INTERLEAGUE

Descalso pinch single lifts Cardinals by Royals

ST. LOUIS - Pinch hitter Daniel Descalso hit a two-run single with the bases loaded to snap an eighth-inning tie and the St. Louis Cardinals rallied past the scuffling Kansas City Royals with a 5-3 victory on Wednesday night.

Luis Mendoza got his first career hit and RBI and held the Cardinals to a run in 5 2/3 innings before the bullpen failed the Royals, who have lost a season-worst eight in a row. They dropped the first two games of the interleague series by a combined 10-4 score and have totaled 11 runs the last six games.

Matt Holliday and Carlos Beltran each hit home runs for the Cardinals, who have won seven of eight and lead the majors with a 35-17 record, and go for a sweep today with touted rookie Michael Wacha making his major league debut. Randy Choate (1-0) got the last out in the eighth and Edward Mujica finished for his 17th save in 17 chances.

Lance Lynn missed a chance to go 8-1 the first two months of both his seasons in the St. Louis rotation, allowing two runs in seven innings.

Beltran hit his 12th home run off Aaron Crow (0-1) to open the eighth and David Freese tied it with a one-out RBI single. Crow intentionally walked Jon Jay to load the bases, then got Pete Kozma on a called third strike before Descalso bounced one up the middle for his first pinch-hit RBI of the season.

BLUE JAYS 3, BRAVES 0 Melky Cabrera had three hits, including a two-run single, and four Toronto pitchers combined on a four-hitter to lead the Blue Jays past host Atlanta.

CUBS 9, WHITE SOX 3 Dioner Navarro hit three home runs in a game for the first time in his career, connecting from both sides of the plate at Wrigley Field and leading the Chicago Cubs over the White Sox. Navarro had never hit multiple home runs in a game, but he became the first Cubs player to hit three home runs in a game since Aramis Ramirez against Houston on July 20, 2010, at Wrigley and their first catcher to do it since George Mitterwald on April 17, 1974, against Pittsburgh.

INDIANS 5, REDS 2 Justin Masterson (8-3) pitched six solid innings, Jason Giambi and Mark Reynolds hit home runs, and host Cleveland broke a five-game losing streak with a victory over Cincinnati.

METS 9, YANKEES 3 Ike Davis and Ruben Tejada sparked a five-run first inning that kept the New York Mets sailing along in this surprising Subway Series with a victory over the host Yankees. Tejada hit a lead off single, Davis drove in two runs and the Mets won with Jeremy Hefner (1-5) on the mound for the first time all season.

ORIOLES 9, NATIONALS 6 Chris Davis went 4 for 4 with two home runs, and host Baltimore overcame three home runs by Ryan Zimmerman to beat Washington.

PHILLIES 4, RED SOX 3 Domonic Brown hit a pair of home runs, Erik Kratz and Ryan Howard also added home runs to back Kyle Kendrick and host Philadelphia in a victory over Boston. Kendrick (5-3) allowed 2 runs and 4 hits in 6 innings, helping the Phillies win their second in a row against the Red Sox.

PIRATES 5, TIGERS 3 Pedro Alvarez’s tworun double sparked a seventh-inning rally and host Pittsburgh beat Detroit. Travis Snider added an RBI double and Jordy Mercer laid down a perfect suicide squeeze as the Pirates erupted late against Anibal Sanchez (5-5) and scored four times. Miguel Cabrera hit his 15th home run of the season for Detroit. Bryan Morris (2-2) picked up the victory in relief of A.J. Burnett (CAC, North Little Rock).

RAYS 3, MARLINS 1 Roberto Hernandez bounced back from two rough outings and pitched 8 2/3 innings, leading visiting Tampa Bay over Miami and sending the Marlins to their season-worst eighth consecutive loss. Kelly Johnson and Yunel Escobar each drove in a run as the Rays won their fourth in row.

TWINS 4, BREWERS 1 Aaron Hicks homered for host Minnesota, helping Samuel Deduno (1-1) and the Twins beat Milwaukee.

ASTROS 6, ROCKIES 3 J.D. Martinez hit a go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning, Carlos Pena connected for a home run as part of a three-run ninth, and visiting Houston rallied against Colorado’s bullpen to beat the Rockies.

Wednesday’s games

INTERLEAGUE Chicago Cubs 9, Chicago White Sox 3 Philadelphia 4, Boston 3 Cleveland 5, Cincinnati 2 Pittsburgh 5, Detroit 3 NY Mets 9, NY Yankees 4 Baltimore 9, Washington 6 Tampa Bay 3, Miami 1 Toronto 3, Atlanta 0 Arizona at Texas, ppd., rain Minnesota 4, Milwaukee 1 St. Louis 5, Kansas City 3 Houston 6, Colorado 3 LA Dodgers at LA Angels, (n) Seattle at San Diego, (n) Oakland at San Francisco, (n)

Sports, Pages 22 on 05/30/2013

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