Wainwright's Bat Gives Cards Win, Cubs Beat Brewers

By ESPN

Adam Wainwright is still in search of his best stuff. His bat made sure his best wasn't necessary.

The St. Louis ace drove in three runs and survived five occasionally bumpy innings to pick up his first victory since mid-July as the Cardinals drummed the staggering Pittsburgh Pirates 12-6 on Monday.

Wainwright hit an RBI-double off Chad Kuhl (3-3) in the second and added a two-run single in the fourth as the Cardinals held on to the second wild card spot in the National League by sending the Pirates to their seventh straight loss.

"We needed that win," Wainwright said. "We need every win that we can get coming down the stretch. Any part that I can play in that is a treat for me, a privilege."

Wainwright (10-8) allowed four runs and struck out five as his ERA rose to 4.61 while picking up his first victory since July 16. He hardly needed to be sharp as the Cardinals battered Pittsburgh's beleaguered pitching staff. Jedd Gyorko and Matt Adams homered for St. Louis to extend the team's streak of games with at least one home run to a club-record 24.

Andrew McCutchen and Adam Frazier hit home runs for the Pirates, who have been outscored 47-22 during their current slide. A week ago Pittsburgh was well within striking distance of the Cardinals for a playoff spot but have fallen 4 1/2 games behind St. Louis and dropped below .500 (67-68) for the first time since July 2.

Cubs 7, Brewers 2

With a short turnaround after an extra-inning game, the Chicago Cubs needed major league ERA leader Kyle Hendricks to provide a strong start Monday afternoon.

Hendricks delivered six strong innings and the Cubs broke away late to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-2.

"After like really awkward games, he has really picked us up," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "That's just who he is. He normally gets you deeply into the game."

"That's who he is, man. You pretty much have an idea what you're going to get when he goes out there," he said.

Pinch hitter Chris Coghlan came through with a go-ahead single in a two-run seventh. He stayed in the game and got a two-run single in a four-run eighth for the NL Central leaders.

Hendricks (14-7) gave up one run -- on Chris Carter's 33rd homer -- and five hits in six innings, and left with a 2.07 ERA. He is 5-0 with a 1.30 ERA over his last seven starts.

The right-hander has allowed three or fewer earned runs in each of his last 19 starts, which is the longest streak by any pitcher in the majors this season.

"After that at-bat (Carter home run), I did a much better job kind of pitching inside, just to give myself some more room glove-side," Hendricks said.

Tigers 5, White Sox 3

Miguel Cabrera reached 300 home runs with the Tigers, Justin Verlander eclipsed 200 strikeouts on the season and Francisco Rodriguez moved into fourth place on the career saves list.

Yet it took Justin Upton coming through in the clutch for a second straight day to keep Detroit tied for the final AL playoff spot.

Upton hit a three-run home run in the 11th inning and the Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox 5-3 on Monday for their 11th win in 14 games.

Chris Beck (1-1) issued consecutive two-out walks to Victor Martinez and J.D. Martinez before Upton crushed a 1-2 fastball to right for his 21st home run. It was his second game-winning homer in two days after connecting in the eighth inning Sunday against Kansas City.

"That's what you live for, man," Upton said. "That's what you play the game for, the big moment when you can help your team out."

Monday, September 5 Scoreboard

Chicago Cubs 7, Milwaukee 2

New York Yankees 5, Toronto 3

New York Mets 5, Cincinnati 0

Philadelphia 6, Miami 2

Baltimore 7, Tampa Bay 3

Kansas City 11, Minnesota 5

St. Louis 12, Pittsburgh 6

Los Angeles Angels 10, Oakland 7

Washington 6, Atlanta 4

Detroit 5, Chicago White Sox 3 (F/11)

Seattle 4, Texas 6

Colorado 6, San Francisco 0

San Diego 2, Boston 1

Houston 6, Cleveland 2

Los Angeles Dodgers 10, Arizona 2

Tuesday, September 6 Schedule (All Times Central)

Toronto at New York Yankees, 6:05 p.m.

Atlanta at Washington, 6:05 p.m.

St. Louis at Pittsburgh, 6:05 p.m.

Houston at Cleveland, 6:10 p.m.

New York Mets at Cincinncati, 6:01 p.m.

Philadelphia at Miami, 6:10 p.m.

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

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

Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee, 7:10 p.m.

Kansas City at Minnesota, 7:10 p.m.

San Francisco at Colorado, 7:40 p.m.

Los Angeles Angels at Oakland, 9:05 p.m.

Texas at Seattle, 9:10 p.m.

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

Boston at San Diego, 9:10 p.m.