CHICAGO -- Kris Bryant got another Chicago Cubs rookie record.
Meanwhile, the Cubs and Cardinals might just want to just get at each other.
Jorge Soler and Bryant hit back-to-back home runs, and tempers flared for the second consecutive game as Chicago beat St. Louis Cardinals 5-4 on Saturday for its fifth consecutive victory to tighten the NL Central race.
Chicago is five games behind first-place St. Louis, which got a two-run home run from Matt Carpenter in the ninth. The Cubs entered the contest one game behind Pittsburgh for the top NL wild-card spot.
Cubs pitchers hit St. Louis batters three times. After closer Hector Rondon plunked pinch-hitter Greg Garcia to lead off the ninth with Chicago leading 5-1, both he and Manager Joe Maddon were ejected.
"Obviously, we're not trying to do that right there," Maddon said.
Bryant's drive against the wind and into the last row of the left field bleachers gave him 25 home runs and tied the Cubs record for a rookie set by Billy Williams in 1961. Bryant, who sparkled at third base, also drove in a run with a double and scored in the first as he went 2 for 3 with a walk.
"He's been outstanding," Maddon said. "Great defense, wonderful hitting, one of the best baserunners in the National League already.
"He is the rookie of the year."
Soler went deep for the first time since missing 23 games with a left oblique strain. Starlin Castro, who had six RBI on Friday, and Tommy La Stella also drove in runs for Chicago.
Rondon hitting Garcia nearly sparked a St. Louis comeback.
Carpenter hit a home run off Zac Rosscup to cut it to 5-3. Tommy Pham and Jason Heyward followed with singles, but Pedro Strop got the final three outs -- including a sacrifice fly by Yadier Molina that trimmed it to 5-4 -- for his third save.
"It was a very intense game," Carpenter said. "But you know what? Every game from here on out is going be an intense game.
"We had a nice little ride there at the end. It just came up a little short."
Shortstop Addison Russell ended it by diving up the middle to grab Stephen Piscotty's grounder and flipped to second to force out Heyward.
"That was a base hit the moment it left the bat," Maddon said. "[Russell] just willed his glove on the ball at the end of it."
After St. Louis' Kolten Wong was hit for a second time in the eighth, plate umpire Bruce Dreckman issued a warning.
Maddon used eight pitchers in a patchwork effort to cover for an empty spot in Chicago's rotation. The second pitcher, Trevor Cahill (1-3), entered with two outs in the third and earned his first cubs with the Cubs by pitching 3 1/3 scoreless innings.
Michael Wacha (16-6) had won 5 of his previous 6 decisions, but gave up 4 runs -- on 6 hits and 4 walks -- in 5 innings.
DIAMONDBACKS 6, GIANTS 0 Patrick Corbin pitched seven sharp innings and helped his own cause with an RBI single, and visiting Arizona beat San Francisco. Ender Inciarte had 3 hits and 2 RBI, while David Peralta and A.J. Pollock added 3 hits apiece for Arizona.
NATIONALS 5, MARLINS 2 Bryce Harper tied the game with a sacrifice fly, then added insurance with his 41st home run -- a two-run shot into the second deck in right field -- and host Washington came back to beat Miami. Harper entered the day leading the NL in home runs, batting average and runs. His three RBI raised his total to 95, putting him 17 behind Colorado's Nolan Arenado.
BRAVES 2, PHILLIES 1 Freddie Freeman hit a two-run double in the eighth inning and host Atlanta rallied past Philadelphia.
PIRATES 3, DODGERS 2 Aramis Ramirez hit a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning, Andrew McCutchen doubled home two runs, and visiting Pittsburgh ended a four-game skid with a victory over Los Angeles.
REDS 9, BREWERS 7 Milwaukee third baseman Elian Herrera was taken away on a backboard and stretcher after an eighth-inning collision in Cincinnati’s victory over the host Brewers. Herrera’s condition and injury was not immediately known. With two on and two outs in the eighth, Skip Schumaker hit a looping fly ball down the left field line. Herrera, left fielder Shane Peterson and shortstop Jean Segura all chased the ball, but Herrera and Peterson collided.
ROCKIES 10, PADRES 2 Tom Murphy had an RBI single and a home run — his first major league hits — and host Colorado overcame the loss of starting pitcher Yohan Flande after he was struck in the left leg by a line drive and the Rockies beat San Diego.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
ANGELS 4, TWINS 3 Kole Calhoun's liner eluded shortstop Eduardo Escobar's glove in the 12th inning, allowing Dan Robertson to score the go-ahead run from third, and visiting Los Angeles held on to beat Minnesota. Escobar knocked the ball down and tried to throw home to get Robertson, but the throw was late as Los Angeles won the first game of the split doubleheader and pulled even with Minnesota in the race for the second wild-card spot. Mike Morin (3-1) struck out the only two batters he faced in the 11th. Huston Street earned his 37th save.
RED SOX 7, BLUE JAYS 6 David Ortiz singled home the go-ahead run in a five-run ninth inning and visiting Boston rallied to beat Toronto. Jackie Bradley Jr. snapped an 0-for-21 slump with a game-tying double in the seventh, then tied it again with a two-run home run off Roberto Osuna (1-5) in the ninth. Xander Bogaerts also hit a home run for the Red Sox, who are 9-9 against Toronto this season.
ASTROS 10, ATHLETICS 6 Evan Gattis hit a three-run home run to put Houston ahead in the seventh inning, and the Astros rallied past visiting Oakland to snap a five-game losing streak.
ORIOLES 2, RAYS 1 Wei-Yin Chen pitched seven effective innings, Adam Jones drove in two runs and visiting Baltimore beat Tampa Bay.
RANGERS 10, MARINERS 1 Cole Hamels struck out 12 over seven innings, and Adrian Beltre collected 3 hits and 3 RBI as host Texas beat Seattle.
TIGERS 6, ROYALS 5 Ian Kinsler hit a home run in the 11th inning to give host Detroit a victory over Kansas City.
WHITE SOX 4, INDIANS 3 Carlos Rodon allowed one run while pitching into the eighth inning and visiting Chicago defeated sloppy Cleveland.
INTERLEAGUE
YANKEES 5, METS 0 Carlos Beltran hit a three-run, second-deck home run on a 100 mph fastball from Noah Syndergaard in the first inning, Michael Pineda pitched his best game in two months and the visiting New York Yankees beat the Mets. Brian McCann added a two-run home run in the sixth, the Yankees' 200th home run this season, to quiet the sellout crowd of 43,630 at Citi Field on a sunny late-summer afternoon.
Sports on 09/20/2015