CARDINALS 4, NATIONALS 2
ST. LOUIS -- Austin Gomber learned plenty about pressure during a 15-game stint in the St. Louis Cardinals' bullpen earlier this season.
The left-hander used that experience to his advantage on Wednesday night.
Gomber tossed six shutout innings in his fourth start of the year, Marcell Ozuna homered and the Cardinals won their season-high eighth consecutive game, 4-2 over the Washington Nationals.
The Cardinals, who are 18-9 since the All-Star break, captured their sixth successive series after taking the first three of the four-game set.
Gomber gave up 3 hits, struck out 6 and walked 4. He wriggled out of a pair of jams while nursing a 1-0 lead.
"I think being in the bullpen kind of helped me in these situations," Gomber said. "Even when the bases get loaded, I never feel any panic. It's just something that you've got to become more comfortable with."
Gomber ended his 99-pitch outing by striking out three successive batters after giving up a leadoff double to Bryce Harper in the sixth.
"This guy gets after it," St. Louis interim manager Mike Shildt said. "He's not going to back down from anyone."
Gomber (3-0) struck out Michael A. Taylor looking with the bases loaded to end the fourth. He retired Anthony Rendon on a flyball with runners on first and third in the fifth.
Daniel Murphy homered in the ninth for Washington, which has lost four in a row and seven of nine to fall below .500 and nine games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves in the NL East. The current skid began with a loss to the Cubs on a two-out, walk-off grand slam.
"When you're in a playoff race, we've got to score first, we've got to score early," Nationals Manager Dave Martinez said. "We can't squander the opportunities that we get and we've been doing that."
Ozuna homered in the second inning, his 14th of the season and his first since July 30, covering 62 plate appearances.
Harrison Bader and Yadier Molina added run-scoring hits for St. Louis, which improved to 19-9 since Mike Matheny was fired and replaced by Shildt on July 15.
Bud Norris pitched the ninth to pick up his 23rd save in 27 opportunities,
St. Louis infielder Matt Carpenter extended his on-base streak to 33 games with a walk in the fifth. It's the longest current streak in the majors. Carpenter left the game in the seventh after he was hit on the hand by a pitch from Matt Grace, but X-rays were negative.
CUBS 8, BREWERS 4 Anthony Rizzo homered, drove in three runs and stole two bases in his return to the cleanup spot, and host Chicago restored their three-game lead in the NL Central by topping Milwaukee. Kyle Hendricks (9-9) struck out eight in six-plus innings on his bobblehead day, providing a lift for the Cubs after Jon Lester and Jose Quintana struggled in recent starts.
BRAVES 5, MARLINS 2 Slugging rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. was hit by a pitch before he could take the Marlins deep again, but Dansby Swanson filled the power void for the Braves, hitting a two-run home run that led Atlanta to a victory over visiting Miami. Kevin Gausman (7-9) allowed two runs in six innings. A.J. Minter pitched a perfect ninth for his 11th save in 12 opportunities.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
WHITE SOX 6, TIGERS 5 Jose Abreu and Matt Davidson each hit two-run home runs and Chicago beat host Detroit to win the three-game series. Carlos Rodon (4-3) improved to 3-0 in his last 7 starts, giving up 3 runs on 5 hits and 1 walk in 8 innings. He struck out six in his seventh quality start.
MARINERS 2, ATHLETICS 0 (12) Light-hitting Dee Gordon homered off Yusmeiro Petit in the 12th inning to break a scoreless tie and visiting Seattle beat Oakland to avoid a three-game sweep. Seattle's Mike Leake pitched 8 innings of two-hit ball with 6 strikeouts and 1 walk. Oakland's Brett Anderson went 7 2/3 without allowing a run in his longest outing since June 16, 2015.
RAYS 6, YANKEES 1 Mallex Smith hit a two-run home run, rookie Brandon Lowe got his first two major league hits and Tampa Bay beat host New York. Kevin Kiermaier, who was mired in a 4-for-46 slump in August, had two hits, scored a run and drove in one for the Rays, who have won seven of their past nine games against New York. Tampa Bay took advantage of an ineffective Luis Cessa (1-3), who was recalled from Class AAA before the game to make a start in place of an injured CC Sabathia.
BLUE JAYS 6, ROYALS 5 Curtis Granderson hit a grand slam, Marco Estrada pitched effectively into the seventh inning and visiting Toronto beat Kansas City. Jorge Lopez (0-2), who was making his Royals debut after being acquired July 27 from Milwaukee as part of the Mike Moustakas trade, threw a 2-0 fastball that Granderson drove over the Royals' right-field bullpen gate with two outs in the fourth inning.
INTERLEAGUE
TWINS 6, PIRATES 4 Logan Forsythe had three RBI, the Twins bullpen tossed 5 1/3 shutout innings and host Minnesota beat Pittsburgh. Oliver Drake, Gabriel Moya (3-0), Tyler Duffey and Taylor Rogers scattered five hits and struck out three before Trevor Hildenberger picked up his third save in four chances.
PHILLIES 7, RED SOX 4 Wilson Ramos had three extra-base hits and three RBI, helping Philadelphia beat visiting Boston in his first game with his new team. Seven relievers combined to allow one unearned run in 6 2/3 innings for Philadelphia. Tommy Hunter (4-2) earned the victory by getting one out in the sixth. Seranthony Dominguez got the last four outs for his 13th save in 16 chances.
METS 16, ORIOLES 5 Kevin Plawecki hit his first career grand slam during a nine-run sixth inning, Brandon Nimmo went 5 for 5 with 3 RBI and New York breezed past host Baltimore. Zack Wheeler (8-6) gave up one run and five hits over five innings to win his sixth consecutive start. The right-hander was removed from the game by Manager Mickey Callaway after the Mets sent 12 batters to the plate in a lengthy sixth against Dylan Bundy (7-11) and three relievers.
INDIANS 4, REDS 3 Melky Cabrera lofted a go-ahead two-run home run into the left-field seats in the sixth inning, and visiting Cleveland rallied to beat Cincinnati, extending its winning streak to five games. The Indians held the Reds scoreless after a three-run first. In the sixth, Cody Reed (0-1) walked Yonder Alonso before allowing Cabrera's third home run of the season.
ASTROS 12, ROCKIES 1 Evan Gattis and Tyler White hit two home runs each, Yuli Gurriel added a two-run shot and host Houston broke out of its offensive slump in a huge way with a victory over Colorado to snap a five-game skid. Gerrit Cole struck out 12 and the defending World Series champions stopped a nine-game home losing streak with their first victory in Houston since July 14.
ANGELS 3, PADRES 2 Rene Rivera hit a go-ahead home run in the ninth inning in his return from a long stay on the disabled list, and visiting Los Angeles completed a three-game sweep of San Diego. Rivera connected for a solo shot into the second deck in left field against San Diego closer Kirby Yates (4-1). The former Padres catcher had missed 76 games with right knee inflammation.
Sports on 08/16/2018