Molina Guides Cardinals To Win, Cubs Claim Victory in 10th

Yadier Molina has been guiding the St. Louis Cardinals' pitching staff all season. The All-Star catcher played a big role in this one, helping Michael Wacha get his 14th win.

"Everyone knows about what he does behind the plate," Wacha said after a 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night. "He was all over the place, big knocks, stealing bags -- it was a lot of fun to watch."

Molina tripled in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning when right fielder Gregory Polanco missed an attempted shoe-top catch. He also threw out Polanco attempting to steal from his knees in the first and stole his second base of the season after doubling in the eighth when the Cardinals won an appeal to have the call overturned.

Cubs 3, Brewers 2

Miguel Montero believes the Chicago Cubs are unbeatable right now, regardless of what happens during the course of the game. He showed why Wednesday night.

An inning after he let two wild pitches skip past him to allow the Milwaukee Brewers to tie the score, the veteran catcher homered in the bottom of the 10th to give Chicago a 3-2 victory for the Cubs' sixth straight win and 12th in 13 games.

"When we come to the ballpark now, we know we're going to win," Montero said after opening the bottom of the 10th with a solo blast to left field off Michael Blazek (5-3).

White Sox 3, Angels 2

Avisail Garcia didn't need to hit the ball out of the park this time. He just hit it hard and far enough. Garcia's line-drive double to the wall with one out in the 13th inning drove in Jose Abreu from first base and lifted the Chicago White Sox to 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night to finish a three-game sweep.

Garcia's hitting and power have picked up -- he has four homers in his last eight games. But he just tried to make contact off Cesar Ramos (2-1), the Angels' sixth pitcher out the bullpen. Ramos gave up a single to Abreu and then Garcia's double to left-center.

"I'm staying back on the breaking ball now and recognize the pitches and don't try to do too much," the 24-year-old Garcia said. "Just learn to put the ball in play because we had a tough game.

"We've been fighting, so I think I found a good pitch to hit."

Dodgers 3, Nationals 0

Clayton Kershaw showed everyone he was on his game early, striking out the side in the second inning while retiring the game's first 16 batters.

Kershaw, 27, tied his mentor Sandy Koufax's franchise record of six straight 200-strikeout seasons while tossing eight scoreless innings, and the National League West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Washington Nationals 3-0 on Wednesday night for their 17th shutout win.

"He's Clayton Kershaw," Dodgers shortstop Enrique Hernandez said. "He's the best pitcher on the planet."

Kershaw equaled the mark set by Koufax from 1961 to '66. Koufax and Tom Seaver (1968-76) are the only pitchers in modern NL history to accomplish the feat in six or more consecutive seasons.

Wednesday, August 12 Scoreboard

Seattle 3, Baltimore 0

Cincinnati 7, San Diego 3

Philadelphia 7, Arizona 6

Houston 2, San Francisco 0

Miami 14, Boston 6

Toronto 10, Oakland 3

Cleveland 2, New York Yankees 1

New York Mets 3, Colorado 0

Tampa Bay 9, Atlanta 6

St. Louis 4, Pittsburgh 2

Chicago Cubs 3, Milwaukee 2 (F/10)

Chicago White Sox 3, Los Angeles Angels 2 (F/13)

Detroit 7, Kansas City 4

Minnesota 11, Texas 1

Los Angeles Dodgers 3, Washington 0

Thursday, August 13 Schedule (All Times Central)

Colorado at New York, 11:10 a.m.

Oakland at Toronto, 11:37 a.m.

Texas at Minnesota, 12:10 p.m.

Milwaukee at Chicago, 1:20 p.m.

New York at Cleveland, 6:10 p.m.

Pittsburgh at St. Louis, 6:15 p.m.

Los Angeles at Kansas City, 7:10 p.m.

Cincinnati at Los Angeles, 9:10 p.m.

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