Cardinals Snap Losing Skid, Cubs Lose, Sox Lose Again

Cards Pound Pirates To Avoid Five-Game Sweep

(Pittsburgh, PA)  --  Jon Jay drove in two runs and scored three times as the Cardinals pounded the Pirates 13-0 to avoid a five-game sweep at PNC Park.  Tony Cruz and Allen Craig also plated two runs each for the Redbirds, who snapped a season-high seven-game losing streak.  Joe Kelly tossed six shutout innings as he improved to 2-and-3.  Starling Marte had two of the five hits for the Bucs, who now lead the Cardinals by a game-and-a-half in the NL Central.  Charlie Morton allowed five runs in six frames as he fell to 3-and-3.

Dodgers Clip Cubs

(Chicago, IL)  --  Yasiel Puig was 2-for-4 with a homer and two runs scored helping the Dodgers sneak by the Cubs, 6-4, at Wrigley Field in the first of four games.  Los Angeles posted three runs in the top of the sixth inning behind a two-run single by Jerry Hairston Jr. that gave them the lead for good.  Ricky Nolasco improved to 7-and-9, allowing three runs and striking out six in five innings.  Los Angeles is 58-and-49.  Chicago's runs all came courtesy of two solo home runs apiece from Junior Lake and Anthony Rizzo.  Chris Rusin fell to 1-and-1 as the Cubs dropped to 49-and-59.

Raburn Homers Twice As Indians Win Eighth Straight

(Cleveland, OH)  --  Ryan Raburn hit two homers and drove in four as the Indians beat the White Sox 6-1 in Cleveland.  Drew Stubbs and Carlos Santana both collected three hits as Cleveland won its eighth straight.  Justin Masterson fanned seven while surrendering just five hits and one run in six-and-two-thirds innings for his 13th victory.  The Tribe is a season-best 12 games over .500 at 60-and-48.  Alejandro De Aza homered to get Chicago on the board in the sixth.  Chris Sale was knocked around for 10 hits and five runs in five innings to lose his 11th game of the season.  The White Sox dropped their seventh straight contest.

>>THURSDAY'S SCOREBOARD

MLB NL
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Miami Marlins 3, New York Mets 0
San Francisco Giants 2, Philadelphia Phillies 1
St. Louis Cardinals 13, Pittsburgh Pirates 0
Atlanta Braves 11, Colorado Rockies 2
Los Angeles Dodgers 6, Chicago Cubs 4

MLB AL
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Cleveland Indians 6, Chicago White Sox 1
Kansas City Royals 7, Minnesota Twins 2
Baltimore Orioles 6, Houston Astros 3
Boston Red Sox 8, Seattle Mariners 7
LA Angels of Anaheim 8, Toronto Blue Jays 2

MLB Interleague
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Texas Rangers 7, Arizona Diamondbacks 1

>>FRIDAY'S SCHEDULE (All times are Central)

MLB NL
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  3:05 p.m. - Los Angeles Dodgers at Chicago Cubs
  6:05 p.m. - Atlanta Braves at Philadelphia Phillies
  6:05 p.m. - Colorado Rockies at Pittsburgh Pirates
  6:10 p.m. - St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds
  7:10 p.m. - Washington Nationals at Milwaukee Brewers

MLB AL
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  6:05 p.m. - Seattle Mariners at Baltimore Orioles
  6:08 p.m. - Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers
  7:10 p.m. - Houston Astros at Minnesota Twins
  9:05 p.m. - Texas Rangers at Oakland Athletics
  9:05 p.m. - Toronto Blue Jays at Los Angeles Angels

MLB Interleague
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  6:10 p.m. - San Francisco Giants at Tampa Bay Rays
  6:10 p.m. - Cleveland Indians at Miami Marlins
  6:10 p.m. - Arizona Diamondbacks at Boston Red Sox
  6:10 p.m. - Kansas City Royals at New York Mets
  9:10 p.m. - New York Yankees at San Diego Padres