Cardinals, White Sox Win, Nationals Crush Cubs, ML Roundup

Cardinals Power Past Brewers

(Milwaukee, WI) -- Carlos Beltran, Allen Craig and Matt Holliday all homered to power the Cardinals to an 8-6 win over the Brewers at Miller Park. Starting pitcher Jake Westbrook also doubled in two runs for St. Louis, which built an early 7-0 lead and hung on to take the rubber match of the three-game series. Kevin Siegrist picked up the win after Westbrook failed to get through five innings. Edward Mujica gave up a homer to Logan Schafer in the ninth before posting his 33rd save. Aramis Ramirez also homered for Milwaukee. Starter Tom Gorzelanny took the loss.

Nationals Crush Cubs

(Chicago, IL) -- Former Cub Scott Hairston hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the top of the seventh inning as the Nationals went on to crush the Cubs 11-6 at Wrigley Field. Hairston was acquired from the Cubs in July. Jayson Werth also hit a three-run homer for the Nationals, who have won two in-a-row after losing the opener of the four-game set. Tanner Roark picked up the win in relief. The Cubs used a five-run fifth inning to erase a 6-1 deficit, but the Nationals put up five runs of their own in the next two innings. Anthony Rizzo went 3-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI for the Cubs, who have dropped eight-of-10. James Russell fell to 1-4 with the loss.

White Sox Sink Royals

(Kansas City, MO) -- Dayan Viciedo belted a grand slam to power the White Sox to a 5-2 win over the Royals in Kansas City. Alexei Ramirez also knocked in a run for Chicago, which has won five straight. Andre Rienzo allowed two runs over six innings for his first career win.  Addison Reed picked up his 33rd save. Jeremy Guthrie allowed five runs in six innings for the loss. Alex Gordon was 2-for-4 with a run scored for Kansas City, which has lost four in-a-row.

Johnson's Blast In Extras Lift Braves Over Mets

(Flushing, NY) -- Chris Johnson hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the top of the 10th inning to push the Braves past the Mets 4-1 at Citi Field. Andrelton Simmons and Freddie Freeman both collected three hits for Atlanta. Outfielder Jason Heyward left in the sixth inning after taking a Jon Niese pitch to the cheek. Luis Avilan improved to 5-0 with the win and Craig Kimbrel closed the door in the 10th for his 40th save as the Braves split the brief two-game set. Scott Atchinson took the loss. Josh Satin went 2-for-4, swatting his second homer of the year for New York in defeat.

Padres Nip Pirates

(San Diego, CA) -- Yonder Alonso knocked in two runs as the Padres held on for a 2-1 win over the Pirates in Southern California. Logan Forsythe was 3-for-3 for San Diego, which avoided the three-game sweep. Ian Kennedy struck out eight in seven scoreless innings for the win.  Huston Street picked up his 24th save. Andrew McCutchen knocked in the only run for Pittsburgh, which is 4-8 in its last 12 games. Gerrit Cole allowed both runs in six innings for the setback.

Dodgers Dump Marlins

(Miami, FL) -- Zack Greinke struck out seven over eight innings of one-run ball as the Dodgers dropped the Marlins 4-1 in Florida. Greinke only allowed a solo home run to Giancarlo Stanton as he improved to 12-3 on the season. Kenley Jansen picked up his 21st save for Los Angeles, which has won two straight since losing the opener of this four-game series. Hanley Ramirez was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs and an RBI in the win. Former Dodger Nate Eovaldi allowed all the runs in seven frames for the loss.

Reds Hold Off Diamondbacks

(Cincinnati, OH) -- The Reds jumped out to an 8-0 lead and held on for a 10-7 win over the Diamondbacks in the third of four games at the Great American Ball Park. Arizona trimmed the score to 8-7, but Cincinnati posted two insurance runs in the eighth and closed it out courtesy of a two-inning save from Aroldis Chapman. Shin-Soo Choo was 4-for-5 with a home run, three RBI and three runs scored. Mike Leake earned the win. Brandon McCarthy didn't make it out of the third inning and was charged with seven runs to take the loss. Adam Eaton and Gerardo Parra both left the yard. The Reds now lead the D'backs by six games for the second NL Wild Card spot.

Mariners Rally To Beat A's

(Oakland, CA) -- Brendan Ryan's two-run double in the sixth put Oakland ahead, and he singled in another in the eighth as the Mariners rallied for a 5-3 win over the Athletics at the O.co Coliseum. Michael Morse and Brad Miller hit solo homers for Seattle, which took the final two games of the three-game series. Hisashi Iwakuma pitched seven innings of three-run ball for his 12th win and Danny Farquhar struck out the side in the ninth to notch his ninth save.  A.J. Griffin took the loss for Oakland. Coco Crisp and Brandon Moss hit solo homers for the A's in the setback.

Indians Sweep Angels In Anaheim

(Anaheim, CA) -- Nick Swisher smacked a two-run homer as the Indians completed a three-game sweep of the Angels with a 3-1 win in Anaheim. Mike Aviles scored the other run for Cleveland in the ninth inning on a wild pitch. Justin Masterson struck out seven over six-and-two-thirds innings of one-run ball as he upped his mark to 14-9. Chris Perez closed it out for his 20th save.  The Tribe have won six-of-eight. Hank Conger doubled in the lone run for the Halos, who have dropped four in-a-row. Jerome Williams allowed two runs in 6 1/3 frames as he fell to 5-10.

Yanks Roll Blue Jays

(Bronx, NY) -- An Alfonso Soriano two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning lifted the Yankees to a 4-2 win over the Blue Jays in the Bronx. David Huff pitched five scoreless inning out of the bullpen to grab the win, while Mariano Rivera nailed down his 37th save. New York has won nine of 11 to move to 67-59. Ichiro Suzuki recorded his 4,000th professional hit during the first inning. Toronto's R.A. Dickey tossed an eight-inning complete-game, allowing all four runs while striking out nine. Dickey fell to 9-12. Josh Thole hit a solo shot. The Blue Jays are 57-70.

O's Double Up Rays To Avoid Sweep

(Baltimore, MD) -- Chris Davis and Adam Jones both homered as the Orioles doubled up the Rays 4-2 to avoid a three-game sweep at Camden Yards. Davis now has a Major League-leading 46 homers on the year. Jones drove in two, while Matt Wieters also plated a run for the O's, who trail Oakland by three games for the final AL Wild Card spot.  Wei-Yin Chen tossed seven innings of two-run ball as he improved to 7-and-6. Tommy Hunter pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save. Jason Bourgeois and Sean Rodriguez both went deep for Tampa, which had won its previous three. The Rays are now a game behind Boston for first place in the AL East.  Jeremy Hellickson allowed all four runs in 4 1/3 frames as he slipped to 10-7.

Tigers Pound Twins

(Detroit, MI) -- The Tigers offense came alive late, posting four runs in the seventh inning and three in the eighth, as they defeated the Twins 7-1 in the second of three at Comerica Park. Miguel Cabrera hit a three-run double and Torii Hunter was 2-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. Reliever Drew Smyly improved to 5-0. Detroit has won three-of-four. Minnesota's only run came on a Brian Dozier single. Kevin Correia allowed two earned runs and four total in 6 2/3 innings to fall to 8-10. The Twins are 55-70.

Rangers Clip Astros

(Arlington, TX) -- Elvis Andrus RBI sac-fly in the bottom of the ninth sent the Rangers to a three-game sweep of the Astros with a 5-4 win in Arlington. Andrus drove in two, while Ian Kinsler was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Texas improved to 74-53. Closer Joe Nathan grabbed his fourth win. Jason Castro scored three of the four Houston runs and also hit a solo homer. It was his 15th of the season. Reliever Chia-Jen Lo was handed the loss. The Astros are 41-85.

Red Sox Rough Up Giants

(San Francisco, CA) -- Will Middlebrooks belted a two-run homer and Stephen Drew added a three-run shot as the Red Sox jolted the Giants 12-1 at AT&T Park. Jacoby Ellsbury and Shane Victorino each had three hits, and Jonny Gomes and Jarrod Saltalamacchia each drove in two runs for Boston. Felix Doubront gave up just five hits and one run over eight innings of work to improve to 9-6 with the win. Barry Zito was tagged for six runs in 3 2/3 frames to fall to 4-9 with the loss. Joaquin Arias hit a solo homer in the second for San Francisco's only run.

Ruiz Guides Phillies To Win

(Philadelphia, PA) -- The cheers of Choooooch echoed through Citizens Bank Park in the ninth inning Wednesday night. Carlos Ruiz whacked a one-out double into the left-field corner to score the tying run in a 4-3 victory over the Rockies. He slid into second base, popped up and clapped his hands to celebrate a big hit in a game played for only pride at this point. Two batters later, Ruiz scored the winning run when Michael Young singled to left field, giving the Phillies their third victory in four games after a 4-21 stretch that contributed to Charlie Manuel losing his job Friday.

Braves' Heyward Out For Rest Of Regular Season

(Flushing, NY) -- Atlanta Braves outfielder Jason Heyward is expected to miss the rest of the regular season after leaving today's game in the top of the sixth inning after taking a pitch to the side of the face. The "Atlanta Journal Constitution" reports Heyward has a fractured right jaw and is expected to miss four-to-six weeks. Braves manager Freddi Gonzalez says a couple players talked to Jason Heyward before he went to the hospital.

The ball ricocheted off Heyward's flap which prevented more serious damage. Heyward left under his own power. The Braves went on to win the game 4-1 in 10 innings.

Wednesday, August 21 Scoreboard

MLB NL

Atlanta Braves 4, New York Mets 1 (10 inn)

St. Louis Cardinals 8, Milwaukee Brewers 6

San Diego Padres 2, Pittsburgh Pirates 1

Philadelphia Phillies 4, Colorado Rockies 3

Los Angeles Dodgers 4, Miami Marlins 1

Cincinnati Reds 10, Arizona Diamondbacks 7

Washington Nationals 11, Chicago Cubs 6

MLB AL

Seattle Mariners 5, Oakland Athletics 3

Cleveland Indians 3, LA Angels of Anaheim 1

New York Yankees 4, Toronto Blue Jays 2

Baltimore Orioles 4, Tampa Bay Rays 2

Detroit Tigers 7, Minnesota Twins 1

Texas Rangers 5, Houston Astros 4

Chicago White Sox 5, Kansas City Royals 2

MLB Interleague

Boston Red Sox 12, San Francisco Giants 1

Thursday, August 22 Schedule (All Times Central)

MLB NL

11:35 a.m. - Arizona Diamondbacks at Cincinnati Reds

11:40 a.m. - Los Angeles Dodgers at Miami Marlins

1:20 p.m. - Washington Nationals at Chicago Cubs

6:05 p.m. - Colorado Rockies at Philadelphia Phillies

7:15 p.m. - Atlanta Braves at St. Louis Cardinals

8:15 p.m. - Pittsburgh Pirates at San Francisco Giants

MLB AL

12:05 p.m. - Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees

12:08 p.m. - Minnesota Twins at Detroit Tigers

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

MLB Interleague

No Games Scheduled