CHICAGO - Anthony Rizzo wasted little time in getting to Adam Wainwright.
Rizzo hit a two-run single in the first that ended Wainwright’s scoreless streak at 25 innings, and the Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-5 on Friday for their third victory in four games.
“I’m not trying to do too much,” Rizzo said. “See the ball and hit it, really try to swing at the pitches I want to hit, not pitcher’s pitches. Especially with Wainwright, his stuff is so good he’s going to eat you alive.”
Wainwright (5-2) had allowed 6 runs in 45 innings coming in, but the Cubs matched the runs total in just 5 innings against the St. Louis ace, who gave up 10 hits. His ERA rose from 1.20 to 2.16.
“They did a nice job of spoiling some pitches,” Cubs Manager Rick Renteria said of his batters. “You’ve got to give them all the credit. They grinded out some at-bats today and reaped some benefits.”
Wainwright had been 6-0 in 12 previous starts and five relief appearances at Wrigley Field.
“There were certain pitches today I didn’t have good command over,” he said. “My curveball was kind of sporadic in the zone and out of the zone, which is pretty rare for me. It’s a funny game. Today was not my day. I accept that and take responsibility for today and move on.”
Bryant’s Travis Wood (2-3) gave up 3 runs - 2 earned - and 6 hits in 7 innings but allowed just a runner in his final 3 innings.
NATIONALS 5, PHILLIES 3 Adam LaRoche’s tiebreaking single in the eighth inning helped Washington rally from an early deficit to beat host Philadelphia. Cliff Lee (Benton, Arkansas Razorbacks) allowed 2 runs - 1 earned - and 4 hits, striking out 5 in 7 innings.
MARLINS 6, DODGERS 3 Surprising Tom Koehler (3-2) outpitched Josh Beckett, and host Miami extended its home winning streak to seven games by beating Los Angeles.
BREWERS 2, REDS 0 Wily Peralta doubled home two runs and repeatedly escaped trouble during his eight innings, leading visiting Milwaukee to a victory over Cincinnati.
GIANTS 2, BRAVES 1 Michael Morse and Angel Pagan homered, Tim Lincecum allowed one run over six innings and San Francisco beat host Atlanta.
ROCKIES 10, METS 3 Charlie Blackmon homered among his three hits, Jorge De La Rosa pitched effectively for six innings and Colorado beat visiting New York.
DIAMONDBACKS 2, PADRES 0 Bronson Arroyo and two relievers held host San Diego to three hits and Aaron Hill hit a two-run single to lead Arizona to a victory.
AMERICAN LEAGUE INDIANS 12, WHITE SOX 5 Michael Brantley homered and drove in three runs, Carlos Santana also homered and Cleveland broke a six-game losing streak with a victory over visiting Chicago.
RED SOX 7, ATHLETICS 1 Dustin Pedroiahit a grand slam for his 100th career home run and Clay Buchholz picked up his first victory at home as host Boston beat Oakland.
TIGERS 8, ROYALS 2 Rick Porcello cruised through seven innings, the Tigers battered James Shields once again and visiting Detroit rolled to a victory over Kansas City.
ORIOLES 3, TWINS 0 Ubaldo Jimenez struck out a season-high 10 over seven-plus scoreless innings for his first victory with Baltimore, and Nelson Cruz hit a two-run home run to pad the lead in a victory over host Minnesota.
ASTROS 5, MARINERS 4 (11) George Springer singled home the winning run in the 11th inning to give Houston a victory over visiting Seattle. Marc Krauss had two hits and drove in two runs for Houston.
RAYS 10, YANKEES 5 (14) Wil Myers and visiting Tampa Bay broke loose in the 14th inning while holding Derek Jeter to the worst hitting performance of his career, outlasting New York.
INTERLEAGUE PIRATES 6, BLUE JAYS 5 Starling Marte hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give host Pittsburgh a victory over Toronto.
Friday’s games NATIONAL LEAGUE Chicago Cubs 6, St. Louis 5 Washington 5, Philadelphia 3 Miami 6, LA Dodgers 3 Milwaukee 2, Cincinnati 0 San Francisco 2, Atlanta 1 Colorado 10, NY Mets 3 Arizona 2, San Diego 0 AMERICAN LEAGUE Cleveland 12, Chicago White Sox 5 Tampa Bay 10, NY Yankees 5 (14) Boston 7, Oakland 1 Baltimore 3, Minnesota 0 Detroit 8, Kansas City 2 Houston 5, Seattle 4, 11 innings Texas at LA Angels, (n) INTERLEAGUE Pittsburgh 6, Toronto 5
Sports, Pages 22 on 05/03/2014