MILWAUKEE - Carlos Beltran and Allen Craig hit towering home runs in St. Louis’ six-run second inning, and the Cardinals held off the Milwaukee Brewers 8-6 on Wednesday.
Matt Holliday also hit a home run and Shane Robinson had three hits for the Cardinals, who are one game behind the Pittsburgh Pirates in the tight NL Central race.
After taking a one-run lead in the first inning on a double by Craig, the Cardinals went ahead 7-0 in the second off Brewers starter Tom Gorzelanny (3-5). Starting pitcher Jake Westbrook hit a bases-loaded double into the left-center field gap that scored two runs. He entered the game hitting only .167 with two RBI this season.
Following Matt Carpenter’s sacrifice fly, Beltran launched a two-run shot that caromed off the center field scoreboard. With two outs, Craig hit a solo home run to right-center.
The Brewers cut into the lead in the third on a three-run home run by Aramis Ramirez, and then added two runs in the fifth.
Juan Francisco broke out of an 0-for-15 slump, during which he struck out 10 times, with a run-scoring single. Sean Halton drove in another run with a hit, cutting the deficit to 7-5 and chasing Westbrook.
Kevin Sieg rist struck out pinch-hitter Jeff Bianchi with the bases loaded to end the inning. Siegrist (2-1) recorded two outs to notch the victory. Four Cardinals relievers held the Brewers to one run over the final 51/3 innings to preserve the victory.
Holliday’s solo home run in the ninth extended the lead to 8-5.
BRAVES 4, METS 1 (10) Chris Johnson hit a three-run home run in the 10th inning and Atlanta beat host New York.
PADRES 2, PIRATES 1 Ian Kennedy (5-9) pitched seven strong innings and Yonder Alonso drove in two runs as host San Diego beat Pittsburgh to avoid a three-game sweep.
PHILLIES 4, ROCKIES 3 Michael Young hit the winning single with one out in the ninth inning after Carlos Ruiz tied the game with a double, pushing host Philadelphia past Colorado. REDS 10, DIAMONDBACKS 7 Shin-Soo Choo went 4 for 5 with a home run and three RBI to spark Cincinnati over visiting Arizona.
DODGERS 4, MARLINS 1 Zack Greinke (12-3) allowed one run in eight innings and Los Angeles took advantage of sloppy defense by host Miami for the second consecutive night.
NATIONALS 11, CUBS 6 Jayson Werth and Scott Hairston hit three-run home runs to lead visiting Washington to a victory over Chicago.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
MARINERS 5, ATHLETICS 3 Brendan Ryan hit a two-run double in the sixth and added an RBI single in the eighth as visiting Seattle beat Oakland.
WHITE SOX 4, ROYALS 2 Dayan Viciedo hit his second career grand slam to highlight a five-run inning for visiting Chicago, and Andre Rienzo picked up his first career victory for the team by shutting down Kansas City.
RANGERS 5, ASTROS 4 Elvis Andrus hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning to give host Texas a comeback victory over Houston.
ORIOLES 4, RAYS 2 Chris Davis hit his major league-leading 46th home run, Adam Jones also hit a home run and Baltimore beat visiting Tampa Bay. YANKEES 4, BLUE JAYS 2 Alfonso Soriano hit a tie breaking two-run home run with two outs in the eighth inning, Ichiro Suzuki got his 4,000th career hit and New York beat Toronto.
TIGERS 7, TWINS 1 Torii Hunter (Pine Bluff) hit a go-ahead, two-run double in the seventh inning and scored from second base on a passed ball to help host Detroit beat Minnesota. Drew Smyly (5-0) (Arkansas Razorbacks, Little Rock Central) struck out two in an inning in relief of Anibal Sanchez.
INDIANS 3, ANGELS 1 Justin Masterson pitched into the seventh inning, Nick Swisher hit a two-run home run and visiting Cleveland completed a three-game sweep of Los Angeles.
INTERLEAGUE
RED SOX 12, GIANTS 1 Stephen Drew and Will Middlebrooks each hit a home run, Jonny Gomes and Jarrod Saltalamacchia drove in two runs each as Boston beat host San Francisco.
Wednesday’s games NATIONAL LEAGUE Atlanta 4, NY Mets 1 (10) St. Louis 8, Milwaukee 6 San Diego 2, Pittsburgh 1 Philadelphia 4, Colorado 3 Cincinnati 10, Arizona 7 LA Dodgers 4, Miami 1 Washington 11, Chicago Cubs 6 AMERICAN LEAGUE Seattle 5, Oakland 3 Cleveland 3, LA Angels 1 Baltimore 4, Tampa Bay 2 NY Yankees 4, Toronto 2 Detroit 7, Minnesota 1 Texas 5, Houston 4 Chicago White Sox 5, Kansas City 2 INTERLEAGUE Boston 12, San Francisco 1
Sports, Pages 22 on 08/22/2013