NATIONAL LEAGUE

Patience, grand slam put Pirates over Cardinals

— The Pittsburgh Pirates stuck with Pedro Alvarez, and now it’s paying off.

Alvarez hit a grand slam in the first inning off Lance Lynn and Andrew McCutchen had two hits before leaving with a sprained left wrist as the Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-3 Saturday for their fourth consecutive victory.

“I’m the guy who kept running him out there. Not everybody was on that bandwagon,” Pirates Manager Clint Hurdle said. “There weren’t a lot of ‘Pedro for Mayor’ signs being hung up in the ballpark.

“We know this guy’s significant in a lot of different ways and we had to ride this out and see where it took us,” he said.

The Pirates got good news on a player they can’t afford to lose, too. X-rays showed no significant injury to McCutchen, who tweaked his wrist while making a diving catch.

“I thought it was awesome and then I thought he was hurt,” pitcher Jeff Karstens said. “And I was like, ‘I wish he’d have missed it and not dived.’

“He’s our best player, there’s no ifs and buts about it. He’s electric, he changes the game.”

Hurdle said McCutchen will probably rest today.

“I don’t get days off; I’m not trying to get days off,” McCutchen said. “I get days off in the off season.”

Jeff Karstens (1-2) thrived in sweltering heat that spiked to 103 degrees, allowing 4 hits with 7 strikeouts in 7 innings for his first victory since Aug. 10, 2011 at San Francisco.

BRAVES 7, NATIONALS 5 Mike Minor won for just the second time in 12 starts and host Atlanta overcame 104-degree heat to beat Stephen Strasburg and Washington. Strasburg (9-3) left after just three innings because of weather-related issues.

CUBS 3, ASTROS 2 Anthony Rizzo hit his first home run with the Cubs, a two-run go-ahead shot in the fifth inning, and host Chicago beat Houston.

MARLINS 3, PHILLIES 2 Giancarlo Stanton homered and drove in two runs, Mark Buehrle (7-8) pitched seven innings and host Miami beat Philadelphia.

REDS 2, GIANTS 1 Mat Latos (7-2) pitched a two-hitter to win his seventh consecutive decision as Cincinnati beat host San Francisco.

BREWERS 10, DIAMONDBACKS 2 Ryan Braun homered twice and Cody Ransom added a three-run home run to lead host Milwaukee over Arizona.

METS 5, DODGERS 0 Johan Santana scattered three hits over eight innings, Ike Davis hit a three-run home run and visiting New York handed Los Angeles its seventh consecutive loss.

PADRES 8, ROCKIES 4 Yasmani Grandal and Alexi Amarista each homered twice, leading visiting San Diego over Colorado.

American League BLUE JAYS 11, ANGELS 2 Yunel Escobar homered during a seven-run burst in the second inning and Brett Lawrie later added a three-run shot, leading host Toronto over Los Angeles. Lawrie also doubled and singled, and scored three times before leaving after the seventh.

INDIANS 11, ORIOLES 5 Shin-Soo Choo went 4 for 5 with a home run, scored four runs and collected three RBI to lead visiting Cleveland past Baltimore. The Indians had a season-high 19 hits.

YANKEES 4, WHITE SOX 0 Hiroki Kuroda (8-7) tied a career high by striking out 11 batters and host New York backed him with three home runs to beat Chicago.

RANGERS 7, ATHLETICS 2 Josh Hamilton hit a three-run home run to cap a big fifth inning, Martin Perez won his first career start and host Texas beat Oakland.

TIGERS 6, RAYS 2 Rick Porcello allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Austin Jackson hit a three-run home run and visiting Detroit beat Tampa Bay.

TWINS 7-5, ROYALS 2-1 Joe Mauer homered, rookie Cole De Vries pitched six innings and host Minnesota beat Kansas City to sweep a day-night doubleheader. The Twins took the opener as Scott Diamond pitched eight innings and Trevor Plouffe homered.

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

Sports, Pages 31 on 07/01/2012

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