Cardinals' victory powered by 4 HRs, 1 grand slam

ST. LOUIS -- Playing with a heavy heart, Aledmys Diaz hit his first career grand slam and the St. Louis Cardinals finished with five home runs Tuesday night in a 12-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

St. Louis kept pace in a tight race for the two NL wild cards, with a chance to gain some ground pending San Francisco's late game against Colorado.

The New York Mets lead the wild-card standings and remained 11/2 games ahead of the Cardinals thanks to a 12-1 victory at Miami.

Jhonny Peralta had a three-run home run and drove in four runs for the Cardinals, who had lost four of five. Matt Carpenter, Randal Grichuk and Matt Adams also homered.

Joey Votto and Scott Schebler went deep for the Reds, who beat St. Louis 15-2 on Monday.

Diaz returned to the lineup after attending a private ceremony in Florida on Monday for childhood friend Jose Fernandez, the late Miami Marlins ace who died in a boating accident early Sunday.

Before the game, Diaz said the best way to honor Fernandez, who grew up three houses away from him, was to "play hard and give 100 percent every time out there. That's the way he wanted it."

Diaz's fourth-inning slam erased a 2-1 deficit and sparked the Cardinals, who managed just one hit over the first three innings.

Cincinnati starter Robert Stephenson (2-3) ended up allowing five runs in four innings.

Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright (13-9) gave up 5 runs and 10 hits over 52/3 innings.

Adams unloaded a pinch-hit home run in the sixth, extending the franchise record to 16 this season.

NATIONALS 4, DIAMONDBACKS 2 Max Scherzer struck out 10 and allowed 2 runs in 6 innings and Anthony Rendon hit a go-ahead three-run home run as host Washington beat Arizona.

CUBS 6, PIRATES 4 Chris Coghlan hit a three-run triple and John Lackey worked in and out of trouble over five innings, helping visiting Chicago beat reeling Pittsburgh.

METS 12, MARLINS 1 Noah Syndergaard struck out 8 and allowed 1 run in 6 innings, and New York racked up 19 hits to beat host Miami. Jay Bruce and Yoenis Cespedes each hit his 31st home run for the Mets.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

YANKEES 6, RED SOX 4 Gary Sanchez, Didi Gregorius and Tyler Austin homered off David Price, and host New York beat Boston to end its 11-game winning streak and delay its AL East title celebration.

BLUE JAYS 5, ORIOLES 1 Josh Donaldson hit a two-run home run, Aaron Sanchez struck out 10 and Toronto beat visiting Baltimore in the opener of their AL wild-card showdown. They lead the wild-card standings by two games over the Orioles with five to play.

TIGERS 12, INDIANS 0 Miguel Cabrera homered and drove in five runs in the first two innings, and Justin Verlander struck out 12 to lift host Detroit to a victory against Cleveland.

ROYALS 4, TWINS 3 (11) Billy Burns' sacrifice fly scored Raul Mondesi in the 11th inning as Kansas City defeated visiting Minnesota, staving off postseason elimination. The defending World Series champions are five games behind Baltimore for the second AL wild card with five to play.

ASTROS 8, MARINERS 4 George Springer had three hits, including a two-run double during a six-run sixth inning, and host Houston beat Seattle. The victory leaves Seattle two games behind Baltimore for the second AL wild card and cuts Houston's deficit in the race to 21/2 games.

WHITE SOX 13, RAYS 6 Melky Cabrera and Leury Garcia homered to back Chris Sale and Chicago routed visiting Tampa Bay.

INTERLEAGUE

RANGERS 6, BREWERS 4 Jonathan Lucroy hit a go-ahead, two-run double against his former team in the sixth inning to help Texas beat Milwaukee. The Rangers now have a half-game lead over Boston for the best record in the American League.

Sports on 09/28/2016

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