White Sox Top Astros, Cubs, Cards Lose, ML Roundup

Reds Romp Cards

(St. Louis, MO) -- Six runs in the first and three in the second helped the Reds cruise to a 10-0 victory over the Cardinals in the finale of a three-game set at Busch Stadium.  Cincinnati avoided being swept and improved to 75-59. Jay Bruce was 2-for-4 with a homer and five RBI in the win. Homer Bailey grabbed his ninth win, pitching into the eighth inning and striking out seven. Bailey says he was due for a solid outing against the rival Cardinals. Adam Wainwright was charged with nine runs in two innings as he fell to 15-8. St. Louis only had five hits and grounded into two double plays. The Cards lead the Pirates by a half-game and Cincy by 3 1/2 games in the NL Central.

Nolasco, Dodgers Blank Cubs

(Los Angeles, CA) -- Hanley Ramirez belted a solo home run in the first inning and that was all starter Ricky Nolasco needed, as the Dodgers shut out the Cubs 4-0 at Dodger Stadium.  Nolasco tossed eight scoreless frames, giving up only three hits and striking out 11 en route to his 11th win. Andre Ethier added two hits, including his 10th homer, as LA won for the sixth time in nine games. Edwin Jackson lost his 14th game, surrendering two earned runs and four total in less than seven innings of work. Wellington Castillo had two of the Cubs' three hits.

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly finally put his foot down. Rookie outfielder Yasiel Puig was pulled from Wednesday's 4-0 win over the Cubs for disciplinary reasons. The specific reason was not disclosed by Mattingly, who said no one is out to get Yasiel Puig. Puig had a meeting with the manager and GM Ned Colletti after the game that lasted 30 minutes. Puig should be back in the lineup on Friday when Los Angeles faces the Padres. He is hitting .347 with 13 homers and 30 RBI in 75 games.

White Sox Top Astros

(Chicago, IL) -- Avisail Garcia smacked a three-run homer during a four-run seventh inning as the White Sox topped the Astros 6-1 in the rubber match of a three-game series at U.S. Cellular Field.  Leury Garcia drove in a run and scored twice, while Paul Konerko and Jeff Keppinger also plated a run each for the Southsiders, who have won four-of-five and 10 of their last 12 overall. Chris Sale struck out 12 over eight innings of one-run ball as he improved to 10-12. Chris Carter hit a game-tying solo homer in the top of the seventh for Houston. Lucas Harrell suffered his Major League-leading 15th loss of the year. The Astros have dropped three-of-four.

Pirates Dump Brewers

(Pittsburgh, PA) -- Marlon Byrd began his Pirates career with a bang in Pittsburgh's 7-1 victory against the Brewers at PNC Park. Byrd smacked a three-run homer, his 22nd of the season, as the Pirates ended a three-game slide. Byrd says he was excited to play for his new team. Charlie Morton improved to 6-3, allowing only one unearned run. Josh Harrison had three hits and scored three times. Carlos Gomez was 2-for-4 and stole his 31st base for Milwaukee, which is 58-74. Tom Gorzelanny was tagged with the loss, giving up four runs in 5 1/3 innings.

Nats Nip Marlins

(Washington, DC) -- Ian Desmond singled in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning as the Nationals nipped the Marlins 4-3 in the middle of a three-game series in Washington, DC. The game was delayed more than an hour due to rain. Jayson Werth hit a game-tying solo homer in the sixth, while Stephen Lombardozzi and Bryce Harper also plated a run each for the Nats, who have won seven of their last eight games.  Drew Storen picked up the win and Rafael Soriano earned his 35th save. Jeff Mathis homered and drove in two and Giancarlo Stanton also went deep for Miami, which has dropped three in-a-row and seven-of-eight overall. Mike Dunn fell to 3-4 with the loss.

Pirates Dump Brewers

(Pittsburgh, PA) -- Marlon Byrd began his Pirates career with a bang in Pittsburgh's 7-1 victory against the Brewers at PNC Park. Byrd smacked a three-run homer, his 22nd of the season, as the Pirates ended a three-game slide. Charlie Morton improved to 6-3, allowing only one unearned run. Josh Harrison had three hits and scored three times. Carlos Gomez was 2-for-4 and stole his 31st base for Milwaukee, which is 58-74. Tom Gorzelanny was tagged with the loss, giving up four runs in 5 1/3 innings.

Hamels Leads Phillies Past Mets

(Flushing, NY) -- Cole Hamels hit a two-run single and tossed seven strong innings as the Phillies cruised past the Mets 6-2 at Citi Field. Hamels struck out eight while giving up two runs on nine hits as he improved to 6-13. Carlos Ruiz homered and Jimmy Rollins doubled in a run for the Phils, who have won two of the first three in the four-game series. Ike Davis and Andrew Brown plated a run each for the Mets, who have dropped six of their last seven.  Daisuke Matsuzaka allowed four runs in 4 1/3 frames as he slipped to 0-2.

Rockies Hold Off Giants

(Denver, CO) -- Jhoulys Chacin fired seven strong innings and plated what proved to be the deciding run, as the Rockies held on to beat the Giants 5-4 at Coors Field. Chacin struck out nine while giving up just an unearned run on one hit and two walks as he improved to 13-7.  Rex Brothers pitched a perfect ninth for his 14th save. Yorvit Torrealba hit a two-run double and Wilin Rosario had an RBI and scored twice for the Rockies, who have won three-of-four.  Brandon Belt, Buster Posey and Hunter Pence plated a run each for the Giants, who lost two-of-three in the series. Madison Bumgarner yielded four runs, three earned, in 5 1/3 frames as he slipped to 11-9.

Rangers Crush "King" Felix, Mariners

(Seattle, WA) -- Leonys Martin homered and drove in four runs as the Rangers routed the Mariners 12-4 from Safeco Field. Adrian Beltre and Elvis Andrus each had three hits and two RBI. Martin Perez won his fifth straight start, tossing six innings of two-run, five-hit ball. Texas has now won seven of its last nine games. "King" Felix Hernandez lost his eighth game of the season as he was roughed up for nine runs on 11 hits in three-plus innings. The 2010 Cy Young is now 0-and-4 with 7.57 ERA in five starts against Texas this season. Dustin Ackley and Kyle Seager had solo homers in the loss.

Jays Cruise Past Yankees

(Toronto, Ontario) -- Edwin Encarnacion clubbed a two-run homer to lead the Blue Jays past the Yankees 7-2 in the rubber match of a three-game series at Rogers Centre. Brett Lawrie hit a two-run double during a four-run first inning for the Jays, who have won three of their last four after a seven-game skid  Todd Redmond struck out seven while allowing just two runs over 5 2/3 innings as he evened his record at 2-2. Mark Reynolds went 3-for-4 with an RBI and Alex Rodriguez also drove in a run for the Yankees, who have dropped four-of-six. Hiroki Kuroda was tagged for seven runs, five earned, in five frames as he slipped to 11-10.

Athletics Dominate Tigers

(Detroit, MI) -- Brandon Moss belted a pair of homers and knocked in six runs as the Athletics dropped the Tigers 14-4 at Comerica Park. Moss was 4-for-5 with three runs in the win.  Josh Donaldson went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI and two runs for Oakland, which has won the first three of this four-game series. Jed Lowrie, Alberto Callaspo and Kurt Suzuki each had three hits and an RBI for the A's. Dan Straily improved to 7-and-7 after six innings of one-run ball.  Brett Anderson picked up his first save. Doug Fister gave up seven runs in five innings for the loss. Torii Hunter was 3-for-5 with a solo shot for Detroit.

Red Sox Clip Orioles

(Boston, MA) -- The Red Sox rallied late to pull out a 4-3 win over the Orioles at Fenway Park. Mike Carp had a go-ahead, one-run single in the bottom of the eighth, while Dustin Pedroia tied the game on a two RBI, base knock in the seventh. Reliever Craig Breslow grabbed the win and Koji Uehara nailed down his 14th save. Boston is seven-and-a-half ahead of Baltimore in the AL East after taking the first two of the three-game series. Chris Dais was 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBI. It was his 47th long ball of the season. Manny Machado also left the yard and scored two runs. Tommy Hunter was handed the loss.

Rays Roll Angels

(St. Petersburg, FL) -- David DeJesus was 2-for-3 with a pair of runs and an RBI as the Rays rolled the Angels 4-1 in St. Petersburg. The top four hitters in the lineup all had an RBI for Tampa Bay, which ended a three-game slide. Chris Archer improved to 8-and-5 after seven innings of one-run ball. Fernando Rodney picked up his 31st save. Mike Trout was 2-for-4 with a run for Los Angeles, which had won four in-a-row. Garrett Richards allowed all the runs in under four frames for the loss.

Royals Rough Up Twins

(Minneapolis, MN) -- Salvador Perez hit a pair of two-run homers to lead the Royals to an 8-1 rout of the Twins in the middle of a three-game series at Target Field. Alex Gordon also homered and Billy Butler drove in two runs and scored twice for KC, which has won four in-a-row after a seven-game skid. Danny Duffy struck out seven over 6 2/3 scoreless innings as he improved to 2-0. Justin Morneau homered in the ninth to break up the shutout for the Twins, who have lost four straight and nine of their last 12 overall. Andrew Albers allowed three runs, two earned, in seven frames as he fell to 2-2.

Braves Deck Indians In Ninth

(Atlanta, GA) -- Chris Johnson connected for a walk-off RBI-single in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Braves to a 3-2 win over the Indians at Turner Field. Atlanta jumped out two a 2-0 lead in the second off a Jordan Schafer two-run single. Closer Craig Kimbrel grabbed the win. Atlanta moved to 80-52 with its third straight win. Mike Aviles supplied Cleveland's offense with a solo homer and RBI sac-fly.  Reliever Joe Smith fell to 5-2. The Indians have lost the first two of the three-game set.

Wednesday, August 28 Scoreboard

MLB NL

Los Angeles Dodgers 4, Chicago Cubs 0

Washington Nationals 4, Miami Marlins 3

Pittsburgh Pirates 7, Milwaukee Brewers 1

Philadelphia Phillies 6, New York Mets 2

Cincinnati Reds 10, St. Louis Cardinals 0

Colorado Rockies 5, San Francisco Giants 4

San Diego Padres 5, Arizona Diamondbacks 1

MLB AL

Texas Rangers 12, Seattle Mariners 4

Toronto Blue Jays 7, New York Yankees 2

Oakland Athletics 14, Detroit Tigers 4

Boston Red Sox 4, Baltimore Orioles 3

Tampa Bay Rays 4, LA Angels of Anaheim 1

Chicago White Sox 6, Houston Astros 1

Kansas City Royals 8, Minnesota Twins 1

MLB Interleague

Atlanta Braves 3, Cleveland Indians 2

Thursday, August 29 Schedule (All Times Central)

MLB NL

12:10 p.m. - Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets

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

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

MLB AL

12:08 p.m. - Oakland Athletics at Detroit Tigers

12:10 p.m. - Los Angeles Angels at Tampa Bay Rays

12:10 p.m. - Kansas City Royals at Minnesota Twins

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

7:10 p.m. - Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros

MLB Interleague

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