Cardinals, Cubs, White Sox Suffer Losses

Joey Votto got mobbed at home plate and then doused with a water cooler, a rare joyous moment in his subpar season.

Votto homered with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning on Tuesday night, powering the Cincinnati Reds to a 7-6 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals after they blew a five-run lead for the second straight game.

Votto connected off left-hander Kevin Siegrist (4-1) for his fifth career game-ending homer and Cincinnati's third homer of the game. The Reds have won five of their last six games overall. This one was especially satisfying for Votto, who started the game batting .221.

"I'm hitting .220 and it's June," Votto said. "I am frustrated, and we're losing a lot. Today, we didn't lose. That's a good feeling."

Another one almost slipped away. They blew a five-run lead and lost to the Nationals 10-9 in their last game. This one nearly followed the same script until Votto homered on a 2-0 pitch.

"That was special," manager Bryan Price said. "Siegrist has been hard on us since he came into the league -- on everybody, really. Joey took advantage of a 2-0 pitch and brought us to this place. It's a nice place to be."

Cincinnati pulled ahead 6-1 with the help of Adam Duvall's three-run homer off Mike Leake, his fourth homer in five games. The Reds got Duvall from the Giants as part of a trade for Leake last July, and the right-hander signed with St. Louis in the offseason.

Phillies 3, Cubs 2

The old Ryan Howard showed up after a difficult week. Howard hit a solo homer, Jerad Eickhoff threw seven impressive innings and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Eickhoff (3-8) allowed one run and two hits, striking out eight. Jeanmar Gomez pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth and got the final six outs for his 19th save in 20 tries.

Howard hit his ninth homer way out to right-center to make it 2-0 in the fourth. The 2006 NL MVP started for the first time since a fan threw a plastic beer bottle at him after Saturday's game. Rookie Tommy Joseph has replaced the struggling Howard at first base and started the previous six games.

"I wasn't thinking about the week or the last 10 days," Howard said. "I was just thinking about that moment. I got a good pitch, he hung me a breaking ball, and I was able to hit it out."

Howard nearly went deep again in the eighth, but his fly ball to deep center was caught on the warning track. Though he's only batting .153, Howard has hit homers in four of Philadelphia's one-run victories, including two 1-0 wins and a walk-off homer in a 4-3 win.

"From what he's been going through, it was nice to see him hit that home run," manager Pete Mackanin said. "I think it gave him a little more confidence. He almost had another one. Good to see."

Kyle Hendricks (4-5) gave up two runs and four hits, striking out six in five innings.

Nationals 10, White Sox 5

Bryce Harper finally got some pitches to hit in Chicago and made the most of his chances.

Harper drove in three runs, Anthony Rendon homered and the Washington Nationals handed the White Sox their 19th loss in 25 games, beating Chicago 10-5 on Tuesday night.

While the NL East-leading Nationals won for the sixth time in eight games, the White Sox continued their stunning decline. A team that got off to a 23-10 start and spent 47 days in first place in the AL Central is now in fourth place at 29-29, with Detroit beating Toronto.

Harper saw some pitches to hit after the Cubs walked him 13 times while sweeping four games at Wrigley Field last month. The 2015 NL MVP came through with a go-ahead two-run double in the fifth and a sacrifice fly in a four-run sixth.

"I wasn't even really thinking about that to tell you the truth," Harper said. "I was just trying to go out there and have some good at-bats."

Rendon hit a two-run homer off Mat Latos (6-2). Michael Taylor added a two-run double and robbed Dioner Navarro with a diving catch in center field.

Tuesday, June 7 Scoreboard

Pittsburgh 3, New York Mets 1

Baltimore 9, Kansas City 1

New York Yankees 6, Los Angeles Angels 3

Philadelphia 3, Chicago Cubs 2

Detroit 3, Toronto 2 (F/10)

Cincinnaati 7, St. Louis 6

Pittsburgh 3, New York Mets 1

Texas 4, Houston 3

Washington 10, Chicago White Sox 5

Milwaukee 5, Oakland 4

Minnesota 6, Miami 4 (F/11)

Arizona 5, Tampa Bay 0

Seattle 7, Cleveland 1

Los Angeles Dodgers 4, Colorado 3

San Diego 4, Atlanta 3

Boston 5, San Francisco 3 (F/10)

Wednesday, June 8 Schedule (All Times Central)

Chicago Cubs at Philadelphia, 12:05 p.m.

Toronto at Detroit, 12:10 p.m.

Atlanta at San Diego, 2:40 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Arizona, 2:40 p.m.

Los Angeles Angels at New York Yankees, 6:05 p.m.

Kansas City at Baltimore, 6:05 p.m.

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

St. Louis at Cincinnati, 6:10 p.m.

Houston at Texas, 7:05 p.m.

Washington at Chicago White Sox, 7:10 p.m.

Oakland at Milwaukee, 7:10 p.m.

Miami at Minnesota, 7:10 p.m.

Cleveland at Seattle, 9:10 p.m.

Colorado at Los Angeles Dodgers, 9:10 p.m.

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