Major League Roundup -- September 8

Cardinals Send Pirates To Fourth Straight Loss

(St. Louis, MO  -- The Cardinals finished off a three-game sweep of the Pirates with a 9-2 win behind seven shutout innings from Michael Wacha at Busch Stadium. St. Louis took a 1 1/2 game lead over the Pirates for first place in the division. Wacha also helped out with his bat driving in two runs with a base hit. He improved to 3-0 on the season. Charlie Morton didn't make it out of the second inning after allowing five runs on six hits to fall to 7-4. The Pirates have dropped four straight.

Brewers Best Cubs

(Chicago, IL) -- Yovani Gallardo allowed a run over seven innings to pace the Brewers over the Cubs 3-1 in Chicago. Gallardo also singled in a run as he improved to 11-and-9 for Milwaukee, which has won three-of-four. Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Gomez were each 2-for-4 with a run scored in the win. Jim Henderson picked up his 24th save. Junior Lake was 2-for-3 with a solo home run for Chicago, which has lost four of its last six. Justin Grimm took the loss in relief.

White Sox Double Up O's To Snap Nine-Game Skid

(Baltimore, MD) -- Adam Dunn clubbed a two-run homer as the White Sox doubled up the Orioles 4-2 to avoid a four-game sweep at Camden Yards. Dayan Viciedo and Alejandro De Aza both plated a run for Chicago, which snapped a nine-game losing streak. Andre Rienzo tossed 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball as he improved to 2-1. Addison Reed closed it out for his 37th save. Adam Jones homered and Ryan Flaherty had an RBI for the O's, who had won five-of-seven coming in. Bud Norris allowed all four runs in 4 1/3 frames as he slipped to 10-11.

Nationals Top Marlins

(Miami, FL) -- Ian Desmond and Wilson Ramos had three hits and two RBI each to lead the Nationals to a 6-4 win over the Marlins at Marlins Park. Ramos and Ryan Zimmerman hit home runs to support winning pitcher Stephen Strasburg, who allowed four runs on four hits and struck out seven. Strasburg improved to 7-9. Rafael Soriano picked up his 39th save. The Nats improved to 73-69 and kept their slim postseason hopes alive. Justin Ruggiano had three hits for Miami in the loss. Justin Turner took the loss to fall to 3-6.

Phillies Nip Braves

(Philadelphia, PA) -- Cole Hamels struck out nine and gave up two runs over eight innings to pace the Phillies to a 3-2 win over the Braves at Citizens Bank Park. Hamels picked up his seven win against 13 losses. Darin Ruf hit a solo homer and knocked in two runs for Philadelphia, which swept the three-game series. Chase Utley went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI for the Phils. B.J. Rosenberg picked up his first save. David Carpenter took the loss in relief for Atlanta, which has lost four straight. Evan Gattis connected for two homers for the Braves.

Giants Edge D'backs In 11 Innings

(San Francisco, CA) -- Angel Pagan singled in the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning as the Giants edged the Diamondbacks 3-2 at AT&T Park. Hector Sanchez plated a run and Buster Posey scored the other run on a wild pitch for the Giants, who earned a split in the four-game set.  Javier Lopez was credited with the win. Eric Chavez and A.J. Pollock plated a run each in the eighth inning for Arizona, which has dropped five-of-eight. Joe Thatcher fell to 3-2 with the loss.

Padres Pummel Rockies

(San Diego, CA) -- Nick Hundley capped a four-run seventh inning with a three-run double to give the Padres a 5-2 win over the Rockies in San Diego. Ian Kennedy struck out seven in five innings of two-run ball while Nick Vincent picked up the win in relief. Huston Street notched his 29th save for San Diego, which has won five-of-six. Roy Oswalt slipped to 0-5 in relief after allowing five runs in 3 1/3 innings. Josh Rutledge was 2-for-3 while Michael Cuddyer and Jordan Pacheco knocked in the runs for Colorado, which has lost five of its last six games.

Reds Walk-Off On Dodgers

(Cincinnati, OH) -- Ryan Hanigan doubled in the winning run during the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Reds a 3-2 win over the Dodgers. Jay Bruce hit a pair of solo homers for Cincinnati, which has won four straight. Homer Bailey struck out nine in seven innings of two-run ball while Aroldis Chapman picked up the win to improve to 4-5. Hanley Ramirez hit a solo homer and doubled in a run for Los Angeles, which has lost four in-a-row. Clayton Kershaw gave up two runs in seven innings in the start. Ronald Belisario suffered the loss to fall to 5-7.

Yankees Avoid Sweep By Red Sox

(Bronx, NY) -- Ichiro Suzuki scored the winning run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Yankees edged the Red Sox 4-3 to avoid a four-game sweep in the Bronx. Robinson Cano went 3-for-4 with a two-run double and Mark Reynolds also doubled in a run for the Yanks, who had given up 34 runs in the first three games of the series. Mariano Rivera picked up the win after giving up a game-tying solo homer to Will Middlebrooks in the ninth. It was Rivera's seventh blown save. Mike Carp and Jarrod Saltalamacchia also plated a run each Boston, which had its five-game winning streak snapped. Brandon Workman suffered the loss.

Royals Roll Tigers

(Kansas City, MO) -- Eric Hosmer was 3-for-4 with a three-run homer to power the Royals to a 5-2 win over the Tigers at Kauffman Stadium. Alex Gordon went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI for Kansas City, which has won six-of-eight. Bruce Chen allowed two runs in seven innings to pick up his seventh win.  Greg Holland notched his 40th save of the year. Doug Fister gave up all the runs in 6 1/3 innings for the loss. Jose Iglesias belted a two-run shot for Detroit, which has lost four-of-five overall.

Rangers Nip Angels

(Anaheim, CA) -- Alex Rios hit a solo homer and drove in two to power the Rangers to a 4-3 win over the Angels in Anaheim. Leonys Martin was 2-for-3 with two runs for Texas, which snapped a three-game skid. Alexi Ogando picked up the win and Joe Nathan locked up his 39th save. Kole Calhoun lifted a solo shot for Los Angeles, which had won three straight. Jason Vargas struck out eight over six innings of two-run ball for the no-decision. Michael Kohn suffered the loss.

Athletics Crush Astros

(Oakland, CA) -- Seth Smith hit a three-run home run and Brandon Moss had three hits and two runs batted in to help the Athletics blast the Astros 7-2 at the O-dot-C-O Coliseum. Bartolo Colon allowed one run on five hits over six innings for the win to go to 15-6. Daric Barton and Yoenis Cespedes added two hits each and also drove in a run. Brett Anderson earned a three-inning save, his third of the season. Lucas Harrell took the loss after lasting only three innings. He allowed seven runs on seven hits to drop to 6-16. Oakland took three of four games in the series and has won three-in-a-row. The A's remain in first place in the AL West, a 1 1/2 up on Texas.

Rays Rally Past Mariners

(Seattle, WA) -- James Loney finished 3-of-4 with the game-tying RBI to help lift the Rays to a 4-1 win over the Mariners in Seattle. Ben Zobrist went 2-for-5 with a run for Tampa Bay, which snapped a three-game slide and is currently tied for a wild card spot in the A-L. Matt Moore allowed a run in six-and-a-third innings for a no-decision. Jake McGee picked up the win and Fernando Rodney locked up his 33rd save. Kendrys Morales hit a solo homer for Seattle, which avoided the three-game sweep. Yoervis Medina took the loss in relief of Erasmo Ramirez, who gave up four hits in six scoreless innings for a no decision.

Mets Score Late To Top Indians

(Cleveland, OH) -- Eric Young Junior doubled in the go-ahead run with two outs in the top of the ninth inning to lead the Mets over the Indians 2-1 at Progressive Field. Young, Justin Turner and Daniel Murphy had two hits each for the Mets. Frank Francisco earned win by getting two outs in the eighth inning and LaTroy Hawkins picked up his eighth save. The Mets won for just the second time in seven games.  Cleveland closer Chris Perez took the loss to fall to 5-3. Asdrubal Cabrera drove in the Indians' only run. Cleveland's four-game winning streak came to an end but they are 76-66 and still very much alive in the AL wild card race.

Sunday, September 8 Scoreboard

MLB NL

Washington Nationals 6, Miami Marlins 4

Philadelphia Phillies 3, Atlanta Braves 2

St. Louis Cardinals 9, Pittsburgh Pirates 2

Milwaukee Brewers 3, Chicago Cubs 1

San Francisco Giants 3, Arizona Diamondbacks 2 (11 inn)

San Diego Padres 5, Colorado Rockies 2

Cincinnati Reds 3, Los Angeles Dodgers 2

MLB AL

New York Yankees 4, Boston Red Sox 3

Chicago White Sox 4, Baltimore Orioles 2

Kansas City Royals 5, Detroit Tigers 2

Toronto Blue Jays 2, Minnesota Twins 0

Texas Rangers 4, Los Angeles Angels 3

Oakland Athletics 7, Houston Astros 2

Tampa Bay Rays 4, Seattle Mariners 1

MLB Interleague

New York Mets 2, Cleveland Indians 1

Monday, September 9 Schedule (All Times Central)

MLB NL

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

6:10 p.m. - Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati Reds

6:10 p.m. - Washington Nationals at New York Mets

9:10 p.m. - Arizona Diamondbacks at Los Angeles Dodgers

9:15 p.m. - Colorado Rockies at San Francisco Giants

MLB AL

6:05 p.m. - Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Indians

6:05 p.m. - New York Yankees at Baltimore Orioles

6:10 p.m. - Los Angeles Angels at Minnesota Twins

7:10 p.m. - Detroit Tigers at Chicago White Sox

9:10 p.m. - Houston Astros at Seattle Mariners

MLB Interleague

7:05 p.m. - Pittsburgh Pirates at Texas Rangers