WASHINGTON -- Yadier Molina hit a grand slam, Marcell Ozuna homered twice and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals 11-8 on Tuesday night.
Molina provided a cushion for St. Louis via his sixth career slam, which made it 11-5 with two outs in the ninth.
The Cardinals, who occupy the second NL wild card spot, hit five home runs overall as they stopped a three-game skid.
Right fielder Yairo Munoz robbed Ryan Zimmerman of a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth, reaching over the fence and pulling it back into the field of play for a two-run double.
Tyson Ross (8-9) pitched 1 1/3 innings for the victory and Jordan Hicks got the final out for his sixth save in 11 chances.
Ozuna and Paul DeJong homered back-to-back leading off the sixth inning to break a 4-4 tie, and one out later, Patrick Wisdom went deep to make it 7-4.
Making his second major league appearance, reliever Austen Williams (0-1) gave up all three home runs. He allowed none in 68 innings this season in Class AA and AAA.
The 4-hour, 10-minute game included 16 walks and 20 strikeouts.
Wilmer Difo homered and Bryce Harper had a double and three walks in five plate appearances for the Nationals, who fell one game below .500.
BREWERS 11, CUBS 1 Lorenzo Cain reached base five times, Wade Miley pitched six stingy innings and the Milwaukee Brewers romped past the Chicago Cubs to climb within three games of the NL Central leaders. Miley (3-2) allowed 1 run and 3 hits, struck out 5 and walked none as Milwaukee won for the fifth time in its last six meetings with its division rival.
PHILLIES 9, MARLINS 4 Carlos Santana homered to start a four-run first inning and the Philadelphia Phillies snapped a three-game losing streak. Jake Arrieta (10-9) struck out a season-high 11 and earned his first victory since July 31.
PIRATES 7, REDS 3 Starling Marte hit a two-run home run, Gregory Polanco had a two-run double and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds.
ROCKIES 6, GIANTS 2 Ryan McMahon had a pinch-hit home run and Carlos Gonzalez tripled with the bases loaded during a five-run seventh inning that carried the NL West leading Colorado Rockies past the San Francisco Giants.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
RAYS 4, BLUE JAYS 0 Ryne Stanek (Arkansas Razorbacks) became the first rookie pitcher in 75 years to start consecutive games and combined with six relievers on a three-hitter in Tampa Bay's victory. Stanek became the first rookie to start back-to-back games since the St. Louis Cardinals' Red Munger got one out in a loss to Philadelphia on July 28, 1943, then pitched a complete game victory over the Phillies the following day, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Hunter Wood (Rogers Heritage) pitched two hitless innings for his first victory, Jalen Beeks (Fayetteville, Razorbacks) worked 2 2/3 innings, Jose Alvarado got one out, Diego Castillo pitched the seventh and eighth, and Adam Kolarek got the first out in the ninth. Sergio Romo finished off the victory.
INDIANS 9, ROYALS 3 Mike Clevinger struck out 10, Francisco Lindor hit a leadoff home run and the Cleveland Indians moved closer to their third consecutive AL Central title with a victory over the Kansas City Royals. The Indians ended a three-game losing streak and reduced their magic number for clinching another division title to 11.
RANGERS 4, ANGELS 2 Adrian Beltre and Elvis Andrus each hit a solo home run in the fourth inning to put the Texas Rangers ahead to stay in a victory over the Los Angeles Angels. Andrus hit the first pitch of the fourth against Andrew Heaney (8-9) to tie the game at 1. Two batters later, Beltre went deep for the ninth time this season and 471st time in his career.
ASTROS 5, TWINS 2 Alex Bregman hit three doubles and Yuli Gurriel homered for the second game in a row, leading Justin Verlander and the Houston Astros over the Minnesota Twins. Verlander (14-9) yielded 1 run and 3 hits while fanning 8 over 7 innings.
TIGERS 8, WHITE SOX 3 Mikie Mahtook hit a two-run homer and rookie Grayson Greiner drove in three runs as Francisco Liriano won for the first time in over four months in Detroit's victory over the Chicago White Sox.
INTERLEAGUE
REDS 5, BRAVES 1 Steve Pearce had 3 hits and 3 RBI, Rick Porcello allowed 2 hits in 5 innings, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Atlanta Braves for their second consecutive victory in a matchup of division leaders. Porcello (16-7) gave up 1 run, struck out 5 and walked 1, improving to 10-3 on the road this year.
Sports on 09/05/2018