CINCINNATI - Todd Frazier drove in two runs with a sacrifice fly and a single, and the Cincinnati Reds used another big inning to beat the Chicago Cubs 5-2 on Saturday for their fifth consecutive victory.
The Reds have won 13 of their past 16 games, surging to a season-high 13 games over .500 at 31-18. It’s their best start since 1995, when they reached the National League Championship Series and were swept by Atlanta.
Cincinnati scored four times in the sixth off Bryant’s Travis Wood (4-3), extending its domination of the NL Central’s last-place team. Chicago has lost a season-high six consecutive games.
Homer Bailey (3-3) gave up two runs in six innings to a lineup that rarely has a big inning. Aroldis Chapman had a perfect ninth for his 12th save in 14 chances, hitting 100 mph with one pitch.
The Reds won the first two games of the series in front of sell-out crowds. They have dominated the Cubs lately, winning 16 of their past 18 games in the series.
GIANTS 6, ROCKIES 5 Angel Pagan hit an inside-the-park home run with a runner aboard in the bottom of the 10th inning to give host San Francisco a victory over Colorado. Troy Tulowitzki led off the 10th with his 10th home run to put the Rockies ahead 5-4. Colorado closer Rafael Betancourt (1-2) walked Brandon Crawford to open the bottom half. Guillermo Quiroz sacrificed before Pagan sent a drive that bounced at the base of the right-center fence and got away from Michael Cuddyer. Pagan raced around the bases and slid home well ahead of the tag.
PIRATES 5, BREWERS 2 Pedro Alvarez hit two home runs, Andrew McCutchen also went deep, and Jeff Locke (5-1) pitched six shutout innings to lead visiting Pittsburgh to a victory over Milwaukee.
BRAVES 7-6, METS 5-0 Light-hitting pitcher Mike Minor hit a home run for his first two RBI in the majors and struck out 10 as visiting Atlanta posted its second victory in a matter of hours, beating New York. Earlier, Dan Uggla hit a go-ahead single in the 10th inning and the Braves won 7-5 in the resumption of a game suspended because of rain Friday night after eight innings with the score tied. Minor (6-2) then pitched 7 1/3 innings of three-hit ball, sending the Mets to their fifth loss in a row.
DODGERS 5, CARDINALS 3 Adrian Gonzalez hit a home run and had three RBI, Mark Ellis lined a go-ahead double in the sixth inning and host Los Angeles defeated St. Louis.
PHILLIES 5, NATIONALS 3 Michael Young scored the go-ahead run from first base on a single in the eighth inning, and Domonic Brown had a home run and an RBI double as visiting Philadelphia beat Washington.
INTERLEAGUE WHITE SOX 2, MARLINS 1 Conor Gillaspie hit a run-scoring single in the ninth inning to score Dewayne Wise, lifting host Chicago to victory over Miami.
AMERICAN LEAGUE ANGELS 7, ROYALS 0 Josh Hamilton and Hank Conger homered to back Billy Buckner’s first major-league victory since 2009, and visiting Los Angeles beat Kansas City. Conger’s opposite-field shot leading off the sixth inning was the first hit off Jeremy Guthrie.
ORIOLES 6, BLUE JAYS 5 Danny Valencia hit a two-run home run and Adam Jones added a shot to help visiting Baltimore beat R.A. Dickey and Toronto.
RED SOX 7, INDIANS 4 Pinch-hitter Mike Carp drove in the tying run with an eighth-inning double and scored on a double by Dustin Pedroia as host Boston rallied for a victory over Cleveland.
TWINS 3, TIGERS 2 Joe Mauer homered and had three hits, helping visiting Minnesota end a 10-game losing streak with a victory over Detroit. YANKEES 4, RAYS 3 Lyle Overbay hit a home run with two outs in the 11th inning, and visiting New York rallied late to beat Tampa Bay. Overbay drilled a 1-0 pitch from Josh Lueke (0-2) into the right field seats to give New York the lead.
ATHLETICS 11, ASTROS 5 Josh Donaldson had four hits and visiting Oakland beat Houston. Chris Young had three hits and drove in two as Oakland’s bats came alive for a season-high 18 hits, and the A’s scored their most runs in a month. Every Oakland hitter drove in at least one run. Brandon Moss had a home run as well for the A’s.
Saturday’s games NATIONAL LEAGUE San Francisco 6, Colorado 5 (10) Cincinnati 5, Chicago Cubs 2 Pittsburgh 5, Milwaukee 2 Atlanta 7-6, NY Mets 5-0 Philadelphia 5, Washington 3 LA Dodgers 5, St. Louis 3 San Diego at Arizona, (n) AMERICAN LEAGUE Baltimore 6, Toronto 5 Boston 7, Cleveland 4 LA Angels 7, Kansas City 0 Minnesota 3, Detroit 2 NY Yankees 4, Tampa Bay 3 (11) Oakland 11, Houston 5 Texas at Seattle, (n) INTERLEAGUE Chicago White Sox 2, Miami 1
Sports, Pages 28 on 05/26/2013