NATIONAL LEAGUE

McKenry, Marte homer as Pirates thump Cubs

— The Pittsburgh Pirates were clinging to a one-run lead. Then, in a flash, this one became a breeze.

Michael McKenry and Starling Marte homered to back a strong start by Jeff Karstens, and Pittsburgh pulled away to beat the Chicago Cubs 8-4 on Wednesday.

Garrett Jones added two hits and drove in three runs after entering in the eighth as a pinch-hitter. Andrew McCutchen chipped in with two hits and scored three times, and the Pirates broke this one open late.

They rebounded from a lopsided loss Monday to take 2 of 3 from the Cubs. Now, after a day off, they’ll head to Cincinnati for a three-game series with the Reds.

“I’m going to give you something real generic,” Manager Clint Hurdle said, before doing just that. “We’ll be there on time and we’ll be ready to play. We’re not in such a hurry to process all of this information. We’ve just won this series. We’ll travel. We’ll get there.”

As for this game, the Pirates were leading 2-1 going into the eighth when this one got out of hand. They started the onslaught with seven consecutive hits against Shawn Camp and sent 10 batters to the plate in a fiverun outburst.

Jones, batting for Gaby Sanchez, drove in two with a single and McKenry made it 7-1 with a three-run drive to left - his 10th home run.

Karstens (4-2) wasn’t quite as dominant, but he sure was good. He allowed 3 hits and 1 run over 5 innings, striking out 4 and walking 1.

Travis Wood (4-7) was a toughluck loser and dropped his fourth consecutive start after winning four in a row. Wood (Bryant) gave up 2 runs and 3 hits over 5 innings.

BREWERS 13, ASTROS 4 Ryan Braun hithis NL-leading 29th home run as host Milwaukee defeated Houston. Rickie Weeks and Cesar Izturis each homered in the fifth inning.

DIAMONDBACKS 4, DODGERS 0 Patrick Corbin (3-4) pitched two-hit ball over six innings and visiting Arizona got home runs from Miguel Montero and newcomer Chris Johnson in a victory over Los Angeles.

MARLINS 4, BRAVES 2 Miami broke out for three runs in the first inning against Ben Sheets after scoring just three total in two consecutive losses to Atlanta, and the visiting Marlins ended the Braves’ seven-game winning streak.

PHILLIES 3, NATIONALS 2 Jimmy Rollins hit two home runs, Nate Schierholtz connected in his Philadelphia debut, and the Phillies received a sharp pitching performance from Vance Worley in a victory over host Washington.

REDS 6, PADRES 4 Ryan Ludwick homered and drove in four runs for the second consecutive game, and host Cincinnati defeated San Diego.

American League RAYS 4, ATHLETICS 1 Alex Cobb shut down Oakland for seven innings and CarlosPena homered to help visiting Tampa Bay top the Athletics.

WHITE SOX 3, TWINS 2 Jake Peavy (9-7) struck out eight over eight innings, Alejandro De Aza gave Chicago the lead in the eighth with an infield single off Scott Diamond’s leg and the White Sox beat host Minnesota.

YANKEES 12, ORIOLES 3 Robinson Cano hit a grand slam in a seven-run third inning, and New York sent Zach Britton to another shellacking at Yankee Stadium in a rout of visiting Baltimore.

INDIANS 5, ROYALS 2 Luis Mendoza (5-7) pitched into the eighth inning, Lorenzo Cain and Jarrod Dyson had two hits each and an RBI as host Kansas City beat Cleveland.

TIGERS 7, RED SOX 5 Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder homered on consecutive pitches to cap a five-run fifth inning, and visiting Detroit beat Boston.

RANGERS 11, ANGELS 10 Elvis Andrus singled to left field, scoring David Murphy and Craig Gentry (Arkansas Razorbacks), to give host Texas a victory in 10 innings over Los Angeles. Albert Pujols hit two home runs, including a tworun shot to give the Angels a three-run lead in the top of the 10th inning.

Wednesday’s games NATIONAL LEAGUE Milwaukee 13, Houston 4 Pittsburgh 8, Chicago Cubs 4 Arizona 4, LA Dodgers 0 Philadelphia 3, Washington 2 Miami 4, Atlanta 2 Cincinnati 6, San Diego 4 St. Louis at Colorado, (n) NY Mets at San Francisco, (n) AMERICAN LEAGUE NY Yankees 12, Baltimore 3 Chicago White Sox 3, Minnesota 2 Tampa Bay 4, Oakland 1 Detroit 7, Boston 5 Texas 11, LA Angels 10 (10) Kansas City 5, Cleveland 2 Toronto at Seattle, (n)

Sports, Pages 20 on 08/02/2012

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