NATIONAL LEAGUE

Cards still in hunt following shutout

ST. LOUIS -- Carlos Martinez pitched seven sharp innings, Matt Holliday hit an emotional home run and the St. Louis Cardinals stayed in the middle of the NL wild-card race, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-0 Friday night.

The Cardinals began the day trailing San Francisco by a game for the second NL wild-card spot. The Giants played host to the Los Angeles Dodgers late Friday night.

Martinez (16-9) gave up 5 singles, walked 1 and struck out 9. John Jaso led off the second with a single and was the only runner to reach third base against Martinez, who left with a 3.04 ERA.

Holliday, out since Aug. 12 because of a thumb injury, was activated off the disabled list at his request Friday.

The club informed him earlier this week that it is not planning to pick up the $17 million option on his contract for 2017, and instead will pay him the $1 million buyout.

Holliday was given a standing ovation before he pinch-hit in the seventh. He responded with his 20th home run, and came out for a curtain call.

Holliday became the sixth Cardinals player to reach 20 home runs this season, tying an NL record. It was the first pinch-hit home run of Holliday's career and was the 17th overall by St. Louis this year, extending its major league mark.

Jedd Gyorko hit his 29th home run and Brandon Moss hit his 28th for the Cardinals.

Tyler Glasnow (0-2) finished his rookie season with his most effective start, working five innings and giving up Gyorko's homer. Glasnow did not allow another Cardinal past second.

The Cardinals took a 5-0 lead in the sixth with four runs off reliever Trevor Williams. Yadier Molina and Stephen Piscotty doubled in runs and Moss hit a two-run homer. Moss had been in a 7-for-97 skid.

METS 5, PHILLIES 1 Jay Bruce homered for the third consecutive game and drove in three runs, Robert Gsellman threw six innings and visiting New York moved closer to securing a wild-card berth with a victory over host Philadelphia. The defending National League champions reduced their magic number to one. Gsellman (4-2) scattered seven hits and struck out seven in another strong performance. The rookie righthander has allowed only three earned runs in his last four starts.

CUBS 7, REDS 3 Ben Zobrist homered twice and drove in three runs, to help visiting Chicago beat Cincinnati. Jake Buchanan (1-0) pitched five shutout innings as Chicago improved to 14-3 against Cincinnati this season with two games to play. The right-hander allowed two hits in his first start since 2014 with Houston. Anthony Rizzo also drove in two runs for the National League Central champions, who were coming off a rare tie in Pittsburgh because of rain.

MARLINS 7, NATIONALS 4 Christian Yelich homered and Dee Gordon’s infield single in the sixth inning scored the go-ahead run as visiting Miami beat National League East Division champion Washington. Washington entered its final series of the season with a two-game lead on the Los Angeles Dodgers for home field advantage in the NL division series. Anthony Rendon and Stephen Drew hit consecutive home runs for Washington in a four-run fourth after Miami scored twice in the top of the inning for a 4-0 lead. Bryce Harper went 0 for 4 with four strikeouts in his return to the Nationals lineup after sitting out the previous four days with a left thumb injury.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RED SOX 5, BLUE JAYS 3 Opening his final weekend with yet another game-winning home run, David Ortiz lined a two-run shot into the right-field stands to break a seventh-inning tie and help host Boston beat Toronto. The American League East champion Red Sox snapped a three-game losing streak and stayed one game ahead of Cleveland in the race for home-field advantage for the playoffs. The Blue Jays fell one game behind Baltimore in the wild-card race and are now within range of Detroit and Seattle in the fight for the AL’s final postseason berth.

ORIOLES 8, YANKEES 1 Mark Trumbo hit his major league-leading 47th home run, Jonathan Schoop and Adam Jones also went deep in a six-run fifth inning and visiting Baltimore beat New York in steady rain Friday night to maintain their American league wild-card lead. Trumbo and Jones homered off Michael Pineda (6-12), who started with 3 2/3 hitless innings and suddenly became ineffective. Schoop tied his career high with five RBI, hitting a go-ahead, two-run double in the fourth and adding a threerun homer in the fifth against James Pazos — Baltimore’s big league-high 250th home run this season.

RANGERS 3, RAYS 1 Yu Darvish looked playoff-ready with a season-high 12 strikeouts in six innings as host Texas beat the Tampa Bay and clinched home-field advantage throughout the postseason. The Rangers can be tied by only the Cleveland Indians and they own the tie-breaker by winning the teams’ season series. The AL owns home-field advantage in the World Series thanks to its victory in the All-Star Game. Darvish (7-5) allowed 1 run, 3 hits and 1 walk. Shin-Soo Choo returned to Texas’ lineup after missing 39 games with a fractured left forearm. Tampa Bay’s Matt Andriese (8-8) gave up three runs and seven hits, including solo home runs to Carlos Beltran and Rougned Odor.

INDIANS 7, ROYALS 2 Ryan Merritt retired the final 13 batters he faced in five innings of his first big league start and Francisco Lindor hit a three-run home run as visiting Cleveland defeated Kansas City. Merritt (1-0) gave up a run on three hits in the first, but nothing after that. Merritt, who had made three relief appearances after being promoted Sept. 11 from Triple-A Columbus, threw 62 pitches, striking out four and walking none. Lindor, who snapped an 0-for-29 drought with a double in a four-run third, homered off the left-field foul pole with pinch runner Michael Martinez and Carlos Santana aboard in the seventh. Santana, who had three hits, tripled in two runs in the fourth and scored on Jason Kipnis’ sacrifice fly. Jose Ramirez singled with two outs to score Lindor.

INTERLEAGUE

TIGERS 6, BRAVES 2 Miguel Cabrera hit two home runs, Ian Kinsler and Justin Upton also connected and visiting Detroit moved up in the playoff race, beating Atlanta. The Tigers won their third consecutive and pulled within a half-game of Toronto for the second AL wildcard spot. The Blue Jays lost at Boston 5-3. The regular season is scheduled to end Sunday, but the Tigers might need to play beyond that. They were rained out against Cleveland this week and would have to make up that game if it impacts their playoff chances.

Sports on 10/01/2016

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