Lynn, Cardinals end three-game losing skid

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Lance Lynn pitched seven shutout innings, Kolten Wong homered and the St. Louis Cardinals stopped a three-game losing streak, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 Monday night.

The Cardinals, who had lost six of seven, are 4-9 and still have the worst record in the NL. Pittsburgh had won three in a row before losing in a game that took only 2 hours, 14 minutes.

Lynn (1-1) allowed three hits and struck out five while walking one. He also hit two batters.

Seung-Hwan Oh worked around an RBI double by pinch hitter Gregory Polanco in the ninth to record the Cardinals' first save of the season. The last time it took St. Louis 13 games into a season to get a save was 1980, when Mark Littell closed out the Phillies at Veterans Stadium.

Ivan Nova (1-2) gave up five hits and no walks in eight innings while striking out three. In 14 overall starts for the Pirates, Nova has four complete games and a grand total of three walks.

Wong led off the third with a home run that landed in the right field bullpen.

St. Louis added a run in the seventh when Randal Grichuk singled, stole second, took third on a throwing error by catcher Francisco Cervelli and scored on a single by Jose Martinez.

Trevor Rosenthal pitched a spotless eighth for the Cardinals. Polanco doubled with two outs in the ninth before Oh retired pinch hitter John Jaso on a grounder.

BRAVES 5, PADRES 4

ATLANTA (AP) — Dansby Swanson hit an RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning and the Braves, boosted by Freddie Freeman's two home runs, beat the Padres for a fourgame sweep in their first series at SunTrust Park.

Swanson's bases-loaded hit fell just in front of diving left fielder Allen Cordoba.

Freeman had four hits and drove in three runs. His second homer tied it in the eighth.

Jim Johnson (2-0) pitched the ninth.

Kurt Suzuki hit a one-out single in the Braves ninth off closer Brandon Maurer (0-1). With two outs, pinch runner Chase d'Arnaud advanced to third on Emilio Bonifacio's bloop single in front of Cordoba's dive.

An intentional walk to Ender Inciarte loaded the bases for Swanson, whose first career game-ending hit again fell beyond the reach of a charging Cordoba.

YANKEES 7, WHITE SOX 4

NEW YORK (AP) — Jordan Montgomery took a shutout into the seventh inning for his first major league win, Matt Holliday homered in his return to the lineup and the Yankees romped to their eighth consecutive victory by beating the White Sox.

Holliday put the Yankees ahead with a titanic three-run shot in a five-run third inning, and Aaron Judge added a two-run homer that chased Derek Holland (1-2) with the score 7-0 in the fifth.

Making his second career start, Montgomery (1-0) immediately found himself in a first-inning jam. But the 24-year-old lefty calmly pitched his way out of it by retiring cleanup hitter Jose Abreu and streaking Avisail Garcia with runners at second and third.

RED SOX 4, RAYS 3

BOSTON (AP) — Andrew Benintendi hit a go-ahead, two-run single as Boston scored three unearned runs following a dropped throw by second baseman Brad Miller, and the Red Sox beat the Rays in the annual Patriots' Day game.

Knuckleballer Steven Wright (1-1) allowed three runs — one earned — and nine hits in six innings as Boston won its third straight. Craig Kimbrel struck out the side in the ninth for a save for the third straight day, his sixth this season.

Blake Snell (0-2) gave up four runs — one earned — and seven hits in five innings.

ASTROS 3, ANGELS 0

HOUSTON (AP) — Charlie Morton and three relievers combined for a five-hitter, Jose Altuve drove in two runs and the Astros beat the Angels for their fifth straight win.

Morton (1-1) worked in and out of trouble over five innings, allowing five hits and two walks with three strikeouts. He had runners on in every inning, including stranding the bases loaded in the second when he got Ben Revere to fly out.

Chris Devenski followed Morton with two perfect innings, Luke Gregerson threw a perfect eighth and Ken Giles pitched the ninth for his third save.

Jesse Chavez (1-2) allowed two runs and seven hits over a season-high seven innings.

He struck out five.