Pirates Down Cubs, Brewers Best Cardinals, ML Roundup

Pirates Get By Cubs

(Pittsburgh, PA) -- The Pirates scored two runs in the fourth inning and one more for insurance in the eighth on their way to a 3-1 win over the Cubs at PNC Park. Jeff Locke allowed one run on three hits over seven innings to improve to 10-5. Mark Melancon earned his 14th save. Jordy Mercer, Marlon Byrd and Pedro Alvarez drove in the runs for the Pirates, who have won four straight and are now tied once again with St. Louis atop the NL Central.  Chris Rusin allowed two runs on four hits but dropped to 2-4. Starlin Castro drove in Chicago's only run.

Brewers Best Cardinals

(St. Louis, MO) -- Sean Halton hit a two-run homer and knocked in three runs to power the Brewers to a 5-3 win over the Cardinals in St. Louis. Scooter Gennett was 2-for-5 with a run scored for Milwaukee, which avoided the three-game sweep. Tyler Thornburg allowed two runs in six innings for his second win. Jim Henderson picked up his 25th save. Joe Kelly gave up four runs in five frames for the loss. Matt Adams hit a solo shot for St. Louis, which had won five in-a-row. The Cards are now tied with the Pirates atop the NL Central.

Indians Trounce White Sox

(Chicago, IL) -- Ryan Raburn lifted a three-run home run and knocked in five RBI as the Indians trounced the White Sox 14-3 at U.S. Cellular Field. Nick Swisher added a solo homer and three RBI for Cleveland, which snapped a two-game slide. Asdrubal Cabrera also went deep for the Tribe.  Corey Kluber allowed two runs in five innings for his ninth win. John Danks gave up seven runs in four innings for the setback. Paul Konerko hit a solo shot for Chicago, which has lost three straight.

Garcia Sharp As Braves Beat Marlins

(Miami, FL) -- Freddy Garcia hurled six innings of five-hit, one-run ball to pitch the Braves to a 6-1 win over the Marlins in Miami. Freddie Freeman went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer for Atlanta, which took three of four games at Marlins Park. Chris Johnson also had three hits and drove in two for the Braves, who reduced their magic number to six to clinch the NL East.  Brian Flynn surrendered six hits, six walks and six runs in just four innings to take the loss for the Fish. Christian Yelich had two hits and Donovan Solano drove in the Marlins' lone run with single in the third inning.

Nationals Belt Four Homers To Sweep Mets

(Flushing, NY) --  Ryan Zimmerman, Adam LaRoche, Wilson Ramos and Anthony Rendon all homered to power the Nationals to a 7-2 win over the Mets at Citi Field. Tanner Roark pitched six innings of two-run ball to improve to 6-0 with the win. The Nats scored 25 runs in sweeping the four-game series, including shutting out the Mets twice.  Aaron Harang struck out 10, but gave up three solo homers in six frames to take the loss in his first start for New York.  Anthony Recker went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Daniel Murphy had an RBI double for the Mets, who have lost nine of their last 11 games.

Phillies Double Up Padres

(Philadelphia, PA) -- The Phillies collected 14 hits on their way to a 10-5 win over the Padres at Citizens Bank Park. Cesar Hernandez and Carlos Ruiz combined for six hits and five runs batted in for the Phils. Chase Utley added two RBI. Justin De Fratus got two outs in the fifth inning to qualify for the win to improve to 3-3. Will Venable homered for San Diego in the loss. Tyson Ross failed to get out of the first inning as he allowed six runs on five hits in 2/3 of an inning of work.

A's Hand Twins 8-2 Loss

(Minneapolis, MN) -- Scott Diamond is trying not to think about his September callup as an audition for next year. But it's in the back of his mind, as he knows this season hasn't gone anything like last year, when he posted a 3.54 ERA in 27 starts as a rookie. Unfortunately for Diamond, his first start back with the Twins didn't go as planned, as he couldn't translate his recent success at Triple-A Rochester to the Majors on Thursday, handing the Twins an 8-2 loss to the A's at Target Field.

Dodgers Top Giants With Walkoff Hit

(Los Angeles, CA) -- Adrian Gonzalez singled in Carl Crawford in the bottom of the 10th inning, giving the Dodgers a 3-2 win over the Giants at Dodger Stadium. It was the eighth walkoff win for L.A. this season. Brian Wilson pitched a scoreless top of the 10th against his former team and earned the win to go to 2-1.  Yasiel Puig and Mark Ellis drove in the other two Dodgers runs. The Giants tied the score at two in the top of the ninth off Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen. They have played six straight one-run games. Jeremy Affeldt took the loss to fall to 1-5. The Dodgers are 86-and-60 with the second-best record in the National League.

Wild Pitch Lifts Yankees Over O's

(Baltimore, MD) -- Brendan Ryan scored the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth inning on a wild pitch, as the Yankees edged the Orioles 6-5 at Camden Yards. Mark Reynolds hit a two-run homer and Curtis Granderson added a solo shot for New York, which won three-of-four in the series and remains one game behind Tampa Bay for the second AL Wild Card spot. Mariano Rivera picked up the win in relief. Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner left in the bottom of the first inning with a left oblique strain. Danny Valencia hit a game-tying three-run homer in the eighth inning for the O's, who are now 2 1/2 games out of a playoff spot.  Nick Markakis also went deep in defeat. Jim Johnson fell to 3-8 with the loss. The start of the game was delayed over an hour due to rain.

Angels Win, Sweep Jays

(Toronto, Ontario) -- Kole Calhoun had two hits including a home run, helping the Angels top the Blue Jays 4-3 at the Rogers Centre. Erick Aybar added two hits and scored twice as the Angels earned a three-game sweep of Toronto. Los Angeles has won six of its last eight games. Garrett Richards allowed three runs on nine hits over 6 2/3 innings to improve to 7-6. Ernesto Frieri earned his 33rd save.  Jose Reyes had four hits, scored twice and drove in a run for the Jays. Moises Sierra added three hits in the loss. J.A. Happ took the loss and is 4-6.

Rays Edge Red Sox To Avoid Sweep

(St. Petersburg, FL) -- Wil Myers doubled in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Rays edged the Red Sox 4-3 to avoid a three-game sweep at Tropicana Field.  Myers drove in two, while Desmond Jennings homered for the Rays, who remain one game ahead of the New York Yankees for the second AL Wild Card spot. Jake McGee picked up the win and Fernando Rodney posted his 34th save. David Ortiz and Jarrod Saltalamacchia homered for Boston, which lost for just the second time in nine games. Rubby De La Rosa suffered his first loss.

Thursday, September 12 Scoreboard

MLB NL

Atlanta Braves 6, Miami Marlins 1

Washington Nationals 7, New York Mets 2

Pittsburgh Pirates 3, Chicago Cubs 1

Philadelphia Phillies 10, San Diego Padres 5

Milwaukee Brewers 5, St. Louis Cardinals 3

Los Angeles Dodgers 3, San Francisco Giants 2 (10 inn)

MLB AL

Oakland Athletics 8, Minnesota Twins 2

New York Yankees 6, Baltimore Orioles 5

LA Angels of Anaheim 4, Toronto Blue Jays 3

Tampa Bay Rays 4, Boston Red Sox 3

Cleveland Indians 14, Chicago White Sox 3

MLB Interleague

No Games Scheduled

Friday, September 13 Schedule (All Times Central)

MLB NL

6:05 p.m. - Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh Pirates

6:05 p.m. - Philadelphia Phillies at Washington Nationals

6:10 p.m. - Miami Marlins at New York Mets

6:30 p.m. - San Diego Padres at Atlanta Braves

7:10 p.m. - Cincinnati Reds at Milwaukee Brewers

8:40 p.m. - Colorado Rockies at Arizona Diamondbacks

9:10 p.m. - San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers

MLB AL

1:10 p.m. - Cleveland Indians at Chicago White Sox

6:07 p.m. - Baltimore Orioles at Toronto Blue Jays

6:08 p.m. - Kansas City Royals at Detroit Tigers

6:10 p.m. - New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox

7:05 p.m. - Oakland Athletics at Texas Rangers

7:10 p.m. - Los Angeles Angels at Houston Astros

7:10 p.m. - Tampa Bay Rays at Minnesota Twins

MLB Interleague

7:15 p.m. - Seattle Mariners at St. Louis Cardinals