ST. LOUIS - Long counts have kept Shelby Miller from pitching too deep into games the past few months, but the rookie was happy to give the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen a bit of a break Saturday night.
Miller worked seven innings of three-hit ball and Matt Carpenter and Carlos Beltran each homered as the Cardinals beat the Atlanta Braves for the third consecutive time, 6-2.
“I thought that’s probably about as good as we’ve seen him in a long time,” Manager Mike Matheny said. “His stuff was electric, and he was in the lower part of the zone.
“He was really locked in. Hopefully that’s something he can maintain.”
Freddie Freeman homered for the National League East-leading Braves,who totaled five runs while dropping three in a row for the first time since July 3-5. Julio Teheran (10-7) allowed a season-worst five walks and was charged with four runs.
“I didn’t have my best stuff, but I was fighting the whole game,” Teheran said. “I knew it from the first inning, from when I was warming up that it was going to be a hard day for me.”
Miller (12-8) worked more than six innings for the first time in 13 starts since June 1. Center fielder Jon Jay made a leaping catch at the wall to rob Brian McCann of at least extra bases in the seventh.
Pinch-hitter Shane Robinson and Carpenter opened a three-run seventh with singles to chase Teheran, and the Cardinals broke it open against reliever Dave Carpenter with a two-run double by Matt Holliday and an RBI single by Yadier Molina for a 5-1 lead.
CUBS 3, PADRES 2 Jeff Samardzija (8-11) pitched eight impressive innings and Darwin Barney hit a home run and drove in two runs as visiting Chicago beat San Diego.
GIANTS 6, PIRATES 3 Buster Posey had three hits, Pablo Sandoval drove in two runs and host San Francisco beat Pittsburgh.
MARLINS 3, ROCKIES 0 Rookie Jose Fernandez (10-5) struck out eight in seven innings, leading host Miami to a victory over Colorado.
REDS 6, BREWERS 3 Ryan Ludwick hit his first home run since last October and Zack Cozart had a tie breaking two-run shot, powering host Cincinnati to a victory over Milwaukee.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
ASTROS 8, BLUE JAYS 5 Jason Castro hit two home runs and drove in three runs to lead host Houston to a victory over Toronto. Brad Peacock (3-4) allowed six hits and four runs in 5 2/3 innings for the victory.
INDIANS 7, TWINS 2 Carlos Santana and Jason Kipnis hit two-run home runs, Zach McAllister won his third consecutive start and host Cleveland defeated Minnesota.
RAYS 4, YANKEES 2 David Price out pitched CC Sabathia (11-11) and host Tampa Bay rallied to beat New York. Evan Longoria broke a 2-2 tie with a sixth-inning RBI single and added a home run in the eighth to help reigning AL Cy Young winner Price (8-5) win his fifth consecutive decision and improve to 7-1 since a stint on the disabled list for a left triceps strain.
WHITE SOX 3, RANGERS 2 Rookie Josh Phegley singled home the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning to lift host Chicago to a victory over Texas.
ATHLETICS 2, ORIOLES 1 Coco Crisp hit a tie breaking home run leading off the ninth inning and Jarrod Parker earned his eighth consecutive victory as visiting Oakland beat Baltimore.
INTERLEAGUE
NATIONALS 7, ROYALS 2 Jordan Zimmermann (15-7) rebounded from one of his worst career outings to go 7 2/3 strong innings, Ian Desmond hit his 18th home run, and visiting Washington beat Kansas City.
TIGERS 3, METS 0 Max Scherzer (19-1) out pitched Matt Harvey in their All-Star rematch, striking out 11 and hitting an RBI double that sent visiting Detroit to a victory over New York.
RED SOX 4, DODGERS 2 Jon Lester pitched three-hit ball into the eighth inning, Jonny Gomes’ three-run home run capped a four-run first, and visiting Boston beat Los Angeles.
Saturday’s games
NATIONAL LEAGUE Miami 3, Colorado 0 Cincinnati 6, Milwaukee 3 St. Louis 6, Atlanta 2 Chicago Cubs 3, San Diego 2 San Francisco 6, Pittsburgh 3 Arizona at Philadelphia, (n)
AMERICAN LEAGUE Oakland 2, Baltimore 1 Cleveland 7, Minnesota 2 Tampa Bay 4, NY Yankees 2 Chicago White Sox 3, Texas 2 Houston 8, Toronto 5 LA Angels 5, Seattle 1
INTERLEAGUE Boston 4, LA Dodgers 2 Detroit 3, NY Mets 0 Washington 7, Kansas City 2
Sports, Pages 33 on 08/25/2013