>>Pirates Hammer Cardinals’ Bullpen
(St. Louis, MO) — The Pirates used a five-run seventh to beat the Cardinals 10-6 in St. Louis. Josh Bell went 4-for-4 with 5 RBI, including the game-tying three-run homer in the seventh. Adam Frazier had a pinch-hit, two-run double to give the Bucs the go-ahead runs. Steven Brault struggled in the start, giving up six runs in three and two thirds. Newly-acquired Chris Stratton picked up the win in relief. The Pirates have won three straight and seven of their last 10. Paul Goldschmidt and Jose Martinez both homered for St. Louis, which scored all six of their runs in the first two innings. The bullpen struggled, giving up seven runs in three innings. John Brebbia took the loss. The Cardinals lost three-out-of-four in this series and have dropped nine of their last 11. The Cardinals open a series in Atlanta on Tuesday, then travel to Texas for a weekend series.
>>Phillies Use Big Inning To Beat Royals
(Kansas City, MO) — The Phillies scored six in the fifth on their way to beating the Royals 6-1 in Kansas City. Jean Segura had an RBI single, Rhys Hoskins’ walk forced in a run, then JT Realmuto’s two-run double and Odubel Herrerra’s two-run single broke the game open for the Phils. Cole Irvin gave up one run in seven innings to win his big league debut. Philly has won four of five. Jakob Junis gave up five runs in four and a third to drop his fourth game. Alex Gordon hit a dying quail to drive in the first run of the game in the first. The Royals start a series on Tuesday with the Rangers.
>>Cubs Hold Off Brewers
(Chicago, IL) — Jon Lester gave up only one unearned run as the Cubs dropped the Brewers 4-1 victory at Wrigley Field. Lester pitched into the seventh and struck out six to earn the win. Kris Bryant hit a two-run homer for Chicago in its fifth win in its last six. Jesus Aguilar hit a single in the fourth to score Christian Yelich for Milwaukee’s only run in the loss. Jhoulys Chacin notched the loss, allowing two runs on six hits in six innings for the Brewers who have lost two straight.
>>Tigers Hold Off Twins
(Minneapolis, MN) — Nicholas Castellanos and Brandon Dixon homered to lift the Tigers to a 5-3 win over the Twins in Minneapolis. Daniel Norris went six and one-third innings and got the win for the Tigers, who have won two of their last three. The Twins attempted to stage a rally with three runs in the seventh. Ehire Adrianza homered for Minnesota. Martin Perez gave up three runs over five innings for the Twins, who have lost two of their last three but are 25-and-14 on the season.
>>Indians Edge A’s, Prevent Sweep
(Oakland, CA) — Roberto Perez’s three-run homer in the sixth inning was the difference as the Indians edged the A’s 5-3 in Oakland. Perez broke a two-all tie and put Cleveland up for good. Carlos Santana notched an RBI-double and Jefry Rodriguez fired six frames of three-run ball to earn the win as the Tribe prevented the sweep. Daniel Mengden pitched into the sixth and allowed four runs to take the loss for the A’s. Matt Olson went deep as the A’s dropped to 19-and-23.
>>Anderson Powers White Sox Past Blue Jays
(Toronto, Ontario) — Tim Anderson hit a three-run homer to lift the White Sox to a 5-1 win over the Blue Jays in Toronto. Yonder Alonso also went yard for Chicago. Lucas Giolito went seven innings while just giving up one run and striking out eight for the White Sox, who have won two in a row. Rowdy Tellez drove in the only run for Toronto. Aaron Sanchez struck out 11 but gave up five runs over six innings and was saddled with the loss for the Blue Jays, who have lost 10 of their last 12.