CARDINALS 4, GIANTS 3
ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Cardinals Manager Mike Matheny guessed right batting Yadier Molina cleanup for the first time all season.
Molina capped an impressive game with his 100th career home run in the bottom of the eighth that snapped a tie in a 4-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday night.
"Good timing," Molina said, encapsulating the day. "I got to help my team win."
Molina added an RBI single in the first and, from his knees, threw out Kelby Tomlinson trying to steal in the seventh. Molina has done that a handful of times this season.
"He's the best catcher in baseball by far," St. Louis starter Jaime Garcia said. "He's the best, he's awesome."
Molina was proudest of his second home run in three days. He's hit just four home runs this year after averaging 14 long balls in each of his previous four seasons.
"I mean, I can't lie to you, I was thinking about it," Molina said. "I was hoping to do it early enough so I could get it out of the way."
Rookie Stephen Piscotty homered in the third for St. Louis, which took two of three from the NL West-contending Giants. The Cardinals are 77-43 overall and 46-19 at home, both tops in the majors.
"They found a way to win, that's why their record is what it is," Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said.
Kevin Siegrist (5-0) allowed a walk in the eighth and Trevor Rosenthal earned his 38th save in 40 chances, striking out pinch-hitting pitcher Madison Bumgarner to end it.
Bumgarner's first career pinch hit led to a Giants insurance run in Tuesday's 2-0 victory.
"Ain't nobody going to try to give anybody any mercy," Bumgarner said. "Anybody that goes up there in that situation is going to get his best."
Siegrist won both of the games in the series, both over Hunter Strickland (2-3), and the Cardinals wrapped up a 6-3 homestand with three 2-1 series victories and have won six consecutive series overall.
PIRATES 4, DIAMONDBACKS 1 J.A. Happ allowed two hits in six shutout innings and Pittsburgh made quick work of visiting Arizona. Happ (5-7), acquired at the trade deadline from Seattle, struck out three and walked two to earn his first National League victory in more than three years.
BREWERS 8, MARLINS 7 Ryan Braun became the Brewers all-time home run leader with his 252nd home run and Khris Davis hit two home runs to help Milwaukee avoid a sweep with a victory over visiting Miami. Braun broke the tie with Hall of Famer Robin Yount with a blast off the railing of the second deck in right to lead off the sixth inning.
PADRES 3, BRAVES 2 Yangervis Solarte drove in two runs, and Tyson Ross pitch six solid innings as host San Diego beat Atlanta to complete a three-game sweep. Solarte, who had three hits, hit a home run in the sixth and added a run-scoring double in the seventh.
NATIONALS 4, ROCKIES 1 Stephen Strasburg pitched seven strong innings, Jayson Werth hit a tiebreaking triple in the eighth and visiting Washington rallied to beat Colorado.
INTERLEAGUE
ROYALS 4, REDS 3 Lorenzo Cain had a tie-breaking RBI single in the second inning, Ben Zobrist had four hits and Kansas City benefited from a Cincinnati baserunning gaffe as the Royals beat the host Reds to complete a two-game sweep.
TIGERS 15, CUBS 8 Pitcher Daniel Norris homered in his first career plate appearance, Nick Castellanos went deep twice, one a grand slam, and visiting Detroit pounded Jon Lester in a victory over Chicago.
PHILLIES 7, BLUE JAYS 3 Rookie Aaron Altherr homered, doubled and drove in three runs and Adam Morgan pitched seven strong innings to lead host Philadelphia to a victory over Toronto.
ORIOLES 5, METS 4 Henry Urrutia broke a ninth-inning tie with his first major league home run, and Baltimore ended a nine-game losing streak against visiting New York. Jonathan Schoop and Adam Jones also homered for the Orioles.
ATHLETICS 5, DODGERS 2 Jesse Chavez struck out six over eight innings to win for just the second time in six starts, and host Oakland beat National League West-leading Los Angeles for a two-game sweep.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
YANKEES 4, TWINS 3 Greg Bird hit a pair of two-out, two-run drives, supporting an overpowering effort by Nathan Eovaldi and leading New York to a victory over visiting Minnesota for a three-game sweep. Eovaldi (13-2) did not allow a baserunner until Chris Hermann singled with one out in the sixth.
RANGERS 7, MARINERS 2 Derek Holland won in his return from the disabled list, and host Texas got back-to-back-to-back home runs in the seventh inning from Mitch Moreland, Mike Napoli and Elvis Andrus as the Rangers beat Seattle.
RED SOX 6, INDIANS 4 David Ortiz hit his 492nd career home run, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Ryan Hanigan connected on consecutive pitches, and Joe Kelly went six strong innings to lead Boston to a victory over visiting Cleveland.
ASTROS 3, RAYS 2 (13) Rookie Carlos Correa homered and his RBI single in the 13th inning gave host Houston a victory over Tampa Bay. Correa's grounder to right field with two outs in the 13th scored Colby Rasmus to give Houston the victory.
Sports on 08/20/2015