St. Louis Avoids Sweep By Beating Cubs

St. Louis right-hander Carlos Martinez is ready to show his appreciation to outfielder Randal Grichuk.

Grichuk robbed Anthony Rizzo of a home run with an over-the-wall catch in the first inning on Wednesday to help Martinez settle into seven strong innings, and the Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 5-3 to avoid a sweep to their NL Central rivals.

"It was so big I'm going to pay him a dinner in San Diego," Martinez said.

Matt Holliday homered and the Cardinals scored twice in each of the first two innings against Kyle Hendricks (1-2).

Chicago, the first team in the majors to 11 wins, had won three of its previous four and took the first two games of the series.

Martinez (3-0) allowed three hits and one run. He struck out five and walked three in recording his third quality start in three outings this season.

Grichuk's highlight-reel catch seemed to provide a perfect lift for Martinez.

"It's the second robbed homer I've gotten to," Grichuk said. "Definitely being the Cubs in a big game, it's probably my top one."

The game was delayed 3 hours, 21 minutes by rain in the middle of the seventh. Grichuk, who jumped and reached over the wall with his glove, joked that he watched the replay of his grab 72 times during the stoppage.

Martinez seemed to get better as the game went along and retired the last six batters he faced.

White Sox 2, Angels 1

Chris Sale likes what he is feeling and hearing, the fun on the field and the music in the locker room. In other words, the winning.

"I think it's important, individually and as a team, to try to get off on the right foot," Sale said after becoming the majors' first four-game winner, leading the Chicago White Sox over the Los Angeles Angels 2-1 on Wednesday.

"To start out with some momentum, that's important. We're just going to try to ride this out as long as we can."

Sale (4-0) allowed only two Mike Trout singles and an unearned run in seven innings. He left after hitting Kole Calhoun with a pitch leading off the eighth.

Two years ago, Sale won his first five decisions.

The White Sox are 10-5, their best start in a decade, matching the 2006 team. Last season, the White Sox began 10-14 and didn't reach double digits until May 26.

This season, Sale has 40 percent of Chicago's victories.

Wednesday, April 20 Scoreboard

Cincinnati 6, Colorado 5

St. Louis 5, Chicago Cubs 3

Chicago White Sox 2, Los Angeles angels 1

Seattle 2, Cleveland a

Detroit 3, Kansas City 2

Balitmore 4, Toronto 3 (F/10)

Oakland 5, New York Yankees 2

Philadelphia 5, New York Mets 4 (F/11)

Los Angeles Dodgers 5, Atlanta 3 (F/10)

Washington 3, Miami 1

Texas 2, Houston 1
    
Milwaukee 10, Minnesota 5
    
San Diego 8, Pittsburgh 2

Arizona 2, San Francisco 1

Thursday, April 21 Schedule (All Times Central)

Seattle at Cleveland, 11:10 a.m.

Los Angeles at Atlanta, 11:10 a.m.

Washington at Miami, 12:10 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Boston, 12:35 p.m.

Minnesota at Milwaukee, 12:40 p.m.

Los Angeles at Chicago, 1:10 p.m.

Arizona at San Francisco, 2:45 p.m.

Toronto at Baltimore, 6:05 p.m.

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

Chicago at Cincinnati, 6:10 p.m.

Detroit at Kansas City, 6:15 p.m.

Houston at Texas, 7:05 p.m.

Pittsburgh at San Diego, 8:10 p.m.

Friday, April 22 Schedule (All Times Central)

Tampa Bay at New York, 6:05 p.m.

Minnesota at Washington, 6:05 p.m.

Oakland at Toronto, 6:07 p.m.

Cleveland at Detroit, 6:10 p.m.

Chicago at Cincinnati, 6:10 p.m.

New York at Atlanta, 6:35 p.m.

Texas at Chicago, 7:10 p.m.

Philadelphia at Milwaukee, 7:10 p.m.

Boston at Houston, 7:10 p.m.

Baltimore at Kansas City, 7:15 p.m.

Los Angeles at Colorado, 7:40 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Arizona, 8:40 p.m.

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

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

St. Louis at San Diego, 9:40 p.m.

Saturday, April 23 Schedule (All Times Central)

Tampa Bay at New York, 12:05 p.m.

Minnesota at Washington, 12:05 p.m.

Oakland at Toronto, 12:07 p.m.

Cleveland at Detroit, 12:10 p.m.

Texas at Chicago, 1:10 p.m.

Boston at Houston, 3:05 p.m.

Philadelphia at Milwaukee, 6:10 p.m.

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

Chicago at Cincinnati, 6:10 p.m.

Baltimore at Kansas City, 6:15 p.m.

Los Angeles at Colorado, 7:10 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Arizona, 7:10 p.m.

St. Louis at San Diego, 7:40 p.m.

Seattle at Los Angeles, 8:05 p.m.

Miami at San Francisco, 8:05 p.m.

Sunday, April 24 Schedule (All Times Central)

Tampa Bay at New York, 12:05 p.m.

Oakland at Toronto, 12:07 p.m.

Cleveland at Detroit, 12:10 p.m.

Chicago at Cincinnati, 12:10 p.m.

New York at Atlanta, 12:35 p.m.

Minnesota at Washington, 12:35 p.m.

Texas at Chicago, 1:10 p.m.

Philadelphia at Milwaukee, 1:10 p.m.

Baltimore at Kansas City, 1:15 p.m.

Seattle at Los Angeles, 2:35 p.m.

Miami at San Francisco, 3:05 p.m.

Los Angeles at Colorado, 3:10 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Arizona, 3:10 p.m.

St. Louis at San Diego, 3:40 p.m.

Boston at Houston, 7 p.m.