NATIONAL LEAGUE

Hicks, Molina deliver a close one for Cardinals

Third baseman Brian Anderson (Arkansas Razorbacks) is off to a solid start in his rookie season for the Miami Marlins. He’s batting .235 with 1 home run and 10 RBI.
Third baseman Brian Anderson (Arkansas Razorbacks) is off to a solid start in his rookie season for the Miami Marlins. He’s batting .235 with 1 home run and 10 RBI.

CARDINALS 4, REDS 3

ST. LOUIS -- Jordan Hicks didn't get jammed up.

The rookie St. Louis reliever got Scooter Gennett to ground into a game-ending double play with the bases loaded, and the Cardinals held off the Cincinnati Reds 4-3 on Saturday.

"I just tried to stay calm and just throw every pitch to the best of my ability and just try to give my team the best chance to win," Hicks said. "I just go out there with full confidence and do what you know how to do, what you've been doing your whole life."

Star catcher Yadier Molina hit a tiebreaking home run in the seventh inning as the Cardinals won for the seventh time in their past eight games, including six against the Reds. The Reds dropped their fourth consecutive, and second under interim manager Jim Riggleman, and fell to 3-17 this season.

St. Louis has won 10 in a row from the Reds dating to last season, matching its longest streak against them since 1949, when the Cardinals won 11 consecutive.

Hicks (1-0) recorded the final seven outs for his first career victory.

"Amazing," Molina said of the hard-throwing Hicks. "This kid has the talent to pitch late in the game. Obviously when you throw 102 (miles per hour), you don't have to be afraid of anything. He's a great kid and great job for him tonight."

Jared Hughes (0-2) gave up Molina's sixth home run, a solo drive. The one-out shot gave Molina his 800th career RBI.

"I totally missed my spot right there," Hughes said. "I left it up and in the middle. It was not the pitch I wanted. He doesn't miss mistakes. He did a good job of hitting the heck out of it."

Cincinnati scored three times in the seventh to tie it. The Reds strung together four singles and a walk in the seventh, with Gennett's two-run hit making it 3-3. Hicks used one pitch to get Cliff Pennington to fly out, ending the inning with runners at the corners.

Cardinals starter Carlos Martinez pitched 6 scoreless innings, giving up 3 hits and striking out 7. He was pulled after 91 pitches and exited with an 18-inning scoreless streak, leaving with a 1.42 ERA.

Home runs by Paul DeJong and Dexter Fowler helped the Cardinals build a 3-0 lead through six.

Cincinnati starter Homer Bailey lasted 5 2/3 innings, allowing 7 hits, striking out 4 and walking 2.

"I honestly wasn't very sharp today," Bailey said. "I did some things that I wasn't very happy with today. We tried to hold them the best we could. Defensively we did a good job and the offense started coming through there at the end. It was just kind of one of those days where you had to fight back and forth.

"That's something that shouldn't be necessarily commented on. It should just be a regular thing that you do every day. Maybe it's a step in the right direction. But the overall picture is we still need to do more."

DeJong hit his sixth home run in the second. Fowler's third home run opened the sixth for the Cardinals.

Cardinals 2B Kolten Wong sprinted into right field and had to make a full extension of his glove arm to pull in a flare from Reds OF Adam Duvall in the sixth. Wong then tossed the ball to 1B Jose Martinez to double off Gennett, who had already rounded second base.

PHILLIES 6, PIRATES 2 Rhys Hoskins hit a go-ahead three-run home run, Aaron Nola tossed seven impressive innings and Philadelphia beat visiting Pittsburgh. Nola (2-1) allowed 2 runs, 6 hits and struck out 9 to help the Phillies win their third consecutive game and improve to 8-1 at home.

BREWERS 6, MARLINS 5 Jesus Aguilar homered on the 13th pitch leading off the bottom of the ninth inning as host Milwaukee rallied past Miami for its fifth consecutive victory.

BRAVES 4, METS 3 Johan Camargo tripled home the tying run, then scored on Ender Inciarte’s bunt single as Atlanta scored twice in the ninth inning off visiting New York closer Jeurys Familia to beat the Mets.

ROCKIES 5, CUBS 2 Nolan Arenado had two hits to back six strong innings from Tyler Anderson and host Colorado used a big fifth inning to beat Chicago.

DIAMONDBACKS 6, PADRES 2 Zack Godley settled down after a shaky start to throw 5 1/3 solid innings and singled home a run as Arizona beat visiting San Diego.

DODGERS 4, NATIONALS 0 Joc Pederson, Kike Hernandez and Cody Bellinger all homered, and Hyun-Jin Ryu pitched seven innings of twohit ball as host Los Angeles beat Washington.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

YANKEES 9, BLUE JAYS 1 Aaron Judge hit an early home run off respected Twitter rival Marcus Stroman, then scored on a disputed play during a seven-run burst in the sixth inning that lifted host New York over Toronto.

TIGERS 12, ROYALS 4 Nicholas Castellanos homered and drove in three runs, and Detroit routed visiting Kansas City. Mike Fiers (2-1) allowed 2 earned runs and 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings for the Tigers, and Royals starter Danny Duffy (0-3) yielded 6 runs and 10 hits in 4 2/3 innings.

INDIANS 4, ORIOLES 0 Mike Clevenger pitched a two-hitter in his first career complete game, and Cleveland hit three solo home runs off Chris Tillman in a victory over host Baltimore. Jose Ramirez went 3 for 4 with his team-leading fifth home run.

RAYS 10, TWINS 1 C.J. Cron hit a pair of two-run home runs and Blake Snell won his third consecutive start in Tampa Bay's victory over visiting Minnesota. Snell (3-1) surrendered 1 run, striking out 6 and allowing 5 hits in 7 innings.

ASTROS 10, WHITE SOX 1 Josh Reddick hit a grand slam and solo home run as Houston pounded reeling host Chicago for its fifth consecutive victory.

Saturday’s games

NATIONAL LEAGUE

St. Louis 4, Cincinnati 3 Philadelphia 6, Pittsburgh 2 Atlanta 4, NY Mets 3 Milwaukee 6, Miami 5 Arizona 6, San Diego 2 Colorado 5, Chicago Cubs 2 LA Dodgers 4, Washington 0

AMERICAN LEAGUE

NY Yankees 9, Toronto 1 Detroit 12, Kansas City 4 Cleveland 4, Baltimore 0 Tampa Bay 10, Minnesota 1 Houston 10, Chicago White Sox 1 Oakland 3, Boston 0 Seattle 9, Texas 7

INTERLEAGUE

LA Angels 4, San Francisco 3

Sports on 04/22/2018

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