CARDINALS 4, CUBS 3
ST. LOUIS -- Cardinals rookie Stephen Piscotty continues to show a penchant for making quick adjustments.
After going hitless in his first three at-bats, Piscotty lined a two-run double off the centerfield wall to cap a three-run rally in the eighth inning that sent St. Louis over the Chicago Cubs 4-3 Wednesday.
Matt Carpenter tripled and scored twice as the Cardinals' ended their three-game losing streak. The NL Central leaders avoided their first sweep at home this season and their first against the Cubs since September 2010.
"It's definitely good to get that one," Piscotty said. "You don't want to get swept by the Cubs. We're fine. There's no panic. We did a good job of fighting back."
Cardinals Manager Mike Matheny said Piscotty is a good self-evaluator.
"This is what he did: 'He got me last time, this is what I probably need to do.' And not many guys can make those adjustments as far as approach," Matheny said. "He's able to think ahead and then make those physical adjustments as well."
Cubs lefty Jon Lester exited after seven dominant innings. He gave up 2 hits, retired 20 of his final 21 hitters and left with a 3-1 lead.
"I felt good, cutter was better today," Lester said. "I got away with a couple of pitches because of what we established early."
Jonathan Broxton (2-4) got the victory and Trevor Rosenthal picked up his 43rd save. Clayton Richard (3-1) took the loss.
Cardinals starter Carlos Martinez needed 99 pitches to get through five innings. The Cubs stranded at least one runner in each of his innings, and Martinez was able to limit the damage with eight strikeouts.
"All in all, I think he did a nice job of keeping it together all the way around," Matheny said. "His mind was right. He kept coming out and grinding and that's a great sign of what could come."
The Cardinals' bullpen retired 12 of the 13 batters they faced.
"Carlos gave us five," Broxton said. "He struggled early, but once the bullpen opened up we just tried to hold them there and give our offense a chance."
Chris Coghlan took advantage of Randal Grichuk's compromised throwing arm to score the Cubs' first run on Anthony Rizzo's double.
Grichuk, starting for the first time since straining his elbow Aug. 16, had to flip the ball to right fielder Jason Heyward, who threw it in allowing Coghlan to score from first.
Rizzo appeared to be caught in a run-down following his double, but Martinez failed to cover third, allowing Rizzo to take an extra base. Tommy La Stella followed with a two-out double to give the Cubs an extra run.
Lester got his second career hit, both against St. Louis. The Cardinals have given up hits to opposing pitchers in four consecutive games and each have led to runs.
BRAVES 8, PHILLIES 1 Julio Teheran (10-7) threw seven impressive innings, Christian Bethancourt hit a go-ahead home run and visiting Atlanta beat Philadelphia.
MARLINS 5, BREWERS 2 Tom Koehler tied career-highs with 10 strikeouts over eight innings and Christian Yelich had a tiebreaking two-run double in the seventh inning, and host Miami beat Milwaukee. Koehler (9-13) allowed 2 runs, 4 hits and 2 walks.
METS 5, NATIONALS 3 Yoenis Cespedes hit a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning moments after pinch-hitter Kelly Johnson connected for a tying shot, and visiting New York rallied past Washington for a pivotal three-game sweep.
PIRATES 5, REDS 4 Reds star Joey Votto went ballistic after a called strike and got ejected in Cincinnati's loss to visiting Pittsburgh. Jung Ho Kang hit Pittsburgh's first grand slam of the season, a tiebreaking shot in the sixth inning. Votto was tossed by plate umpire Bill Welke while the Reds were trying to rally in the eighth.
PADRES 11, ROCKIES 4 Matt Kemp and Jedd Gyorko homered and James Shields pitched six innings as host San Diego beat Colorado. The big blow was Gyorko's three-run home run, his 14th of the season.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
TWINS 3, ROYALS 2 (12) Pinch-hitter Miguel Sano homered with two outs in the 12th inning, and visiting Minnesota beat AL Central-leading Kansas City. Sano worked a full count before sending a soaring shot over the bullpen in left field.
INDIANS 6, WHITE SOX 4 Francisco Lindor had three hits, including a home run, Jose Ramirez also homered and visiting Cleveland beat Chicago. Cleveland starter Josh Tomlin (5-1) allowed 3 runs on 5 hits in 5 2/3 innings to win his fifth in a row.
ORIOLES 5, YANKEES 3 CC Sabathia's strong start in his return from the disabled list was undone by Stephen Drew's fielding misplays, Steve Pearce hit a tiebreaking eighth-inning home run off Adam Warren and visiting Baltimore rallied past New York.
RAYS 8, TIGERS 0 Jake Odorizzi pitched six strong innings and visiting Tampa Bay hit four home runs in a rout of Detroit. Odorizzi (7-8) held Detroit to 6 hits and 1 walk while striking out 6. Kyle Lobstein (3-7) took the loss in his second start back from a shoulder injury, giving up 5 runs, 7 hits and 2 walks in 5 2/3 innings.
RED SOX 10, BLUE JAYS 4 David Ortiz hit his 498th career home run, a three-run shot to cap a four-run third inning, and host Boston beat AL East-leading Toronto. Mookie Betts had a home run and drove in three runs, and Ryan Hanigan had three hits and three RBI for Boston.
Sports on 09/10/2015