NATIONAL LEAGUE

Cardinals jump back into tie for NL Central lead

PITTSBURGH - Matt Holliday and David Freese each drove in two runs, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-2 on Sunday to move back into a tie for the NL Central lead.

Matt Carpenter, Allen Craig, Yadier Molina and Shane Robinson added two hits each for St. Louis, which jumped on Pittsburgh rookie Kris Johnson (0-2) early to snap a three-game skid.

Joe Kelly (7-3) allowed 1 run and 4 hits in 6 solid innings to win his fourth consecutive start. Kelly struck out five and walked two to remain unbeaten since June 5.

Justin Morneau went 1 for 3 in his debut with the Pirates a day after Pittsburgh acquired the first baseman from Minnesota to bolster the franchise’s bid for its first playoff appearance in 21 years.

DODGERS 2, PADRES 1 Zack Greinke allowed one run over seven innings, Yasiel Puig hit a home run in the sixth and host Los Angeles beat San Diego to complete a three-game sweep. The NL West leaders earned their 10th sweep of the season and first against San Diego. They extended their roll from August, when the Dodgers went 23-6 for their most successful month since moving to Los Angeles in 1958.

ROCKIES 7, REDS 4 Todd Helton doubled for his 2,500th career hit, Michael Cuddyer hit a home run among his four hits and host Colorado overcame the loss of starting pitcher Tyler Chatwood to beat Cincinnati. Helton became the 96th player in major league history to reach 2,500 hits. Cuddyer went 4 for 4 with three RBI. GIANTS 8, DIAMONDBACKS 2 Yusmeiro Petit struck out a career-high 10, Hector Sanchez drove in three runs and visiting San Francisco beat Arizona to take two of three from the Diamondbacks. Hunter Pence hit a home run, doubled and singled, driving in two runs and scoring three times as the Giants improved to 10-5 against Arizona this season.

MARLINS 7, BRAVES 0 Nathan Eovaldi combined with Steve Cishek on an eight-hit-shutout, Jeff Mathis hit a home run and drove in three runs, and visiting Miami beat Atlanta to stop a six-game losing streak.

CUBS 7, PHILLIES 1 Jake Arrieta allowed three hits while pitching into the seventh inning and Welington Castillo drove in two runs to lead host Chicago over Philadelphia.

NATIONALS 6, METS 5 Jayson Werth’s two-out RBI double in the eighth inning capped a late rally and host Washington avoided a series sweep with a victory over New York.

AMERICAN LEAGUE ATHLETICS 5, RAYS 1 Coco Crisp and Stephen Vogt hit home runs, A.J. Griffin struck out seven in seven innings, and host Oakland completed a three-game sweep of fellow playoff contender Tampa Bay.

TWINS 4, RANGERS 2 Kevin Correia pitched seven strong innings and visiting Minnesota clinched its first series victory at Texas in four years, beating the AL West-leading Rangers. ORIOLES 7, YANKEES 3 J.J. Hardy and Adam Jones hit three-run home runs in the seventh inning as visiting Baltimore beat New York to avert a sweep in a matchup of wild-card contenders.

INDIANS 4, TIGERS 0 Mike Aviles hit a grand slam in the ninth inning that lifted visiting Cleveland to a victory over Detroit. The AL Central leaders had won seven consecutive against the second-place Indians.

ROYALS 5, BLUE JAYS 0 James Shields pitched seven innings of three-hit ball to win his fourth consecutive decision, Eric Hosmer drove in two runs and visiting Kansas City beat Toronto to avoid a three-game sweep.

RED SOX 7, WHITE SOX 6 David Ortiz continued to rebound from a miserable stretch with two hits and three RBI, leading host Boston to a victory over Chicago that completed a three game sweep. Stephen Drew added a home run for the AL East-leading Red Sox, who won for the seventh time in eight games.

ASTROS 2, MARINERS 0 Rookie Brett Oberholtzer pitched a four-hitter and Jason Castro hit an RBI double in the eighth inning, lifting host Houston to a victory over Seattle. The 24-year-old Oberholtzer (4-1) struck out five and walked one. He did not allow an extra-base hit in his sixth career start and lowered his ERA to 2.79.

INTERLEAGUE ANGELS 5, BREWERS 3 J.B. Shuck hit a three-run double in the seventh inning to rally visiting Los Angeles past Milwaukee for a three game sweep. Mike Trout tripled and doubled among his three hits to help the Angels finish an 8-1 road trip.

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

Sports, Pages 20 on 09/02/2013

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