the 13th off Dylan Axelrod (0-1), Cincinnati's eighth pitcher. He knew the ballpark's reputation for yielding homers that would be outs in most other places.

"You know the ball flies here," Grichuk said. "It's in the back of your mind."

So far, Grichuk has shown a propensity to hit balls hard and strike out a lot.

"Two big swings for us," manager Mike Matheny said. "He's got the potential. You might see some swings-and-misses sometimes, but you also see what he does tonight."

Pirates 7, Cubs 5

The Pittsburgh Pirates looked for Gregory Polanco to give them a spark when they moved him to the top of the batting order last month after leadoff hitter Josh Harrison tore a ligament in his thumb. The 23-year-old outfielder has delivered.

Polanco and Andrew McCutchen homered and the Pirates beat Chicago 7-5 on Wednesday night, ending the Cubs' season-best six-game winning streak.

Polanco has hit .282 (28 for 99) with 13 walks in 25 games since Harrison went on the disabled list July 6. It has raised his season batting average to .245.

"He's doing everything you can ask a leadoff hitter to do," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. "He's really done a fine, fine job when we've needed him to put a foot down in that spot."

White Sox 6, Rays 5

Avisail Garcia got the Chicago White Sox started -- and finished off the Tampa Bay Rays, too. Garcia hit a three-run homer in Chicago's five-run first inning and had a bases-loaded walk in the 10th to give the White Sox a 6-5 victory over Tampa Bay on Wednesday.

Garcia drew the winning walk off closer Brad Boxberger (5-6) to end Chicago's three-game losing streak.

"I think that last at-bat was pretty important to win the game," Garcia said. "That's why we're here. We've been fighting, fighting, fighting."

In the 10th, Adam Eaton singled and stole second base and advanced to third when catcher Curt Casali's throw struck shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera in the right side of the face, knocking him to the ground, and later from the game. Cabrera was cleared of a concussion following the game.

Wednesday, August 5 Scoreboard

Chicago White Sox 6, Tampa Bay 5 (F/10)

Colorado 7, Seattle 5 (F/11)

Los Angeles Angels 4, Cleveland 3

Baltimore 7, Oakland 3 (F/10)

Boston 2, New York Yankees 1

Arizona 11, Washington 4

Los Angeles Dodgers 4, Philadelphia 3

Pittsburgh 7, Chicago Cubs 5

Toronto 9, Minnesota 7

Detroit 2, Kansas City 1

San Francisco 6, Atlanta 1

St. Louis 4, Cincinnati 3 (F/13)

New York Mets 8, Miami 6

Texas 4, Houston 3

Milwaukee 8, San Diego 5

Thursday, August 6 Schedule (All Times Central)

St. Louis at Cincinnati, 11:35 a.m.

Los Angeles at Philadelphia, 12:05 p.m.

Kansas City at Detroit, 12:08 p.m.

San Diego at Milwaukee, 1:10 p.m.

Arizona at Washington, 3:05 p.m.

Boston at New York, 6:05 p.m.

Minnesota at Toronto, 6:07 p.m.

Miami at Atlanta, 6:10 p.m.

San Francisco at Chicago, 7:05 p.m.

Houston at Oakland, 9:05 p.m.