Brewers Beat Banged-Up Cardinals, Cubs Edge Brewers

By ESPN

Jesus Aguilar doesn't need to worry about a Mother's Day present. It was sitting in a paper cup in his locker.

Aguilar's first major league home run broke a seventh-inning tie, leading the Milwaukee Brewers over the banged-up St. Louis Cardinals 5-4 on Thursday night. He's giving the ball to his mother.

"Right away, knew it was out of here, and haven't stopped smiling since," Aguilar said through an interpreter.

Cardinals right fielder Stephen Piscotty left after the second inning with a strained right hamstring and center fielder Dexter Fowler came out following the third with a strained right shoulder.

Fowler was being evaluated postgame, and Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said Piscotty would remain in St. Louis while the team travels to Atlanta for a series starting Friday night.

Piscotty pulled up after crossing first base on his grounder to third. Fowler was hurt in an unsuccessful attempt for a diving catch on Hernan Perez's third-inning drive.

Randal Grichuk moved from left to center and Aledmys Diaz shifted from shortstop to left in the first outfield appearance of his professional career.

"The first inning was weird, but after that I felt pretty normal," Diaz said.

Matheny said outfielder Tommy Pham will meet the team in Atlanta from Triple-A Memphis.

Milwaukee won its first series at St. Louis since April 28-30, 2014, ending a streak of 15 series losses and two splits.

"It's awesome for the team morale and I think it's awesome for our confidence," said Keon Broxton, who had four hits for the Brewers. "I think it's making a statement around the league that we're not as bad as people think we are."

With the score 4-4, Aguilar pinch hit for pitcher Oliver Drake (2-0) and homered against Matt Bowman (1-1) in his 100th career big league at-bat over four seasons.

"It was a beautiful spot for it," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "Everybody in there is so happy for him. It was the most excited I've seen our team this year."

Broxton was a triple shy of the cycle for the Brewers, including an RBI double in the third and a home run in the fifth against Adam Wainwright that tied the score 4-4.

"His swings tonight were just a step forward," Counsell said. "He was in the right place tonight, no question. They were opposite field, well-struck baseballs and then when he got the count in his favor he did some damage."

Drake got his second win of the series, striking out Matt Carpenter to strand runners at second and third in the sixth inning. Neftali Feliz walked Carpenter leading off the ninth, then got three straight outs for his eighth save in nine chances.

Wainwright gave up four runs and 10 hits in five innings. Brewers starter Chase Anderson allowed four runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings.

Fowler hit a two-run triple in a three-run second, but Travis Shaw had a two-run double in the third and scored on Broxton's double. Yadier Molina's RBI single put the Cardinals ahead 4-3 in the bottom half.

Cubs 5, Phillies 4

Albert Almora Jr. thinks preparation leads to success

"I always try to think ahead of time and think of the situations that could happen and execute them when they do," he said. "I was at the right place at the right time."

Almora doubled leading off the 13th inning and scored on a throwing error by shortstop Freddy Galvis, giving the Chicago Cubs a 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday.

Almora doubled off Joely Rodriguez (1-1) to begin the 13th and held as Javier Baez hit a comebacker. Ben Zobrist was intentionally walked, and Szczur grounded sharply to second baseman Cesar Hernandez, who threw to Galvis for the forceout. Trying to complete an inning-ending double play, Galvis bounced his throw to first, which went to the outside side of the based and skipped into foul territory.

"When Szczur hit the ground ball, you have in the back of your head, like, what if something happens?" Almora said. "He could beat it out and if the first baseman's not paying attention, I could score. It was in the back of my head."

Even if the throw had been perfect, Szccur might have beaten the ball to the base.

"You have a speedy player at home plate. You just try to make the out, make the throw," Galvis said.

Kris Bryant had four hits, Miguel Montero homered and drove in two runs, and Matt Szczur and Addison Russell hit run-scoring doubles as the Cubs extended their winning streak to three.

Cameron Rupp and Maikel Franco homered for Philadelphia, which has lost six of seven, and Hernandez had four hits.

Koji Uehara (1-2), Chicago's eighth pitcher, got three straight outs.

Chicago trailed 4-3 in the eighth inning and overcame a deficit to win for the 10th time this season.

"It's just the motto that's on the ring: We don't quit," Chicago manager Joe Maddon said. "Truthfully, if you're in our dugout, there are guys that are always engaged. If something bad happens, they turn the page real quickly."

Cubs starter John Lackey wasted a 2-0 lead, allowing three runs and nine hits in five innings. Philadelphia's Zach Elfin gave up three runs and nine hits in seven innings.

Rupp homered off Carl Edwards Jr. leading off the eighth for a 4-3 lead, but Montero went deep against Joaquin Benoit in the bottom half.

"We would prefer not to have to come back," Bryant said. "But if we're going to be put in that situation, I think we have a good group of players that work counts when the game's on the line."

White Sox 8, Royals 3

Derek Holland hitched up the heavy, gaudy wrestling belt strapped around his waist and flashed the kind of smile any world champion would wear after having their arm raised in the ring.

It was fitting, too, the way the White Sox left-hander pinned down the Royals on Thursday.

Holland scattered three hits while pitching into the seventh inning, and Jose Abreu and Matt Davidson went deep, helping Chicago to a 8-3 win over Kansas City and a split of their four-game set.

"It's about time I earned this," Holland said of the belt, which is awarded by Melky Cabrera and a bunch of other White Sox teammates to the game MVP. "It's hard to get it."

Holland (3-2) has deserved it on several occasions: He's allowed two earned runs or fewer in his first six outings this season. In this one, he struck out seven with only one walk before exiting with two outs in the seventh, and only one of the two runs charged to him was earned.

"Listen, he came to spring training and everyone was asking what we expected of him," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "He's doing exactly what we expected of him."

Meanwhile, Royals counterpart Ian Kennedy was going through a double-dose of misfortune.

First, the right-hander surrendered five runs on six hits and a walk in his first truly shaky start of the season. Then, Kennedy (0-3) was forced to leave with one out in the fifth after feeling a pinch in his right hamstring -- an MRI exam during the game revealed a Grade 1 strain.

"Walking I don't feel it, just the pitching motion and doing everything else," Kennedy said. "It's one of those things we'll see how it feels tomorrow. It stinks."

Asked whether Kennedy was headed for the disabled list, manager Ned Yost replied: ""I don't know. We're discussing our options right now."

Kennedy struggled from the onset, giving up a one-out single to Cabrera and a 427-foot homer to Abreu in the first. Davidson added his solo shot into the fountains in left in the second.

In the fourth, Kennedy was victimized by an error, hit a batter and committed a balk before giving up back-to-back hits. He also walked a batter as the White Sox pushed two more runs across.

"I was missing my spots. I was all over the place," Kennedy said. "It was just a bad day."

Five runs were more than enough for Holland, who retired the first 10 batters he faced.

Mixing a fastball and sinker, Holland kept the punchless Royals guessing all the afternoon, silencing a Kauffman Stadium crowd filled with kids out for "School Day at the K." He only allowed two doubles before the seventh inning, when the Royals finally managed to coax two runs across.

The White Sox had already tacked on two of their own in the seventh off the Kansas City bullpen.

Thursday, May 4 Scoreboard

Cincinnati 4, Pittsburgh 2

Washington 4, Arizona 2

Oakland 8, Minnesota 5

Texas 10, Houston 4

Chicago White Sox 8, Kansas City 3

Chicago Cubs 5, Philadelphia 4 (F/13)

Colorado 3, San Diego 2 (F/11)

Baltimore 8, Boston 3

Tampa  Bay 5, Miami 1

Milwaukee 5, St. Louis 4

Seattle 11, Los Angeles Angels 3

Cleveland at Detroit, postponed

New York Mets at Atlanta, postponed

Friday, May 5 Schedule (All Times Central)

New York Yankees at Chicago  Cubs, 1:20 p.m.

San Francisco at Cincinnati, 5:40 p.m.

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

Washington at Philadelphia, 6:05 p.m.

Milwaukee at Pittsburgh, 6:05 p.m.

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

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

St. Louis at Atlanta, 6:35 p.m.

Boston at Minnesota, 7:10 p.m.

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

Arizona at Colorado, 7:40 p.m.

Detroit at Oakland, 9:05 p.m.

Houston at Los Angeles Angels, 9:07 p.m.

Texas at Seattle, 9:10 p.m.

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

Saturday, May 6 Schedule (All Times Central)

Boston at Minnesota, 1:10 p.m.

Toronto at Tampa Bay, 3:10 p.m.

Cleveland at Kansas City, 3:15 p.m.

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

Washington at Philadelphia, 6:05 p.m.

Milwaukee at Pittsburgh, 6:05 p.m.

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

San Francisco at Cincinnati, 6:10 p.m.

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

New York Yankees at Chicago Cubs, 6:15 p.m.

Arizona at Colorado, 7:10 p.m.

Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego, 7:40 p.m.

Detroit at Oakland, 8:05 p.m.

Houston at Los Angeles Angels, 8:07 p.m.

Texas at Seattle, 8:10 p.m.

Sunday, May 7 Schedule (All Times Central)

Miami at New York Mets, 12:10 p.m.

Toronto at Tampa Bay, 12:10 p.m.

Chicago White Sox at Baltimore, 12:35 p.m.

St. Louis at Atlanta, 12:35 p.m.

Milwaukee at Pittsburgh, 12:35 p.m.

Boston at Minnesota, 1:10 p.m.

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

Washington at Philadelphia, 1:35 p.m.

Arizona at Colorado, 2:10 p.m.

Houston at Los Angeles Angels, 2:37 p.m.

Detroit at Oakland, 3:05 p.m.

Texas at Seattle, 3:10 p.m.

San Francisco at Cincinnati, 3:10 p.m.

Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego, 3:40 p.m.

New York Yankees at Chicago Cubs, 7 p.m.