MLB roundup: Cardinals rally past Padres, widen wild-card lead

September 20, 2021

Tyler O’Neill hit a two-run homer to rally the St. Louis Cardinals past the visiting San Diego Padres 3-2 Saturday for their seventh straight victory.

O’Neill’s eighth-inning blast off reliever Emilio Pagan (4-2) erased San Diego’s 2-1 lead. The Cardinals pushed their lead over the Cincinnati Reds to two games and over the Padres to 2 1/2 games in the race for the second National League wild-card slot.

Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright allowed two runs on seven hits in six innings. Justin Miller (1-0) pitched a scoreless eighth inning to earn the victory, and Giovanny Gallegos closed out the game for his ninth save.

Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish threw seven scoreless innings. He struck out nine batters and allowed just three hits and a walk.

Indians 11, Yankees 3

Andres Gimenez capped a seven-run fifth inning with a three-run homer, and Franmil Reyes added a two-run homer in the sixth, as visiting Cleveland rolled to a victory over New York.

Reyes drove in three runs while Yu Chang homered and drove in three for the Indians. Jose Ramirez added a late homer as Cleveland won for only the fifth time in 15 games and rebounded nicely after getting shut out in Friday’s series opener.

The Yankees lost for the 14th time in 21 games following their 13-game winning streak Aug. 14-27. New York also saw slugger Joey Gallo exit due to neck tightness following the third inning.

Red Sox 9, Orioles 3

Xander Bogaerts hit a three-run homer to highlight his three-hit performance as Boston extended its winning streak to four games with the victory over visiting Baltimore.

Rafael Devers had three hits and scored three runs for the Red Sox, who hold the top wild-card spot in the American League with 12 games to play.

Four Boston relievers combined for 5 1/3 scoreless innings. Tanner Houck (1-4) struck out three over 2 2/3 innings to record the victory.

Dodgers 5, Reds 1

Max Scherzer ran his personal win streak to 11 games after tossing seven scoreless innings while visiting Los Angeles took advantage of shoddy defense in a win over Cincinnati.

Scherzer (15-4), who took a perfect game into the eighth inning of his previous start, struck out seven and walked two. The strong pitching performance sent the Dodgers to their seventh win in the last eight games.

Scherzer is 7-0 with a 0.78 ERA in his nine starts with the Dodgers since being acquired from the Washington Nationals at the trade deadline. The Reds could muster only three hits and must win Sunday to avoid losing their eighth consecutive series.

Giants 2, Braves 0

Left-hander Alex Wood returned from a COVID-19 absence to start a seven-man shutout effort as San Francisco defeated Atlanta, which saw its lead in the National League East trimmed to one game.

Curt Casali directed a two-run single into right field to produce the game’s only runs in the fourth inning, helping the Giants beat the Braves for the second consecutive night.

Braves starter Charlie Morton (13-6) was pulled after five innings, charged with two runs on four hits. He walked three and struck out three.

Blue Jays 6, Twins 2

Teoscar Hernandez hit a three-run home run, Marcus Semien hit a solo shot and Toronto defeated visiting Minnesota.

Bo Bichette added three singles and two RBIs for the Blue Jays, who gained a split after two games of the three-game series.

Toronto holds the American League’s second wild-card spot by a half-game over New York. The Blue Jays had lost their previous eight games against the Twins at the Rogers Centre dating to 2017.

Rockies 6, Nationals 0

Kyle Freeland pitched six strong innings and visiting Colorado defeated Washington.

Brendan Rodgers had three hits, including a home run, and Trevor Story added a three-run homer for the Rockies, who have won five straight. Freeland (6-8) allowed seven hits and a walk while striking out seven. He threw 80 pitches.

Juan Soto had a single and a walk for Washington, which has lost three straight. The Nationals went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and were shut out for the second time this week.

Tigers 4, Rays 3

Jeimer Candelario blasted a three-run homer in the first inning and visiting Detroit held off Tampa Bay.

Dustin Garneau also homered for Detroit, which dropped the first two games of the four-game series. Jose Urena (4-8) gave up one run in 3 1/3 innings of relief while striking out four to pick up the win. Michael Fulmer worked the ninth to collect his 10th save.

Tigers center fielder Derek Hill left the game in the fifth inning with an apparent leg injury after colliding with Tampa Bay first baseman Ji-Man Choi.

Pirates 6, Marlins 3

Last-place Pittsburgh won its fourth straight series for the first time this season, defeating host Miami.

Ke’Bryan Hayes doubled twice and scored two runs to lead the Pirates. They will go for a three-game sweep of the Marlins on Sunday. Cole Tucker went 3-for-5 — his first three-hit game of the season — and Hoy Park and Kevin Newman each had two RBIs.

Marlins catcher Nick Fortes, who made his major league debut, went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer. He also singled in his first at-bat.

Rangers 2, White Sox 1

Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Nathaniel Lowe and Andy Ibanez had two hits apiece, and five pitchers combined on a three-hitter to lift host Texas to a victory over Chicago.

The White Sox were unable to inch closer to clinching the American League Central title. Chicago’s magic number remains at five over the Cleveland Indians, who routed the New York Yankees.

Texas sent Chicago to its third loss in four games behind a nine-hit attack and a resilient pitching staff. The Rangers issued seven walks but still neutralized the White Sox one night after Chicago rolled 8-0.

Royals 8, Mariners 1

Kris Bubic allowed one run on two hits over 6 1/3 innings as host Kansas City defeated Seattle in the middle game of a three-game series. The Mariners’ dwindling playoff chances took a hit, as they managed only three hits.

Bubic (5-6) earned his first win in his last five starts. It was his best outing since allowing two runs on just one hit against the Cubs in Wrigley Field on Aug. 21. He struck out two batters and walked four.

Yusei Kikuchi (7-9) lasted only three innings for the Mariners. He allowed three runs on eight hits, throwing 86 pitches.

Brewers 6, Cubs 4

Manny Pina snapped an eighth-inning tie with his second solo homer of the game to help host Milwaukee to a victory over Chicago.

Devin Williams (8-2) struck out three batters in the eighth, and Josh Hader finished for his 33rd save in 34 chances, despite allowing a walk and a single.

Jace Peterson and Eduardo Escobar also had solo homers for Milwaukee, which clinched a postseason berth thanks to losses by the San Diego Padres and the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday.

Diamondbacks 6, Astros 4 (10 innings)

Daulton Varsho slugged a two-run home run in the 10th inning and visiting Arizona squared its interleague series against Houston.

Varsho’s blast followed an RBI single by Kole Calhoun that snapped a 3-3 tie. Varsho’s 11th home run, a two-run shot off Astros right-hander Yimi Garcia (3-9), carried 431 feet to center field.

Tyler Clippard allowed an RBI single to Jason Castro in the bottom of the 10th, but Arizona improved to 6-10 in extra-inning games by winning on the road for just the 20th time in 2021.

Phillies 5, Mets 3

Jean Segura belted two home runs, Bryce Harper hit a two-run double in the seventh inning, and visiting Philadelphia continued its surge with a victory over New York.

The Phillies won for the fifth time in seven games and beat the Mets for the fifth consecutive time. They moved to within one game of the Atlanta Braves in the NL East, thanks to Atlanta’s loss to the Giants in San Francisco later Saturday.

Philadelphia right-hander Aaron Nola (8-8) allowed one run and four hits in 5 2/3 innings for his first win since July 25. He struck out nine, walked one on 96 pitches and improved to 9-3 lifetime against the Mets.

A’s 3, Angels 1

James Kaprielian allowed two hits over six shutout innings to lead Oakland to a victory over Los Angeles in Anaheim, Calif.

He retired the first six batters of the game until Jose Rojas singled to lead off the third. But Kaprielian responded by retiring the next 10 Angels hitters in a row until Jack Mayfield doubled with one out in the sixth.

Kaprielian (8-5) got out of the inning and was finished after six, having made 90 pitches, striking out five and walking nobody.

–Field Level Media

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