Craig's Slam Lifts Cards, Cubs, White Sox Lose, ML Roundup

Craig's Slam Lifts Cards Past Reds

(St. Louis, MO) -- Allen Craig crushed a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning as the Cardinals rallied past the Reds 8-6 in the opener of a huge three-game series at Busch Stadium. Craig says this was a big win for the team as the season starts to wind down.

Matt Holliday hit a three-run homer in the third for the Redbirds, who have won eight of their last 10 to take a half-game lead in the NL Central on idle Pittsburgh. Carlos Martinez picked up his first career victory.  Edward Mujica closed it out for his 35th save. Zack Cozart and Todd Frazier both had two-run triples, while Jay Bruce hit a solo homer for the Reds.   Cincinnati has dropped three-of-four and are now three-and-a-half games behind the division-leading Cardinals. Cozart drove in three in the setback. Manny Parra suffered the loss.

Greinke Dodgers Cruise Past Cubs

(Los Angeles, CA) -- Zack Greinke did it all as the Dodgers cruised to a 6-2 win over the Cubs in the opener of a three-game series at Chavez Ravine. Greinke drove in a run plus tossed 8 2/3 innings of two-run ball. He struck out nine as he improved to 13-3 with the win. Hanley Ramirez and Yasiel Puig both homered and Carl Crawford knocked in two runs for the Dodgers, who snapped a two-game skid. Brian Bogusevic hit a two-run double in the ninth inning for Chicago, which has lost six-of-seven. Jake Arrieta allowed four runs in five frames as he slipped to 1-1 with the Cubs and 2-3 overall.

Astros Outslug White Sox

(Chicago, IL) -- Matt Dominguez and Cris Carter hit back-to-back homers in the top of the ninth to lift the Astros to a 10-8 win over the White Sox in the first of three on the North Side.  Carter's two home runs and four RBI led Houston's offensive outburst. Jason Castro and Brett Wallace also left the yard as Houston improved to 44-86. David Martinez earned the win and Jordan Lyles nailed down his first save. Adam Dunn hit his 30th long ball of the season in the loss. It's the 10th time he's hit 30 homers or more in his career. Addison Reed took the loss for Chicago, which fell to 54-76.

Phillies Edge Mets

(Flushing, NY) -- Cliff Lee tossed eight innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts as the Phillies clipped the Mets 2-1 at Citi Field. Lee improved to 11-6 while Jonathan Papelbon pitched a perfect ninth for his 22nd save. Cody Asche laced a two-run double in the fourth to score Michael Young and Darin Ruf as Philadelphia won its fifth in six games. Zack Wheeler struck out seven over 6 2/3 innings of two-run ball but fell to 6-3 with the loss for New York. Andrew Brown's RBI single gave the Mets their lone run. New York has lost five straight.

Rockies Cruise Past Giants

(Denver, CO) -- Todd Helton hit a two-run homer and Charlie Blackmon added a solo shot as the Rockies cruised past the Giants 6-1 in the opener of a three-game series at Coors Field.  Blackmon drove in two runs in place of Dexter Fowler, who left in the second inning with a left lateral knee bruise. Nolan Arenado went 3-for-4 with two runs scored for the Rockies, who have won three-of-four. Juan Nicasio struck out nine over six shutout innings as he improved to 8-6. He also plated a run in the victory. Joaquin Arias had a pinch-hit RBI-double in the ninth inning for San Francisco, which had won its previous two. Barry Zito permitted five runs in four frames as he fell to 4-10.

Royals Rough Up Rays In Makeup Tilt

(Kansas City, MO) -- Billy Butler went 3-for-3 with a home run to pace a 13-hit attack as the Royals roughed up the Rays 11-1 in a makeup game at Kauffman Stadium. Salvador Perez also homered and knocked in four for Kansas City, which won its second straight on the heels of a seven-game skid. Jeremy Guthrie pitched five innings of one-run ball to improve to 13-10.  Jeremy Hellickson was touched for seven hits and five runs in less than three innings to fall to 10-8 with the loss. Matt Joyce went 3-for-3 and James Loney singled in the lone run for Tampa Bay.

Blue Jays Dump Yankees

(Toronto, Ontario) -- The Blue Jays used a three-run fourth inning to fly past the Yankees 5-2 in the first of three games at Rogers Centre. Adam Lind laced an RBI double to key the inning. R.A. Dickey picked up his 10th win of the season, striking out six and allowing two runs over 6 1/3 innings. Toronto improved to 59-73. Alex Rodriguez connected for a solo homer, his third of the year and 650th of his career. Derek Jeter went 0-for-3 with a walk in his return from the disabled list.  Phil Hughes' season long struggles continued as he gave up five runs, only three of which were earned, and didn't make it out of the fifth inning. New York fell to 69-62.

A's Outmuscle Tigers

(Detroit, MI) -  Coco Crisp went 3-for-6 with a solo homer and two RBI to power the Athletics in an 8-6 win over the Tigers at Comerica Park.  Daric Barton added two hits and two RBI while Alberto Callaspo was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored in the win. A.J. Griffin gave up four runs in five-plus innings but improved to 11-9 while Grant Balfour notched his 33rd save.  Oakland had lost four out of five coming in.  Anibal Sanchez gave up four runs over five innings for Detroit but Jose Alvarez took the loss in relief. Miguel Cabrera's two-run homer was his 43rd of the season and Omar Infante added a two-run blast of his own. Victor Martinez also went deep for the Tigers, who saw a three-game winning streak come to an end.

Rangers Sink Mariners

(Seattle, WA) -- A.J. Pierzynski blasted a three-run homer to help power the Rangers to an 8-3 win over the Mariners at Safeco Field.  Mitch Moreland added a solo shot while Alex Rios was 2-for-4 with two RBI and Elvis Andrus had three hits. Travis Blackley gave up three runs over six innings to improve to 2-1. Texas halted a two-game slide to win for the fifth time in seven games. Joe Saunders was tagged for seven runs across seven innings for Seattle and fell to 10-13. Brad Miller went 2-for-4 with two RBI and Kyle Seager hit a solo homer as the M's dropped their fourth straight.

McCarthy Pitches D-backs Past Padres

(Phoenix, AZ) -- After being hammered by the Reds in his start last week, D-backs right-hander Brandon McCarthy studied video to try and figure out the cause of his struggles. McCarthy thought he found a mechanical issue, and after he and pitching coach Charles Nagy worked on it for a while, something finally clicked. "I felt like my old self," McCarthy said. And McCarthy looked like his old self Monday night, as he pitched seven strong innings to lead the D-backs past the Padres, 6-1, at Chase Field.

Mets' Harvey Has Partial Ligament Tear

(Flushing, NY) -- The New York Mets are shutting down ace pitcher Matt Harvey. The 24-year-old right-hander has been diagnosed with a partially torn UCL in his elbow. Harvey says he has been pitching with some discomfort for a while.

Harvey had an MRI on Monday, which revealed the partial ligament tear. He is 9-5 with a 2.27 ERA in 26 starts this season.

Monday, August 26 Scoreboard

MLB NL

St. Louis Cardinals 8, Cincinnati Reds 6

Philadelphia Phillies 2, New York Mets 1

Colorado Rockies 6, San Francisco Giants 1

Arizona Diamondbacks 6, San Diego Padres 1

Los Angeles Dodgers 6, Chicago Cubs 2

MLB AL

Kansas City Royals 11, Tampa Bay Rays 1

Toronto Blue Jays 5, New York Yankees 2

Oakland Athletics 8, Detroit Tigers 6

Houston Astros 10, Chicago White Sox 8

Texas Rangers 8, Seattle Mariners 3

MLB Interleague

No Games Scheduled

Tuesday, August 27 Schedule (All Times Central)

MLB NL

6:05 p.m. - Miami Marlins at Washington Nationals

6:05 p.m. - Milwaukee Brewers at Pittsburgh Pirates

6:10 p.m. - Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets

7:15 p.m. - Cincinnati Reds at St. Louis Cardinals

7:40 p.m. - San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies

8:40 p.m. - San Diego Padres at Arizona Diamondbacks

9:10 p.m. - Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Dodgers

MLB AL

6:07 p.m. - New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays

6:08 p.m. - Oakland Athletics at Detroit Tigers

6:10 p.m. - Baltimore Orioles at Boston Red Sox

6:10 p.m. - Los Angeles Angels at Tampa Bay Rays

7:10 p.m. - Houston Astros at Chicago White Sox

7:10 p.m. - Kansas City Royals at Minnesota Twins

9:10 p.m. - Texas Rangers at Seattle Mariners

MLB Interleague

6:10 p.m. - Cleveland Indians at Atlanta Braves