MINNEAPOLIS — Dexter Fowler reached base four times and drove in two runs in his return to the lineup and the St. Louis Cardinals beat former starter Lance Lynn and the Minnesota Twins 7-5 on Wednesday.
Matt Carpenter had three hits after being demoted to seventh in the batting order, and Tommy Pham added two hits, including his eighth homer of the year. St. Louis had lost five of seven games, scoring more than three runs just once.
Lynn (1-4) had control issues again, a surprising constant in his first season with Minnesota after six years with the Cardinals. He gave up three runs on four hits and four walks and threw 82 pitches in three innings.
Jordan Hicks (2-1) pitched a scoreless inning in relief for St. Louis. Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas left after 4 2/3 innings after allowing two runs on two hits and two walks.
Bud Norris allowed an inherited run to score on a wild pitch but secured five outs for his ninth save in as many chances.
After declining the Cardinals' qualifying offer in the offseason, Lynn was left as one of the few big-name free agents lingering as spring training began and he eventually accepted a one-year, $12 million contract with the Twins. Lynn averaged 3.4 walks per nine innings in his time with the Cardinals, a number that has crept to 6.6 per nine innings entering first career start against St. Louis.
Fowler had a two-run single off Lynn in the first and Jose Martinez added an RBI single in the second.
Fowler, who entered hitting .146 this season, made just his second start in the past five games and had two hits and two walks.
Carpenter made a start hitting lower than fourth in the lineup for the first time since 2015 after entering with a .140 average. He had an RBI double in the seventh and his first three-hit game of the season.
BLUE JAYS 12, METS 1 J.A. Happ (5-3) reached three times and allowed only two runners over seven innings, and Toronto got its first road victory at the Mets after going 0-12. Happ struck out 10 while pitching two-hit ball.
PIRATES 3, WHITE SOX 2 Pinch-hitter Josh Bell singled off Joakim Soria (0-2) to break a 2-2 tie in the seventh. Pittsburgh has won seven of eight and improved to 10-2 in interleague play this season. Chicago has lost eight of nine and 13 of 15. A major league-worst 10-29, the White Sox have matched their worst start since 1948.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
RAYS 5, ROYALS 3 C.J. Cron homered and scored three runs, and Tampa Bay completed a three-game sweep of the woeful Royals. Cron extended his on-base streak to 22 games when he was hit by a pitch from Jason Hammel (0-5) in a three-run first that included Brad Miller’s RBI groundout and Adeiny Hechavarria’s two-run single. Matt Andriese (1-1) allowed three hits in three scoreless innings, and Alex Colome pitched a one-hit ninth for his ninth save. Tampa Bay swept the Royals for the first time since 2011. RANGERS 5, MARINERS 1 Bartolo Colon laughed off having Jean Segura’s line drive hit him in the stomach, allowing four hits in 7 2/3 shutout innings and giving the Texas Rangers a win over the Seattle Mariners. Colon (2-1), who turns 45 on May 24, struck out two, walked none and threw 71 of 96 pitches for strikes. Delino DeShields gave Texas the lead with a two-out RBI double in the eighth inning that scored Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who had singled off James Pazos (1-1). The Rangers added four more in the ninth, all after Ryon Healy’s two-out error.
INDIANS 6, TIGERS 0 Trevor Bauer (3-3) struck out 10 in eight innings and allowed four hits as Cleveland avoided a three-game sweep. Ryan Carpenter (0-1) gave up six runs — five earned — and seven hits in five innings, and his throwing error to first on a comebacker allowed the first run to score. Tigers center fielder JaCoby Jones left in the third with a left hip injury.