CINCINNATI -- The mound was slippery, the rain was steady, the bullpen was exhausted. Michael Wacha overcame all of it for another victory.
Wacha gave St. Louis' tired bullpen a respite by throwing seven innings in the rain Thursday, and the Cardinals pulled away to a 3-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, taking yet another series from their NL Central rival.
The Cardinals improved to 30 games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2013 season. They have the best record in the major leagues at 69-39.
"It's August already," Wacha said. "This is the time we start pushing and play the way we have been all year."
They took two of three in Cincinnati and have won 15 of their last 18 series together. The Reds were shut out for the last 18 innings.
St. Louis pulled out the second game of the series on Randal Grichuk's home run in the 13th inning for a 4-3 victory Wednesday night. Wacha (13-4) overcame a 68-minute rain delay at the start of Thursday's game, and then gave his used-up bullpen a rest.
"Absolutely had to happen," Manager Mike Matheny said. "There's a couple of things we could have done, but that was the best."
The right-hander allowed 4 hits and 2 walks, allowing only 2 runners to reach second base as he beat the Reds for the third time this season. It was impressive considering the start of the game got pushed back twice and there were long delays between innings while the grounds crew worked on the field.
"It's pretty tough pitching in that kind of stuff, but we've got to deal with it," said Wacha, who threw 102 pitches.
Trevor Rosenthal gave up an infield single and a walk in the ninth while getting his 32nd save in 34 chances and completing a five-hitter.
Tony Cruz snapped his 0-for-15 slump with an RBI single, and Kolten Wong singled home two more off Michael Lorenzen (3-7) as the teams played through intermittent, sometimes heavy rain. There was a long delay after the sixth inning to spread drying compound around the infield.
Lorenzen, one of five rookies in the Reds' rotation, gave up three runs in five innings. He hasn't won since June 21, going 0-5 in seven starts. In his last 4 starts, he's allowed 20 runs in 18 innings.
NATIONALS 8, DIAMONDBACKS 3 Ian Desmond broke out of a prolonged slump with a home run and Bryce Harper reached base five times to help host Washington defeat Arizona. Desmond's 12th home run of the season ended a 2-for-35 skid. His double to left leading off the fourth inning gave him more extra bases hits than he had produced in his previous nine games. He advanced to third on Wilson Ramos' single and scored on a fielder's choice by Michael Taylor. Joe Ross (3-3) pitched six strong innings, allowing just a solo home run to Jarrod Saltamacchia in the fifth inning.
DODGERS 10, PHILLIES 8 Zack Greinke was 3 for 3 with a home run to offset his worst start in three years and the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers beat Philadelphia. Greinke (11-2) gave up 5 runs before recording an out and finished with 6 runs allowed and 7 hits in 6 innings. He helped himself at the plate, though, and Adrian Gonzalez hit a three-run home run to pace the NL West-leading Dodgers. The six runs equaled the total Greinke gave up in his previous nine starts combined. He had a scoreless streak of 45 2/3 innings during that span. Greinke hadn't allowed six earned runs since Aug. 19, 2012, when he gave up six for the Angels at Tampa Bay. Greinke's ERA rose from 1.41 to 1.71. Kenley Jansen got the final two outs to record his 21st save in 22 chances.
BREWERS 10, PADRES 1 Khris Davis hit two three-run home runs for host Milwaukee, and Matt Garza limited San Diego to two hits in seven innings. Davis smacked a home run for the first time since July 18, connecting off Padres starter Odrisamer Despaigne (5-8) in the third -- a shot into the San Diego bullpen that made it 4-0. Davis also hit a home run off Kevin Quackenbush in the eighth. Garza (6-12) walked 2 and struck out 5 in his first victory in 3 starts. He avoided joining teammate Kyle Lohse as the only 13-game losers in the majors.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
TIGERS 8, ROYALS 6 Ian Kinsler hit a two-run home run off Ryan Madson in the ninth inning to lift host Detroit past Kansas City. Jose Iglesias led off with a single against Madson (1-2) before Kinsler hit a 2-0 fastball into the bullpen in left field. Alex Wilson (2-3) got the victory after getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth. Victor Martinez hit a three-run home run in the third and a two-run shot in the fifth to help the Tigers take a 6-3 lead. Martinez hadn't home run since July 17 and hadn't had a multi-home run game since hitting two for Boston against Toronto on Sept. 17, 2010.
Sports on 08/07/2015