Cardinals' Diaz Hits First Grand Slam in Win, Cubs Beat Pirates

By ESPN

Aledmys Diaz made a vow Monday to the family of childhood friend Jose Fernandez, the late Miami Marlins ace who died in a boating accident early Sunday.

"I told them that every single time I put on the uniform, I would be thinking of him," Diaz said. "And that I would give 100 percent because that's how he played the game."

Fernandez would have been proud of his longtime buddy on Tuesday night.

Back in the lineup after attending a private ceremony for Fernandez in Florida on Monday, Diaz hit his first career grand slam and the St. Louis Cardinals finished with five home runs in a 12-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

St. Louis remained one game behind San Francisco for the final NL playoff spot, and 1 1/2 games behind the New York Mets.

The Giants routed Colorado 12-3. The Mets, who lead the wild-card standings, won 12-1 at Miami.

Jhonny Peralta had a three-run homer and drove in four runs for the Cardinals, who had lost four of five. Matt Carpenter, Randal Grichuk and Matt Adams also homered.

Joey Votto and Scott Schebler went deep for the Reds, who beat St. Louis 15-2 on Monday.

Cubs 6, Pirates 4

John Lackey fielded phone calls from plenty of interested teams in the offseason. Yet the veteran pitcher opted for the Chicago Cubs.

Sure, the money was good. The opportunity was even better.

"I had some pretty good offers from other people and I chose this one for a reason," Lackey said. "It's all here."

Looks like it.

Lackey worked through five innings, Chris Coghlan hit a three-run triple and the Cubs held off the staggering Pittsburgh Pirates 6-4 on Tuesday night. Coghlan's second-inning drive off the wall in right-center against Ryan Vogelsong (3-7) gave the NL Central champions all the offense they would need to win for the seventh time in their last eight games. Chicago improved to 101-56, the club's highest victory total since it won 104 games in 1910.

Pittsburgh was eliminated from postseason contention when San Francisco won later Tuesday, ending a run of three-straight playoff appearances.

Dexter Fowler added an RBI double for the Cubs. Lackey (11-8) worked around five hits and three walks to win his last regular season start. The 37-year-old finished his 14th season 11-8 with a 3.35 ERA and has looked fresh since a stint on the disabled list to rest his right shoulder. Lackey is 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA since coming off the DL earlier this month.

"The rest was good for him," manager Joe Maddon said. "He's going into the postseason well rested. Just got to keep these guys sharp."

Lackey's next start will be in the playoffs, a time of year the two-time World Series champion knows well. He's 8-5 with a 3.11 ERA in the postseason and doesn't think Maddon will need to do anything too extravagant to keep him engaged during the lengthy downtime.

White Sox 13, Rays 6

Chris Sale tied a career-high with his 17th win. He added to the highest innings workload of his career. And he's never felt better physically.

Sale also knows that what might have been his final start of the season may also be his last with the White Sox.

Melky Cabrera and Leury Garcia homered to back Sale and Chicago routed the sloppy Tampa Bay Rays 13-6 on Tuesday night.

Sale (17-9) allowed three runs and eight hits with seven strikeouts over seven innings, retiring the last seven batters in Chicago's fourth straight win.

"We wanted me to feel good at the end of the year. I think we accomplished that goal," Sale said. "Unfortunately, it's for nothing."

With the White Sox failing to make the playoffs for the eighth straight year, general manager Rick Hahn has hinted at an offseason rebuild. Sale and his team-friendly contract could produce a big haul of prospects.

"I don't think there's probably a better feeling than winning with the team that drafted you and staying with the team that drafted you," Sale said. "But this is baseball, this is sports. You can't always choose and pick where you want to be."

Cabrera belted a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and Garcia added a three-run shot in the third. Garcia also tripled when Mikie Mahtook misplayed his liner to center in a two-run second.

Tuesday, September 27 Scoreboard

New York Yankees 6, Boston 4

Washington 4, Arizona 2

Chicago Cubs 6, Pittsburgh 4

Toronto 5, Baltimore 1

Detroit 12, Cleveland 0

Atlanta 7, Philadelphia 6

New York Mets 12, Miami 1

Kansas City 4, Minnesota 3 (F/11)

Texas 6, Milwaukee 4

Chicago White Sox 13, Tampa Bay 6

Houston 8, Seattle 4

St. Louis 12, Cincinnati 5

Los Angeles Angels 8, Oakland 1

San Diego 7, Los Angeles Dodgers 1

San Francisco 12, Colorado 3

Wednesday, September 28 Schedule (All Times Central)

Seattle at Houston, 1:10 p.m.

Cleveland at Detroit, 6 p.m.

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

Arizona at Washington, 6:05 p.m.

Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh, 6:05 p.m.

Baltimore at Toronto, 6:07 p.m.

Philadelphia at Atlanta, 6:10 p.m.

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

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

Milwaukee at Texas, 7:05 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Chicago White Sox, 7:10 p.m.

Cincinnati at St. Louis 7:15 p.m.

Colorado at San Francisco, 9 p.m.

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

Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego, 9:10 p.m.