Ross sharp as Nationals blank Cards
Washington throws first regular-season shutout at Busch
Joe Ross pitched six sharp innings and the Washington Nationals threw their first regular-season shutout at Busch Stadium, blanking the St. Louis Cardinals 6-0 Wednesday.
Ross (1-0) improved to 3-0 in four career starts against the Cardinals. He allowed four hits, struck out five and walked one. He also singled and scored a run.
Four relievers combined to hold St. Louis hitless the rest of the way.
The Nationals, who started play in Washington in 2005, had pitched a shutout at St. Louis in the 2019 NL Championship Series opener, but never in the regular season.
Ryan Zimmerman hit his first homer of the season, a two-run drive in the third off Adam Wainwright (0-2). Zimmerman’s 271st career home run hit the top of the wall and bounced into the left-center fielder bleacher seats.
Brewers 7, Cubs 0: Corbin Burnes struck out 10 in six dominant innings and also delivered a two-run single for his first career RBIS as Milwaukee defeated Chicago.
Royals 6, Angels 1: Salvador Perez homered and doubled to cap off an impressive series, leading Brad Keller and Kansas City over Los Angeles. A day after picking off David Fletcher at third base to end a 3-2 win, Perez drove in two runs.
Giants 3, Reds 0: Johnny Cueto pitched neatly into the sixth inning before exiting with a tight lat muscle, and San Francisco finished off
Cincinnati. Showing no signs of physical duress before his injury occurred, the 35-year-old Cueto (2-0) surrendered three hits and walked none while striking out four.
Rangers 5, Rays 1: Nate Lowe hit a solo homer and Texas rookie Kohei Arihara got his first major league victory, pitching into the sixth inning to lead the Rangers.
Pirates 5, Padres 1: Gregory Polanco homered and Pittsburgh defeated San Diego, beating Joe Musgrove in his first start since throwing the first no-hitter in franchise history.
Notes: Wednesday night’s game between the Orioles and Mariners was postponed because of rain, the teams’ second rainout in three days.
The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader Thursday, with the first game starting at 12:35 p.m. Monday’s postponement was made up as part of a doubleheader Tuesday, which the Orioles and Mariners and split . ... Blue Jays closer Julian Merryweather has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained left oblique . ... Major League Baseball wants to see if moving back the pitcher’s mound will increase offense. MLB will experiment with a 12-inch greater distance between the mound and home plate during a portion of the Atlantic League season in an effort to decrease strikeouts and increase offense. The pitching rubber will be moved back to 61 feet, 6 inches starting Aug. 3 during the second half of the independent minor league’s season . ... Twins shortstop Andrelton Simmons tested positive for COVID-19 and was placed on the COVID-19 injured list . ... Braves left-hander Max Fried was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained right hamstring after injuring himself while running the bases . ... The Astros have placed second baseman Jose Altuve, third baseman Alex Bregman, designated hitter Yordan Alvarez, catcher Martin Maldonado and infielder Robel Garcia on the injured list because of COVID-19 health and safety protocols . ... The White Sox placed righthander Dylan Cease on the injured list in a precautionary move after he exhibited some symptoms associated with COVID-19.