Tyler O’Neill and Lars Nootbaar drove in three runs apiece to lead visiting St. Louis past the Chicago Cubs 12-4 on Friday, completing a doubleheader sweep and giving the Cardinals their 14th consecutive victory.
St. Louis matched the longest winning streak in franchise history, a mark set in 1935. Cardinals starting pitcher Jack Flaherty retired just one batter and allowed two runs in his comeback from shoulder soreness. Dakota Hudson (1-0) got the win, tossing 3 2/3 innings of two-run relief.
In the opener, Paul Goldschmidt hit a home run and drove in three runs as St. Louis won 8-5. Tyler O’Neill and Jose Rondon also hit two-run home runs for the Cardinals. St. Louis now leads the Philadelphia Phillies by five games in the race for the second National League wild card.
Sergio Alcantara hit a two-run homer and Patrick Wisdom socked a two-run shot in the first game for the Cubs, who have lost 11 of their past 13 games.
Athletics 14, Astros 2
Pinch hitter Chad Pinder broke open a tight game with a seventh-inning grand slam as Oakland staved off formal elimination in the American League West with a trouncing of visiting Houston.
By snapping a four-game losing streak, the A’s improved to eight games back of the first-place Astros with eight to play. A second straight loss hurt the Astros’ chances of catching the Tampa Bay Rays for the best record in the AL.
Starling Marte capped a four-RBI performance when he doubled home a pair of runs in the seventh and singled in one in the eighth. Matt Olson, a third member of the A’s that drove in four runs, had a two-RBI double to highlight a five-run eighth.
Yankees 8, Red Sox 3
Giancarlo Stanton blew the game open early with a three-run home run as New York beat host Boston in the opener of a pivotal three-game series.
Stanton finished with three hits and four RBIs as the Yankees won their fourth straight to get within a game of the Red Sox for the top wild card in the American League. Gleyber Torres (3-for-5) added a solo homer for New York.
Rafael Devers crushed a three-run homer for Boston, which had a seven-game winning streak snapped.
Braves 4, Padres 0
Max Fried pitched a three-hit shutout and Dansby Swanson hit a two-run homer to lead Atlanta to a shutout victory over host San Diego.
Fried (13-7) struck out four and walked none in a 98-pitch effort to win his sixth straight decision for Atlanta (81-72), which is 1 1/2 games ahead of the second-place Phillies in the National League East. The left-hander retired the last 18 batters he faced while tossing his second career shutout and third complete game.
Fernando Tatis Jr. had two hits for the Padres (78-76), who are 6 1/2 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals for the second NL wild card.
Padres 6, Braves 5 (completion of suspended game)
Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a tiebreaking homer in the top of the seventh inning as San Diego beat Atlanta in the conclusion of a game that was suspended in Atlanta on July 21.
The 419-foot homer was the 41st of the season for Tatis, tying him for second in Padres history with Phil Nevin (2001). The Padres led 5-4 after 4 1/2 innings when the July 21 game was suspended after a rain delay of approximately three hours. The game was seven innings long because the original contest was the second of a doubleheader.
Atlanta pinch hitter Adam Duvall slugged a tying one-out homer in the sixth inning off right-hander Daniel Hudson (5-2). The 408-foot blast was Duvall’s 38th of the season and 16th in 48 games with the Braves since being acquired from the Miami Marlins at the trade deadline.
Giants 7, Rockies 2
Tommy La Stella and Brandon Crawford had three hits with a home run, Brandon Belt also homered among his two hits, and San Francisco beat Colorado in Denver.
Mike Yastrzemski also went deep and Kervin Castro (1-0) pitched two innings of relief for the Giants, who stayed alone atop the National League West with their 100th win. It was Castro’s first win in the majors.
Brendan Rodgers had three hits and Charlie Blackmon, Sam Hilliard, Raimel Tapia and Elias Diaz finished with two hits each for Colorado.
Dodgers 4, Diamondbacks 2
AJ Pollock homered and Tony Gonsolin pitched five innings of two-run ball as Los Angeles won for the 11th time in 13 games, beating Arizona in Phoenix.
Justin Turner and Will Smith each drove in a run as the Dodgers improved to 5-2 on their final road trip of the season, which has two games remaining at Arizona.
Kole Calhoun hit a home run as the Diamondbacks lost for the ninth time in their past 11 games.
Phillies 8, Pirates 6
Didi Gregorius homered, singled and drove in three runs to lift host Philadelphia past Pittsburgh as the Phillies continued to gain ground in the National League East.
Pitcher Kyle Gibson and Brad Miller added homers as the Phillies won their fourth in a row and eighth in their past 10. Gibson tossed six innings and allowed three hits and four runs with six strikeouts and two walks.
Hector Neris (4-6) threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings for the win in relief. Ian Kennedy pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his 26th save despite allowing two baserunners.
White Sox 1, Indians 0
Luis Robert hit a leadoff homer in the fifth inning, lifting visiting Chicago to a shutout victory over Cleveland.
Dylan Cease (13-7) allowed three hits and no walks while striking out nine over 5 1/3 innings before exiting after he was hit by a comebacker from Bradley Zimmer. X-rays were negative and Cease is considered day-to-day with a right triceps contusion, the White Sox announced.
Cleveland’s Shane Bieber made an encouraging return from a three-plus-month absence caused by a strained muscle in the rotator cuff of his right (pitching) shoulder. The reigning American League Cy Young Award recipient struck out three while tossing three perfect innings.
Royals 3, Tigers 1
Whit Merrifield drove in two runs, Carlos Hernandez pitched five scoreless innings and visiting Kansas City snapped Detroit’s four-game winning streak.
Hernandez gave up two hits and survived three walks, striking out one. Ryan O’Hearn reached base three times, scored a run and drove in another for Kansas City. Kyle Isbel added two hits and scored a run in the opener of a three-game series.
Robbie Grossman walked three times and scored the only run for Detroit. Eric Haase drove in the run and Victor Reyes added two hits.
Twins 3, Blue Jays 1
Byron Buxton homered and five Minnesota pitchers combined for a four-hitter as the Twins handed beat Toronto in Minneapolis.
The defeat dropped Toronto two games behind the Yankees in the race for the American League’s second wild-card spot. The Blue Jays and Yankees still have a three-game head-to-head series to come, starting on Tuesday in Toronto.
Luis Arraez tripled and had two hits for the Twins, who won their fourth straight game and second in a row over the Blue Jays to begin a four-game series.
Reds 8, Nationals 7 (11 innings)
Nick Castellanos clubbed his 30th homer and Aristides Aquino hit a game-winning single in the bottom of the 11th inning to lead Cincinnati past visiting Washington.
The Nationals tied the game with a three-run, two-out rally in the ninth against Reds closer Mychal Givens, who retired the first two batters he faced before allowing five consecutive batters to reach. Luis Garcia singled home two runs to level the score 7-7.
Garcia was again at the plate with the bases loaded in the top of the 11th when Joey Votto fielded his two-out grounder and beat Garcia to the bag by a half-step to keep the game tied. In the bottom of the inning, Aquino hit a leadoff single against Mason Thompson (1-2) to drive in automatic runner TJ Friedl from second base.
Brewers 5, Mets 1
Eric Lauer recovered from a rough first inning to throw 6 2/3 strong innings for host Milwaukee, who inched closer to clinching the National League Central title by beating New York in the opener of a three-game series.
Lauer (7-5) tied a career high with nine strikeouts while yielding one run on three hits and two walks. Willy Adames hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the third inning and Christian Yelich followed with another round-tripper for the Brewers, who snapped a five-game losing streak while reducing their magic number to clinch the NL Central to two.
A late-season fade continued for the Mets, who were eliminated from wild-card contention before dropping their third straight and losing for the 11th time in 14 games. They trail the Atlanta Braves by 7 1/2 games in the NL East, a division New York led throughout June and July.
Rays 8, Marlins 0
Ryan Yarbrough and two Tampa Bay pitchers combined on a two-hit shutout, Wander Franco returned to reach base in his 40th consecutive game and the Rays beat Miami in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Following David Robertson, who served as the opener for the first time in his career, Yarbrough (9-6) was crisp in the bulk role and crafted six sharp relief innings. Dietrich Enns finished with two perfect innings as Rays’ pitching retired the final 16 batters.
The Marlins only mustered a single by Lewis Brinson and a double by Jesus Sanchez. Center fielder Bryan De La Cruz was ejected by home plate umpire John Libka for arguing his strikeout to end the top of the first.
Mariners 6, Angels 5
Paul Sewald got out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth inning as Seattle continued its postseason push with a victory over Los Angeles in Anaheim, Calif.
Ty France homered, had three RBIs and helped bring home the go-ahead run for the Mariners, who won their sixth consecutive game to pull into a tie with the Blue Jays, two games behind the Yankees for the American League’s second and final wild-card playoff berth.
Max Stassi homered for the Angels, who lost for the seventh time in their past eight games.
Rangers 8, Orioles 5
Adolis Garcia had a go-ahead, two-run double in a five-run ninth inning as Texas rallied to top host Baltimore.
The Orioles took a 5-3 lead into the final inning but the Rangers scored on a sacrifice fly and then loaded the bases with one out, setting up Garcia’s game-winning double off Conner Greene (1-3).
Cedric Mullins hit a three-run home run for the Orioles to become the first player in team history with at least 30 homers and 30 stolen bases in a season.
-Field Level Media
