Cubs, Cardinals Win, White Sox Drop Loss

BY ESPN

The loaded Chicago Cubs are going to have to make some difficult decisions when they set their postseason roster.

From pitcher Jason Hammel's perspective, it's a matter of making it as tough on them as possible.

Hammel tossed seven solid innings and Dexter Fowler hit a tiebreaking single during Chicago's three-run seventh, leading the Cubs to a 5-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night.

"This team continues to prove as long as you hang around for a little while they're going to put up something," Hammel said. "They'll make it exciting, so kudos to those guys (for) putting some good at-bats together late."

Hammel (15-9) allowed two runs and four hits during his best outing in a month, improving to 7-0 with 0.98 ERA in his last seven home starts. The right-hander had been struggling of late, going 1-4 with an 8.61 ERA in his previous five starts overall.

Hammel's performance gave the franchise four pitchers with at least 15 wins for the first time since 1935. It looks as if Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks and Jake Arrieta are playoff-rotation locks for the NL Central champions and John Lackey has the pole position for the fourth spot, leaving Hammel in limbo as the season winds down.

"We've got a good collective group here and their decisions are going to be really hard," Hammel said, "so we're just going to continue to do what we do, individually do our work and show up and play and then they'll put the best team out there whenever it is."

Jason Heyward added a two-run homer in the eighth as the Cubs moved seven games ahead of Washington for the best record in the National League, lowering their magic number for clinching home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs to five. That's the only major goal still out there during the regular season for major league-leading Chicago after it secured the division title last week.

Brandon Phillips homered for last-place Cincinnati, which has lost five of six. Joey Votto went 2 for 3 with an RBI single and a walk, increasing his batting average since the All-Star break to .416.

The Reds allowed three more homers to run their season total to 242, breaking the major league record of 241 belonging to the 1996 Detroit Tigers.

Cardinals 5, Rockies 3

Carlos Martinez labored most of the game. Not with his pitches, but catching his breath.

Martinez threw five effective innings despite struggling to take a deep breath in the thin air and added a two-run double, helping the St. Louis Cardinals gain ground in the NL playoff race with a 5-3 win over the Colorado Rockies on Monday night.

The Cardinals moved into a tie for the second wild card with the Giants, who blew a ninth-inning lead in Los Angeles and lost 2-1 to the Dodgers.

St. Louis and San Francisco are one game behind the New York Mets, who lost to Atlanta.

Martinez, who turns 25 on Wednesday, gave himself an early birthday present by holding Colorado to two runs while striking out six. The right-hander is 9-1 on the road this season.

Martinez (15-8) helped his own cause with a two-out double as part of a three-run fourth. He also was hit just below the left leg by a fastball from Tyler Anderson (5-6) in the third -- two pitches after Randal Grichuk lined a two-run homer.

Really, though, the biggest issue for Martinez was breathing in the Mile High City.

"The altitude affects everybody a little differently," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "It affected him today, for sure."

Martinez was cruising along until one out in the fourth, when Matheny came out to check on him. Martinez was quite winded, and a ball boy brought out a cup of water, which he quickly chugged and continued on his way.

"I tried to take deep breaths and stay focused," Martinez said through a translator. "It didn't take away my focus in the game."

Martinez was pulled after the fifth because of an elevated pitch count. The bullpen bottled up the Rockies until pinch-hitter Ryan Raburn hit a solo homer off Kevin Siegrist in the ninth to make it 5-3.

Royals 8, White Sox 3

Yordano Ventura kept his pitch count down, which enabled him to go nine innings for the first time in the majors.

Ventura picked up his first complete-game victory, Kendrys Morales hit a three-run homer and the Kansas City Royals defeated the Chicago White Sox 8-3 Monday.

The Royals have won three straight, keeping their faint playoff hopes flickering with 12 games remaining. The Royals went 14-5 against the White Sox this year.

"My goal today was try to get as many outs as I can as quick as I can and go deep in the game and that's what I did today," Ventura said with catching coach Pedro Grifol as his translator. "I'm happy with it."

Ventura (11-11) gave up nine hits, struck out five and walked one. His only other complete game in the majors was a 3-2 loss July 28 at Texas.

"He was outstanding," Royals catcher Drew Butera said. "He was efficient with his pitches. He had great movement, great life. He was really good."

Ventura had allowed 10 runs, 17 hits and six walks in 11 1/3 innings in losing his previous two starts. He threw only 16 pitches in a 10-batter span to end the fifth and into the seventh.

Monday, September 19 Scoreboard

Kansas City 8, Chicago White Sox 3

Boston 5, Baltimore 2

Atlanta 7, New York Mets 3

Miami 4, Washington 3

Texas 3, Los Angeles Angels 2

Chicago Cubs 5, Cincinnati 2

St. Louis 5, Colorado 3

Houston 4, Oakland 2

Toronto 3, Seattle 2

Los Angeles Dodgers 2, San Francisco 1

San Diego 3, Arizona 2

Tuesday, September 20 Schedule (All Times Central)

Boston at Baltimore, 6:05 p.m.

Chicago White Sox at Philadelphia, 6:05 p.m.

Kansas City at Cleveland, 6:10 p.m.

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

Washington at Miami, 6:10 p.m.

New York Yankees at Tampa Bay, 6:10 p.m.

Los Angeles Angels at Texas, 7:05 p.m.

Cincinnati at Chicago Cubs, 7:05 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Milwaukee, 7:10 p.m.

Detroit at Minnesota, 7:10 p.m.

St. Louis at Colorado, 7:40 p.m.

San Francisco at Los Angeles Dodgers, 9 p.m.

Houston at Oakland, 9:05 p.m.

Toronto at Seattle, 9:10 p.m.

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