ST. LOUIS - Lance Lynn had his best outing in nearly a month to keep the Cardinals on pace with the rest of the division.
Matt Adams had a two run home run and St. Louis broke open a tight game with four in the eighth to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-1 on Wednesday night.
St. Louis won its fifth consecutive game to maintain a one-game lead over Pittsburgh and a three-game advantage on Cincinnati in the NL Central.
Lynn went six innings and gave up an unearned run on five hits.
“Yeah, but it’s only one game,” he said. “You still got to get ready for the next one and try to improve off of tonight. There were a couple of mistakes I made and they went for hits and I walked a few guys, you don’t want to do that ever.
“But tonight was a good building block going down the stretch here and get myself right for this team in this run we’re trying to make.”
He also struck out 10. The effort marked the first since May 24 that Lynn didn’t allow an earned run, a stretch of 20 games.
Lynn lost his previous five decisions leading into Wednesday’s game as his ERA rose to 4.37 from 3.78. His last victory came Aug. 4, when he gave up two runs in eight innings in a 15-2 victory at Cincinnati.
Brandon Kintzler (3-2) gave up three runs on two hits and a walk while only getting two outs. He surrendered a game-tying hit in the seventh before loading the bases with one out in the eighth.
Carlos Beltran’s sacrifice fly off Michael Gonzalez scored Matt Carpenter to give the Cardinals a 2-1 lead. An error by catcher Jonathan Lucroy allowed Jon Jay to score and Adams followed with his 12th home run of the season.
Trevor Rosenthal (2-3) had a hitless eighth inning for the victory.
GIANTS 4, ROCKIES 3 Marco Scutaro and Brandon Belt hit consecutive RBI singles in the eighth inning to help host San Francisco edge Colorado. The Giants loaded the bases with one out against Matt Belisle (5-7), and Scutaro followed with a tying single into right field. Belt’s hit drove in Angel Pagan and gave San Francisco a 4-3 lead. Guillermo Moscoso (2-2) pitched two scoreless innings for the victory, securing the first winning home stand for the Giants since May 20-26. Santiago Casilla finished for his second save. Nolan Arenado had two hits and two RBI for the Rockies, who have lost five of six. Michael Cuddyer added three hits and went 7 for 13 in the series. Pablo Sandoval and Hunter Pence each drove in a run for San Francisco, which has won three of four. Giants right-hander Yusmeiro Petit struck out seven in 5 2/3 innings in his first start since he almost threw a perfect game against Arizona before settling for a one-hitter. He gave up 3 runs and 6 hits with 2 walks.
REDS 6, CUBS 0 Devin Mesoraco hit his first home run in more than a month and Jack Hannahan added his first career pinch-hit home run as host Cincinnati avoided a sweep by last-place Chicago. MARLINS 5, BRAVES 2 In his season finale, Miami rookie sensation Jose Fernandez pitched seven innings, hit his first major-league home runs and engaged in a standoff with Atlanta that cleared both benches and bullpens. When he had completed his eventful evening, Fernandez slowly walked off the mound one last time, removing his cap as the crowd gave him a standing ovation. Two relievers pitched the final two innings, and the woeful Marlins beat the playoff-bound Braves. The game was the last of the season for the demonstrative 21-year-old Fernandez because he passed his 170-inning limit set by the Marlins. A top candidate for NL Rookie of the Year, he finished 12-6 with an ERA of 2.19.
NATIONALS 3, METS 0 Dan Haren pitched one-hit ball for six innings, Ryan Zimmerman homered and visiting Washington won its fifth consecutive game, beating New York in a night full of 9/11 tributes.
PHILLIES 4, PADRES 2 Cliff Lee (Benton, Arkansas Razorbacks) pitched eight sharp innings and Freddy Galvis had three hits to lead host Philadelphia to a victory over San Diego. Lee (13-6) allowed 2 runs and 5 hits, struck out 9 and walked 1. It was the second straight eight-inning outing and fourth in the last six starts for Lee, who pounded his glove and skipped toward the dugout after fanning Jedd Gyorko to end the eighth.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
ROYALS 6, INDIANS 2 Alex Gordon hit a home run on the game’s first pitch, James Shields dominated after a shaky first inning, and visiting Kansas City beat Cleveland in a match up of teams fighting for an American League playoff spot. Kansas City took 2 of 3 in the series between clubs that are in contention for the second wild card spot in the AL.
ANGELS 5, BLUE JAYS 4 Kole Calhoun hit a tie breaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning, C.J. Wilson won his eighth consecutive decision and visiting Los Angeles beat Toronto. Mark Trumbo hit a two-run home run, his career-high 33rd, and Josh Hamilton had three hits.
ATHLETICS 18, TWINS 3 Jed Lowrie’s foul ball that turned into a two-run double after umpires changed the call highlighted a 10-run fourth inning as visiting Oakland pounded Minnesota. Every Oakland starter had at least one hit, one run and one RBI as the A’s recorded a season-high 22 hits. Lowrie, Coco Crisp and Stephen Vogt also homered. Yoenis Cespedes had three RBI to help the A’s score their most runs in a game since beating Boston 20-2 on Aug. 31, 2012.
RED SOX 7, RAYS 3 Mike Carp had a pinch-hit grand slam in the 10th inning and AL East-leading Boston beat Tampa Bay. Carp sent a drive over the center-field fence on the first pitch from Roberto Hernandez. It was the first pinchhit grand slam for Boston since Kevin Millar hit one at Milwaukee on June 7, 2003.
TIGERS 1, WHITE SOX 0 Anibal Sanchez struck out 10 in a terrific performance, helping visiting Detroit top Chicago. Sanchez (14-7) allowed five hits and walked four in 7 1/3 innings while lowering his AL-best ERA to 2.50. Joaquin Benoit got three outs for his 18th save in 18 opportunities, completing a five-hitter for Detroit’s 11th shutout of the season. Omar Infante drove in the game’s only run with a twoout single against Matt Lindstrom (2-4) in the eighth inning.
YANKEES 5, ORIOLES 4 Robinson Cano hit a tie breaking home run leading off the ninth inning, and visiting New York also got home runs from Alex Rodriguez and Curtis Granderson in a victory over Baltimore.
INTERLEAGUE
PIRATES 7, RANGERS 5 Clint Barmes homered and drew a bases-loaded walk for visiting Pittsburgh, which completed a three-game sweep in an interleague match up of wild-card leaders with a victory over slumping Texas. Justin Morneau, acquired from Minnesota less than two weeks ago, snapped an 0-for-14 slump with four hits while scoring twice.
Wednesday’s games
NATIONAL LEAGUE Cincinnati 6, Chicago Cubs 0 San Francisco 4, Colorado 3 Philadelphia 4, San Diego 2 Miami 5, Atlanta 2 Washington 3, NY Mets 0 St. Louis 5, Milwaukee 1 Arizona at LA Dodgers, (n)
AMERICAN LEAGUE Kansas City 6, Cleveland 2 NY Yankees 5, Baltimore 4 LA Angels 5, Toronto 4 Boston 7, Tampa Bay 3 (10) Detroit 1, Chicago White Sox 0 Oakland 18, Minnesota 3 Houston at Seattle, (n)
INTERLEAGUE Pittsburgh 7, Texas 5
Sports, Pages 15 on 09/12/2013