PITTSBURGH - Andrew McCutchen clubbed his 15th home run of the season and the Pittsburgh Pirates completed a doubleheader sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals with 6-0 victory on Tuesday night.
Brandon Cumpton (1-1) allowed three hits over seven innings to pick up his first major league victory. The sweep propelled the Pirates into first place in the NL Central. Pittsburgh is a season-high 22 games over .500 (64-42).
Tyler Lyons (2-4) gave up 4 runs, 3 earned, in 6 innings. The rookie struck out five and walked one but received no help from a reeling offense. The Cardinals have droppedsix consecutive and have scored five runs in their last 56 innings.
St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina left in the fourth inning with a right knee strain.
The Pirates took the opener 2-1 in 11 innings when Alex Presley’s sharp grounder deflected off the glove of pitcher Kevin Siegrist and rolled into shallow left field, allowing Pittsburgh’s Russell Martin to score from second.
The fortuitous bounces kept coming a couple hours later. The Pirates took a 1-0 lead in the second when a rare passed ball by Molina let Jose Tabata sprint across the plate. Molina was done for the night in the top of the fourth when the right knee pain he’s been battling for the better part of a month flared up again. He was replaced by Rob Johnson.
The absence of their leader further weakened the Cardinals, and things quickly fell apart.
While Cumpton kept the NL’s top offense in check, Pittsburgh poured it on with a little help from St. Louis left fielder Matt Holliday. The Pirates took a 2-0 lead on Jordy Mercer’s RBI single before McCutchen stepped in. He drilled Lyons’ pitch deep to left but Holliday appeared ready to track it down at the wall. Instead, the ball caromed into the stands.
Lyons placed both hands on his head in shock while the packed bleachers let Holliday have it. Holliday’s night didn’t get any better an inning later when he overran Josh Harrison’s fly ball to the wall, allowing Harrison to make it all the way to third.
Harrison never made it home, but by then Cumpton had all the backing he would require.
The rookie, who made a couple of spot starts earlier this season, needed just 87 pitches to get 21 outs. He received a loud ovation as he headed to the dugout, the latest in a series of unheralded Pirates pitchers to rise from obscurity and help propel the franchise into the midst of a pennant race.
The staff takes its cue from ace A.J. Burnett, who worked seven emotional innings in the opener. Burnett struck out nine and walked three while allowing one run on three hits. He was long gone, however, by the time Presley stepped in with Martin on in the 11th.
“It’s a battle, it’s fun,” Burnett said. “Let’s roll from here. Let’s keep going.”
METS 4, MARLINS 2 Reliever Chad Qualls took a tumble after escaping late trouble, but Miami stumbled in the 10th inning when John Buck hit a tie breaking two-run single that lifted visiting New York to victory. Zack Wheeler took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and Juan Lagares had three hits and two RBI for the Mets.
PHILLIES 7, GIANTS 3 Carlos Ruiz and Michael Young hit two-run home runs to back John Lannan, and Philadelphia beat visiting San Francisco to snap an eight-game losing streak. The defending World Series champion Giants have lost five in a row and eight of nine.
BRAVES 11, ROCKIES 3 Freddie Freeman hit two home runs, Brian McCann added a three-run shot and host Atlanta won its fifth consecutive game with a victory over Colorado. Freeman had four RBI with his first multi-home run game this season and fourth of his career.
BREWERS 6-3, CUBS 5-2 Jeff Bianchi delivered a two-run single off shortstop Starlin Castro’s glove with two out in the ninth to leadvisiting Milwaukee to a victory over Chicago and a day-night doubleheader sweep. The Brewers pulled out the nightcap after a first-game victory in which they lost starter Yovani Gallardo to a tight left hamstring.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
ROYALS 7, TWINS 2 Mike Moustakas homered twice and drove in four runs to back another strong start from Ervin Santana, and surging Kansas City beat visiting Minnesota. Santana (7-6) gave up 2 runs on 4 hits and struck out 8 in 7 innings and Eric Hosmer had three hits and an RBI for the Royals.
ORIOLES 4, ASTROS 3 Chris Davis hit his major league-leading 38th home run, a two-run shot in the sixth inning that gave host Baltimore its first lead in a victory over Houston. Wei-Yin Chen (6-3) allowed three runs, seven hits and a walk in 7 1/3 innings for his fourth consecutive victory.
RED SOX 8, MARINERS 2 Rookie Brandon Workman struck out nine while picking up his first major league victo, allowing one run over six innings as Boston beat visiting Seattle. Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia homered in the second, giving Workman a 5-1 lead that the young right-hander never squandered in just his third start in the big leagues.
INDIANS 7, WHITE SOX 4 Pinch-hitter Ryan Raburn hit a two-run single in the eighth inning as host Cleveland beat free falling Chicago to win its sixth in a row. The Indians stayed within 2½ games of first-place Detroit in the AL Central.
RANGERS 14, ANGELS 11 (10) Leonys Martin hit a three-run home run in the 10th inning and host Texas, after trailing four times, pulled out a victory over Los Angeles that took nearly five hours. Closer Joe Nathan (2-1), the sixth Rangers pitcher, worked around a lead off walk in the 10th for a scoreless inning.
INTERLEAGUE
TIGERS 5, NATIONALS 1 Alex Avila hit a tie breaking grand slam in the sixth inning off Stephen Strasburg and host Detroit beat Washington. Anibal Sanchez (9-7) gave up one run, five hits and two walks over seven innings for Detroit.
RAYS 5, DIAMONDBACKS 2 Roberto Hernandez came within one out of a complete-game shutout, and Yunel Escobar and Ben Zobrist drove in two runs each as Tampa Bay beat visiting Arizona. The Rays maintained their half-game lead over Boston in the AL East.
Tuesday’s games
NATIONAL LEAGUE Milwaukee 6, Chicago Cubs 5 Pittsburgh 2-6, St. Louis 1-0 1st game 11 inn.
Philadelphia 7, San Francisco 3 Atlanta 11, Colorado 3 NY Mets 4, Miami 2 (10) Cincinnati at San Diego, (n)
AMERICAN LEAGUE Cleveland 7, Chicago White Sox 4 Baltimore 4, Houston 3 Boston 8, Seattle 2 Texas 14, LA Angels 11 (10) Kansas City 7, Minnesota 2 Toronto 5, Oakland 0
INTERLEAGUE Detroit 5, Washington 1 Tampa Bay 5, Arizona 2 LA Dodgers 3, NY Yankees 2
Monday’s games
NATIONAL LEAGUE Pittsburgh 9, St. Louis 2 Atlanta 9, Colorado 8 (10) NY Mets 6, Miami 5 Milwaukee 5, Chicago Cubs 0 San Diego 2, Cincinnati 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE Tampa Bay 2, Boston 1 Cleveland 3, Chicago White Sox 2 Texas 4, LA Angels 3 Oakland 9, Toronto 4
Sports, Pages 19 on 07/31/2013