NATIONAL LEAGUE
ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis right-hander Carlos Martinez is ready to show his appreciation to outfielder Randal Grichuk.
Grichuk robbed Anthony Rizzo of a home run with an over-the-wall catch in the first inning Wednesday to help Martinez settle into seven strong innings, and the Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 5-3 to avoid a sweep to their NL Central rivals.
"It was so big I'm going to pay him a dinner in San Diego," Martinez said.
Matt Holliday homered and the Cardinals scored twice in each of the first two innings against Kyle Hendricks (1-2).
Chicago, the first team in the majors to 11 victories, had won three of its previous four and took the first two games of the series.
Martinez (3-0) allowed three hits and one run. He struck out five and walked three in recording his third quality start in three outings this season.
Grichuk's highlight-reel catch provided a lift for Martinez.
"It's the second robbed homer I've gotten to," Grichuk said. "Definitely being the Cubs in a big game, it's probably my top one."
The game was delayed 3 hours, 21 minutes by rain in the middle of the seventh. Grichuk, who jumped and reached over the wall with his glove, joked that he watched the replay of his grab 72 times during the stoppage. From start to finish, the game took just more than six hours.
Martinez seemed to get better as the game went along and retired the last six batters he faced.
"He had more of a feel than straight power," St. Louis Manager Mike Matheny said.
Martinez also added a run-scoring hit in the second to push the lead to 4-0.
Trevor Rosenthal got his fourth save by striking out the side in the ninth. It was his 100th career save.
Rosenthal became the fifth Cardinal to reach 100 saves, joining Jason Isringhausen, Bruce Sutter, Lee Smith and Todd Worrell.
"It's really special to be part of those names," he said. "It's an honor to have a chance to do it, that [the Cardinals] trust me out there. I'm very thankful that they've trusted me."
Holliday hit a two-run shot in the first off Hendricks, who gave up 7 hits and 4 runs over 5 1/3 innings.
Cubs starters had gotten through the sixth inning in 14 consecutive games to begin the season, a streak that matched the 1910 franchise best.
"It was just a battle today," Hendricks said. "It kind of started in the bullpen. I just didn't have it."
Holliday has three home runs, including two in a 14-3 victory over Cincinnati on Friday. He managed just four during last year's injury-plagued campaign.
Yadier Molina pushed the lead to 5-3 with an RBI single in the eighth off reliever Adam Warren.
The Cubs are 7-2 on the road and have outscored their opponents by 43 runs this season, the largest differential in the majors.
Chicago Manager Joe Maddon was pleased with the way his team battled back from 4-1 down with two runs in the top of the eighth inning to pull within one after the lengthy delay, which began in the middle of the seventh inning.
"I was really impressed with the way we went about our business," Maddon said. "They were chirpy in the clubhouse the whole time."
REDS 6, ROCKIES 5 Tucker Barnhart hit a game-ending single in the ninth inning, and the Cincinnati Reds overcame a bullpen meltdown and took advantage of a Colorado baserunning blunder to beat the Rockies. Colorado appeared to tie the score 3-3 in the seventh when Dustin Garneau doubled with two outs and pinch-hitter Ryan Raburn lined the ball into right field for what appeared to be a single. But the Reds threw to third before the next pitch, and Garneau was called out on appeal by umpire Adrian Johnson for missing the base. The call was upheld after a 3-minute, 20-second video review, and Raburn lost a hit.
NATIONALS 3, MARLINS 1 Bryce Harper doubled in a run and Yusmeiro Petit pitched four innings of relief to help the Washington Nationals beat the Miami Marlins. Petit (1-0) allowed one run after starter Joe Ross departed in the third inning because of a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand. Harper, who began the night leading the majors with 20 RBI, hit a two-out double in the third to score Ross from first base for a 2-0 lead. Michael Taylor homered with two outs in the fifth off Wei-Yin Chen (0-1).
PHILLIES 5, METS 4 (11) Peter Bourjos drove in the winning run on an infield single with two outs in the 11th inning to lift host Philadelphia to a victory over New York.
DODGERS 5, BRAVES 3 (10) Justin Turner gave Los Angeles the lead with a 10th-inning double and the visiting Dodgers beat Atlanta to snap the Braves’ four-game winning streak.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
ATHLETICS 5, YANKEES 2 Kendall Graveman tossed three-hit ball into the seventh inning and struck out eight, pitching the Oakland Athletics past the slumping New York Yankees. Billy Burns had three hits, Khris Davis delivered a two-run single and the A's stayed unbeaten in five road games this season. The only major league team that is unbeaten away from home, they have won four consecutive overall after a four-game slide. Oakland third baseman Danny Valencia strained his left hamstring when he was cut down at the plate in the fourth on Aaron Hicks' rocket throw from medium-deep left field. The throw from Hicks was clocked at 105.5 mph by Statcast, the fastest the system has recorded from an outfielder.
WHITE SOX 2, ANGELS 1 Chris Sale became the major leagues' first four-game winner, allowing two hits in seven innings to lead the Chicago White Sox over the Los Angeles Angels. Sale (4-0) allowed a pair of singles by Mike Trout and an unearned run. He left after hitting Kole Calhoun with a pitch leading off the eighth. David Robertson got four outs for his sixth save in as many attempts, allowing Trout's third hit and completing a four-hitter. Tyler Saladino homered in the first off Garrett Richards (0-3), who gave up 2 runs -- 1 earned -- and 4 hits in 6 1/3 innings. The Angels have scored six runs in his four starts.
MARINERS 2, INDIANS 1 Taijuan Walker allowed just one unearned run over six innings, Norichika Aoki had a two-run triple in the second and the Seattle Mariners beat the Cleveland Indians. Walker (1-0) held Cleveland to three hits and struck out six in defeating the Indians for the third time in a year. The right-hander beat Cleveland twice last season and has allowed one earned run in 20 innings over three appearances. Jason Kipnis' sacrifice fly in the third scored Cleveland's run, which was unearned thanks to first baseman Adam Lind's fielding error.
ORIOLES 4, BLUE JAYS 3 (10) Caleb Joseph doubled with two outs in the 10th inning and scored on a passed ball by Josh Thole to give host Baltimore a victory over Toronto.
RED SOX 7, RAYS 3 Mookie Betts hit a tworun home run and David Ortiz drove in three runs with two doubles to back Rick Porcello, helping Boston beat visiting Tampa Bay to stop a threegame losing streak.
TIGERS 3, ROYALS 2 Jordan Zimmermann made his third consecutive scoreless start, Victor Martinez drove in the 1,000th run of his career and visiting Detroit held on to beat Kansas City.
RANGERS 2, ASTROS 1 Cole Hamels extended his career-best winning streak to 10 games, Rougned Odor had a two-run home run and host Texas beat Houston.
INTERLEAGUE
BREWERS 10, TWINS 5 Aaron Hill, Chris Carter and Domingo Santana each hit home runs to help Jimmy Nelson and host Milwaukee beat Minnesota. Nelson, who had never faced the Twins, allowed four runs on 10 hits.
Sports on 04/21/2016