Cardinals Hand Cubs Loss, Major League Roundup -- June 21

Cards Cruise Past Cubs

(St. Louis, MO) -- Matt Holliday lifted a solo homer and knocked in two runs to help the Cardinals crush the Cubs 6-1 in St. Louis. Allen Craig also drove in two runs for St. Louis, which took three-of-four in the series. Yadier Molina scored twice in the win. Lance Lynn improved to 10-1 after allowing one run in six innings. Scott Feldman dipped to 6-6 after giving up five runs in 5 1/3 frames. Welington Castillo was 3-for-4 with a solo shot for Chicago, which has lost four-of-five.

Twins Hit Four Homers To Complete Sweep Of White Sox

(Minneapolis, MN) -- Oswaldo Arcia went 3-for-4 with a home run as the Twins doubled up the White Sox 8-4 at Target Field. Brian Dozier, Clete Thomas and Eduardo Escobar also homered as part of a 15-hit attack as Minnesota swept the three-game series. Scott Diamond gave up four runs in five and a third innings to get credit for his fifth win. The Twins have won four of their last five overall. John Danks was tagged for 12 hits and six runs in five frames to fall to 1-4 with the loss. Alexei Ramirez had four hits and Paul Konerko and Adam Dunn clubbed back-to-back home runs in the sixth for Chicago.
 

Alvarez Powers Pirates Past Reds

(Cincinnati, OH) --  Pedro Alvarez doubled home three runs to snap a 2-all tie in the seventh inning as the Pirates beat the Reds 5-3 in Cincinnati. Alvarez finished 3-for-4 with five RBI as Pittsburgh earned a split of the four-game series. Bryan Morris picked up the win in relief and Tony Watson notched his second save. The Bucs have alternated wins and losses in their last nine games. Alfredo Simon took the loss in relief for the Reds. Joey Votto went 2-for-4 with an RBI and Jay Bruce hit his 15th home run of the season in defeat.

Nats Cruise Past Colorado

(Washington, DC) -- Jordan Zimmermann fired eight strong innings and drove in a run as the Nationals cruised past the Rockies 5-1 in the opener of a four-game series at Nationals Park. Zimmermann struck out nine while giving up just an unearned run on six hits as he upped his mark to 10-and-3. Ian Desmond homered and Adam LaRoche went 3-for-4 with a two-run triple for the Nats, who have won two in-a-row after a three-game skid.  DJ LeMahieu plated the lone run in Colorado's fourth straight loss.  Roy Oswalt fanned 11 in five frames in his season and Rockies debut, but allowed four runs and nine hits to suffer the loss.

Mets Sneak Past Braves

(Atlanta, GA) -- Josh Satin had a pinch-hit, RBI-double in the top of the seventh inning to push the Mets past the Braves, 4-3, at Turner Field.  New York took three-of-five from Atlanta in the series to move to 28-41. David Wright hit two home runs to cap a 3-for-4 night. Andrew Brown also hit a solo homer. Jonathon Niese left with left shoulder discomfort during the third inning. Reliever LaTroy Hawkins improved to 2-and-0 and Bobby Parnell locked down his 11th save. Justin Upton was 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Gerald Laird had three hits and a run knocked in for Atlanta, which is 43-31. Mike Minor allowed all four runs in six-plus innings.  He fell to 8-3.

Padres Double Up Dodgers

(San Diego, CA) -- Pedro Ciriaco hit a two-run homer and drove in a run with a triple as the Padres popped the Dodgers 6-3 in San Diego. Jason Marquis added an RBI for San Diego, which snapped a two-game skid.  Marquis gave up two runs in six frames for a no decision. Nick Vincent picked up the win in relief. Yasiel Puig and A.J. Ellis each hit a solo homer for Los Angeles, which has lost three-of-four. Stephen Fife gave up two runs, one earned, in six innings for a no decision. Matt Guerrier suffered the loss out of the bullpen.

Marlins Sink Giants

(San Francisco, CA) -- Marcell Ozuna had a pinch-hit, two-run single in the eighth inning to give the Marlins a 2-1 win over the Giants in San Francisco. Tom Koehler picked up his first career win after allowing one run in seven innings. Steve Cishek secured his 11th save for Miami, which snapped a two-game skid.  Chad Gaudin tossed four-and-a-third innings of shutout ball in a no decision. He left with a right elbow injury. Jeremy Affeldt took the loss in relief. Joaquin Arias tripled in a run for San Francisco, which had won two in-a-row.

Angels Rally Past Mariners

(Anaheim, CA) -- The Angels scored seven unanswered runs en rout to a 10-9 victory over the visiting Mariners.  The Halos came back down 7-0, 8-1 and 9-and-8 to win their sixth games in eight tries. Los Angeles also took three-of-four in this series at Angel Stadium. Peter Bourjos scored three times and hit a solo homer while Mark Trumbo belted a three-run shot for Los Angeles. Mike Trout was 4-for-4 with a run scored in the win. Scott Downs picked up the win and Ernesto Frieri locked up his 17th save.  Angels manager Mike Scioscia says they never gave up in this game.

Rays Roll Yankees

(Bronx, NY) -- Evan Longoria hit two solo homers and drove in three runs to power the Rays past the Yankees 8-3 in New York. Yunel Escobar smacked a two-run homer for Tampa Bay, which has won two in-a-row after a three-game skid. Desmond Jennings was 3-for-4 with a pair of runs in the win.  Longoria says they have to build on a win like this. Matt Moore gave up three runs in six innings for his ninth win. Andy Pettitte allowed five runs in 6 2/3 frames for the loss. Brett Gardner was 2-for-3 with a run scored for New York, which has lost two straight.
 

Astros Beat Brewers On Pena HR In 10th

(Houston, TX) -- Carlos Pena lined a three-run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Astros a 7-4 win over the Brewers in Houston.  Carlos Corporan knotted the game at four with a solo shot in the eighth for the 'Stros, who won the rubber match of the three-game series. Hector Ambriz got the win. Mike Gonzalez fell to 0-3 with the loss for Milwaukee. Jonathan Lucroy went 2-for-5 with a home run for the Brew Crew, which failed to hold an early 3-0 lead.

Rangers Hold Off A's In Ninth

(Arlington, TX) -- The Rangers threw out Josh Donaldson at the plate to end the game as the Rangers held on to edge the A's 4-3 in Arlington.  Donaldson was gunned down trying to score on Seth Smith's two-out single to center off Joe Nathan. Ian Kinsler singled in two runs in the seventh to give Texas the lead. The Rangers took three-of-four in the series.  Tanner Scheppers got the win and Nathan his 22nd save. Sean Doolittle took the loss. Jed Lowrie went 3-for-5 with an RBI for Oakland.

Tigers edge Red Sox On Homer

(Detroit, MI.) -- Jhonny Peralta's ninth-inning homer gave the Detroit Tigers a joyful break from all that talk about their beleaguered bullpen as they edged Boston 4-3. It was Boston's closer who lost this game, and now the Red Sox have some relief issues of their own to sort out. Jhonny Peralta's walk-off home run against Andrew Bailey and the Red Sox gave the Tigers a rare late-game victory.  

Thursday, June 20 Scoreboard

MLB NL

Pittsburgh Pirates 5, Cincinnati Reds 3

Washington Nationals 5, Colorado Rockies 1

New York Mets 4, Atlanta Braves 3

St. Louis Cardinals 6, Chicago Cubs 1

San Diego Padres 6, Los Angeles Dodgers 3

Miami Marlins 2, San Francisco Giants 1

MLB AL

Minnesota Twins 8, Chicago White Sox 4

Texas Rangers 4, Oakland Athletics 3

Tampa Bay Rays 8, New York Yankees 3

Detroit Tigers 4, Boston Red Sox 3

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 10, Seattle Mariners 9

MLB Interleague

Houston Astros 7, Milwaukee Brewers 4 (10 inn)

Friday, June 21 Schedule (All Times Central)

MLB NL

6:05 p.m. - New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies

6:05 p.m. - Colorado Rockies at Washington Nationals

7:10 p.m. - Atlanta Braves at Milwaukee Brewers

8:40 p.m. - Cincinnati Reds at Arizona Diamondbacks

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

9:15 p.m. - Miami Marlins at San Francisco Giants

MLB AL

6:05 p.m. - Minnesota Twins at Cleveland Indians

6:05 p.m. - Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees

6:07 p.m. - Baltimore Orioles at Toronto Blue Jays

6:08 p.m. - Boston Red Sox at Detroit Tigers

7:10 p.m. - Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals

9:10 p.m. - Oakland Athletics at Seattle Mariners

MLB Interleague

1:20 p.m. - Houston Astros at Chicago Cubs

7:15 p.m. - Texas Rangers at St. Louis Cardinals

9:05 p.m. - Pittsburgh Pirates at Los Angeles Angels