Cubs Pound White Sox, Cardinals Edge Marlins, ML Roundup

Cubs Pound White Sox

(Chicago, IL) -- Alfonso Soriano went 3-for-4 with a solo homer and four runs scored as the Cubs pounded on the White Sox in an 8-2 win at U.S. Cellular Field. Cubs manager Dale Sveum says it means something extra to beat the White Sox.

The Cubs took all four contests against their in-city rivals this season and have won three straight overall. Dave Sappelt went 4-for-5 with two RBI while Luis Valbuena knocked in three for the Cubs. Matt Garza allowed two runs, one earned, over seven innings with six strikeouts to improve to 5-1. Josh Phegley hit a solo homer for the White Sox. Matt Thornton was charged with the loss in relief for the Pale Hose, who have lost four straight.

Cardinals Edge Marlins

St. Louis, MO -- Matt Holliday hit a solo home run and Lance Lynn tossed seven strong innings as the Cardinals edged the Marlins, 3-2, to complete at three-game sweep at Busch Stadium. Lynn gave up two runs on seven hits while striking out seven to earn his first win since June 20. He is now 11-3. Carlos Beltran had two hits and stole home for the Cardinals, winners of four of their last five games.  Edward Mujica worked a perfect ninth inning for his 23rd save. Adeiny Hechavarria  and Jeff Mathis drove in one run apiece for the Marlins, who have dropped four of their last six. Jose Fernandez allowed three runs on four hits over six innings, but took the loss to fall to 5-5.

Dodgers Cruise Past D'backs

(Phoenix, AZ) -- Zack Greinke fired seven shutout innings as the Dodgers cruised past the Diamondbacks 6-1 in the opener of a three-game series at Chase Field.  Dodgers manager Don Mattingly says Greinke had his best outing of the season. Greinke struck out seven while giving up just two hits and two walks as he upped his mark to 7-2. He also went 3-for-3 with a run scored at the plate.  Hanley Ramirez and Andre Ethier both had three hits, an RBI and scored once for LA, which has won seven of its last nine.  Eric Chavez doubled in the lone run in the ninth inning for the D'backs, who had their five-game winning streak snapped. Randall Delgado allowed three runs and 11 hits in six frames as he fell to 1-3 with the loss.

Phillies Hold Nats

(Philadelphia, PA) -- The Nationals rallied with two runs in the ninth inning, but fell short as they lost to the Phillies, 3-2, at Citizens Bank Park. Domonic Brown and Darin Ruf each had an RBI in the first inning. John Lannan pitched eight shutout innings for the win, while Jonathan Papelbon struggled through an inning of work but picked up his 19th save. Philadelphia has won four out of five to move to 44-46. Dan Haren allowed two runs in five innings, but took the loss.  Jayson Werth and Adam LaRoche knocked in the runs in the ninth. Washington is 46-43.

Braves Pour It On Marlins In 14 Innings

(Miami, FL) -- Justin Upton's two-run double sparked a six-run 14th inning and led the Braves to a 7-1 win over the Marlins in Miami.  Upton added a sacrifice-fly earlier in the contest. Gerald Laird had a two-run single and Chris Johnson knocked in another run for Atlanta, which had lost four of its previous five. David Carpenter earned the win in relief for the Braves. Justin Ruggiano's RBI single in the fifth gave Miami its lone run.  Chris Hatcher was saddled with the loss out of the bullpen.  The Fish have lost four in-a-row.

Brewers Clip Reds

(Milwaukee, WI) -- The Brewers scored four runs in the first three innings to pull out a 4-3 win over the Reds in the opener of a three-game set at Miller Park. Jean Segura was 3-for-3 with an RBI and one run scored, while Jonathan Lucroy hit a two-run homer. Kyle Lohse improved to 5-6 allowing three runs in 6 2/3 innings. Milwaukee is 36-52. Chris Heisey hit his fourth homer of the year in the loss. Homer Bailey followed up his second career no-hitter giving up four runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings. Bailey is 5-7. Cincinnati dropped to 50-39.

Rockies Double Up Padres

(San Diego, CA) -- Wilin Rosario was 2-for-4 with two RBI as the Rockies handed the Padres their 10th straight loss with a 4-2 victory at Petco Park. It was the first of three games. Tyler Chatwood improved to 5-2 allowing two runs in six-and-two-thirds innings.  Rafael Betancourt wormed through two baserunners to pull out his 12th save. Colorado ended a three-game losing streak. Everth Cabrera and Kyle Blanks each had an RBI in the loss.  Edinson Volquez fell below .500 at 6-7 giving up four runs across 5 1/3 innings.

Mets Outlast Giants In 16 Innings

(San Francisco, CA) -- Eric Young Jr. scored on Brandon Crawford's error in the top of the 16th and the Mets went on to a 4-3 victory over the Giants at AT&T Park in San Francisco. John Buck doubled in a run while Daniel Murphy added an RBI single for New York, which has won three out of four. Josh Edgin picked up the win with two scoreless relief innings while Bobby Parnell notched his 16th save. Matt Harvey allowed three runs in seven innings while striking out six in the start. Giants starter Tim Lincecum matched Harvey with seven innings of three-run ball while fanning 11 hitters. Crawford was 3-for-6 with an RBI at the plate while Buster Posey went 5-for-8 with a two-run homer for San Francisco, which has lost 12 out of 14 games. George Kontos suffered the loss in relief for the Giants.

Tigers Dump Indians In 10th

(Cleveland, OH) -- A Victor Martinez two-run double in the top of the 10th pushed the Tigers past the Indians, 4-2, at Progressive Field.  Detroit took three-of-four from Cleveland and increased its lead in the AL Central to 3 1/2 games. Max Scherzer allowed two runs and struck out seven over seven innings, but reliever Drew Smyly came away with his fourth win and Joaquin Benoit nailed down his seventh save. Lonnie Chisenhall produced the two Cleveland runs with a two-out single in the second inning. Reliever Matt Albers took the loss.

Royals Humble Yankees

(Bronx, NY) -- Billy Butler hit a solo homer as the Royals earned a 5-1 victory over the Yankees in the Bronx. Jeremy Guthrie went 6 2/3 innings and allowed one run to improve to 8-6 while Greg Holland got out of a jam in the ninth for his 21st save. David Lough, Johnny Giavotella and Alex Gordon each had an RBI double while Alcides Escobar drove in a run with a triple for Kansas City. The Royals have won four of their last six. Lyle Overbay hit a solo homer to account for New York's lone run. Phil Hughes gave up two runs in four innings, but departed after an hour long rain delay interrupted the action. He fell to 4-8 with the loss. The Yanks have lost back-to-back contests since a six-game winning streak.

Rangers Wrangle Orioles

(Baltimore, MD) -- Ian Kinsler went 2-for-5 and drove in four to power the Rangers in an 8-5 win over the Orioles at Camden Yards. Elvis Andrus had two hits with an RBI and two runs for Texas, which has won four out of five. Derek Holland went 6 2/3 innings while allowing three earned runs, five total, and striking out seven to improve to 7-4. Manny Machado went 3-for-5 with an RBI and Matt Wieters cracked a two-run homer for Baltimore, which has lost four of its last five. Scott Feldman gave up seven runs in 5 1/3 innings to suffer the loss.

Rays Rally Past Twins

(St. Petersburg, FL) -- Yunel Escobar hit a go-ahead solo homer in the seventh inning and Ben Zobrist added a two-run blast later in the frame, as the Rays rallied past the Twins 7-4 in the first-of-four at Tropicana Field. Luke Scott also went deep for the Rays, who have won five in-a-row and nine of their last 10. Alex Torres picked up the win in relief.  Fernando Rodney recorded the final two outs to earn his 20th save.  Justin Morneau hit a solo homer and Aaron Hicks went 4-for-4 with two runs scored for Minnesota, which has dropped eight-of-nine. Samuel Deduno allowed five runs in six-plus frames as he fell to 4-4 with the loss.

Mariners Clobber Red Sox

(Seattle, WA) -- Raul Ibanez hit his 22nd homer of the year and drove in two as the Mariners throttled the Red Sox 11-4 at Safeco Field.  Michael Saunders went 2-for-4 with three RBI and Justin Smoak was 3-for-4 and knocked in a pair for Seattle. Felix Hernandez tossed seven innings of two-run ball with six strikeouts to improve to 9-4. The M's have won three of their last four. Jon Lester allowed five runs in five-plus innings to fall to 8-5 for Boston. Daniel Nava was 2-for-5 with an RBI as the Red Sox lost their third in-a-row since a five-game winning streak.

A's Edge Pirates Behind Colon

(Pittsburgh, PA) -- Bartolo Colon outdueled fellow All-Star Jeff Locke as the Athletics edged the Pirates 2-1 in the opener of a three-game interleague series at PNC Park. Colon scattered seven hits and one run over seven innings as he improved to 12-3. Grant Balfour pitched a perfect ninth for his 23rd save. Balfour saved his 41st consecutive game passing Dennis Eckersley for the most consecutive saves in Oakland history. Josh Donaldson and Derek Norris plated a run each for the A's, who have won nine of their last 12. Oakland is 10-0 all-time against Pittsburgh. Locke allowed two runs on three hits and as many walks in seven frames as he fell to 8-2 with the tough-luck loss. Jose Tabata drove in Pittsburgh's lone run on an infield single in the seventh. The Bucs have dropped three in-a-row.

All But One Of HR Derby Participants Announced

(New York, NY) -- The teams for next week's All-Star Home Run Derby nearly in place. Swinging for the National League will be captain David Wright of the Mets, Rockies outfielders Carlos Gonzalez and Michael Cuddyer and Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper. Joining captain Robinson Cano on the American League side will be Orioles first baseman Chris Davis and defending champion Prince Fielder of the Tigers. Cano has yet to confirm his final teammate.

Tuesday, July 9 Schedule (All Times Central)

MLB NL

6:05 p.m. - Washington Nationals at Philadelphia Phillies

6:10 p.m. - Atlanta Braves at Miami Marlins

7:10 p.m. - Cincinnati Reds at Milwaukee Brewers

8:40 p.m. - Los Angeles Dodgers at Arizona Diamondbacks

9:10 p.m. - Colorado Rockies at San Diego Padres

9:15 p.m. - New York Mets at San Francisco Giants

MLB AL

6:05 p.m. - Kansas City Royals at New York Yankees

6:05 p.m. - Texas Rangers at Baltimore Orioles

6:05 p.m. - Toronto Blue Jays at Cleveland Indians

6:08 p.m. - Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers

6:10 p.m. - Minnesota Twins at Tampa Bay Rays

9:10 p.m. - Boston Red Sox at Seattle Mariners

MLB Interleague

6:05 p.m. - Oakland Athletics at Pittsburgh Pirates

7:05 p.m. - Los Angeles Angels at Chicago Cubs

7:15 p.m. - Houston Astros at St. Louis Cardinals