Arenado homers again as Cardinals topple Cincinnati
ST. LOUIS (AP) — J.A. Happ can finally get a good night of sleep.
The St. Louis left-hander threw 5 1/3 shutout innings in the Cardinals' 2-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday.
Nolan Arenado homered for the second game in a row and Happ combined with four other hurlers on a five-hit shutout.
St. Louis has won four of six. The Cardinals began the day two games behind Cincinnati and San Diego for the final NL wild-card spot. Cincinnati, which won the first game of the series, has lost five of seven.
Happ lasted just one inning and gave up seven runs on eight hits in a career-worst outing of a 12-2 loss at Cincinnati on Sept. 1
That performance stuck in his mind.
“It cost me several nights sleep,” Happ said. “You do your best to flush it, it's easier said than done. You have an outing like that, you want to do anything to get it back."
Happ was acquired from Minnesota at the trade deadline. He compiled a 3-0 record in August before that pounding by the Reds.
“I have able to execute on both sides a little bit better today," Happ said.
Arenado hit a two-run homer in the first off Sonny Gray (7-7), who then retired the next 14 hitters. Arenado, who has 31 homers, also homered in the eighth inning of the Cardinals' 6-4 victory Saturday night.
“Big hits by our favorite player,” reliever T.J. McFarland said. “It's huge.”
Luis Garcia, McFarland, Genesis Cabrera and Giovanny Gallegos finished, with Gallegos picking up his eighth save in 15 opportunities.
McFarland got Asdrubal Cabrera to ground into an inning-ending double play in the seventh.
The bullpen allowed just three hits over 3 2-3 innings and combined for six strikeouts without a walk.
“It's a huge win, we have a lot of momentum right now,” McFarland said.
Gray allowed two runs on three hits over seven innings. He struck out six and walked one.
“Just one pitch kind of got me today,” Gray said. “It was a 2-0 heater. I wouldn't have done anything different.”
Both teams remain optimistic as the season heads into the final three weeks. St. Louis manager Mike Shildt compared the playoff drive to a horse race.
“Around the stretch they come and we have some closing speed,” Shildt said.
ASTROS 3, ANGELS 1
HOUSTON (AP) — Lance McCullers Jr. threw six strong innings, Kyle Tucker homered and the Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-1 on Sunday.
McCullers (12-4) permitted one run on three hits with seven strikeouts. He won his third straight decision and has allowed two runs or fewer in three straight starts.
After Juan Lagares tied it 1-1 in the fifth with a homer to left, Tucker hit a two-run homer to right-center off Jose Quijada (0-1) in the bottom of the inning.
Since coming off the injured list on Aug. 24, Tucker is 25 for 59 with 11 extra-base hits, including three home runs.
Shohei Ohtani, the Angels' two-way superstar, went 1 for 3 with a walk on the day Toronto's Vladimir Guerrero Jr. tied him for the major league lead in homers at 44.
Yuli Gurriel had four hits, including an RBI single in the first to give Houston a 1-0 lead.
In the seventh, right fielder Lagares slipped going for Gurriel's single but recovered to throw it to second baseman David Fletcher, whose relay throw got Alex Bregman at the plate.
WHITE SOX 2, RED SOX 1
CHICAGO (AP) — Leury Garcia hit a game-ending home run with two outs in the ninth inning to lift the Chicago White Sox over the Boston Red Sox 2-1 Sunday.
After Boston reliever Garrett Whitlock (8-4) struck out Eloy Jiménez and Yasmani Grandal to begin the inning, Garcia behind 0-2 before hitting a 98 mph fastball over the center-field fence. It was the fifth homer of the season for Garcia, who is filling in at shortstop with starter Tim Anderson on the injured list.
Chicago took a 1-0 lead and a three-hit shutout into the ninth before Craig Kimbrel (4-4) struggled with his control and blew the save.
Kiké Hernández led off with a double to center. After Kyle Schwarber struck out, Kimbrel walked Hunter Renfroe and Rafael Devers to load the bases. Alex Verdugo followed with a tying sacrifice fly to left.
Both teams combined for just eight hits, and the game developed into a pitcher's duel despite the fact both starters were making their first appearances since August.
Chicago's Lance Lynn allowed two hits over five scoreless innings in his return from a stint on the 10-day IL with right knee inflammation. The veteran right-hander walked none, struck out nine and lowered his ERA to 2.50 in his first outing since Aug. 28.
Boston's Nick Pivetta (9-8) allowed one unearned on three hits in 5 1/3 innings after being activated from the COVID19 IL. Pivetta entered having allowed 12 runs in 10 2/3 innings over his previous three starts.
The White Sox broke through against Pivetta in the sixth inning with an unearned run. César Hernández led off and reached on a throwing error by second baseman Kiké Hernández. César Hernández was sacrificed to second and scored on a single by Luis Robert to make it 1-0.
BLUE JAYS 22, ORIOLES 7
BALTIMORE (AP) — Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Teoscar Hernández each hit a grand slam, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. slugged his 44th homer, and the Toronto Blue Jays overpowered the Baltimore Orioles 22-7 Sunday, finishing two runs shy of the franchise record.
Guerrero's drive tied him with Angels twoway star Shohei Ohtani for the major league lead. Jake Lamb also homered during a 10-run third inning for the Blue Jays, who took three of the four in the series.
Toronto scored 44 runs in their three victories.
“The last three days, I've been in the game for 35 years, and I've never seen anything like that,” Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said. “I didn't know we were going to score this many runs, but at the end of August, I said we were going to get hot because we have way too many hitters. Now, we're swinging the bats great. It's contagious.”
Gurriel set the franchise record with his fourth grand slam of the season and also had a two-run homer in the fifth to drive in seven runs. Danny Jansen had four hits, including three doubles, and four RBIs.
The club record for runs was set in a 24-10 thrashing of the Orioles on June 26, 1978, a game in which John Mayberry hit the Jays' only two homers and had seven RBIs after coming off the bench.
Toronto had 19 hits and improved to 80-63 after starting the day tied with the Yankees for the second AL wild card behind Boston.
Ryan Mountcastle hit his 28th homer, equaling the Orioles rookie record set by Cal Ripken Jr. in 1982.
Anthony Santander homered for the third time in four games and Austin Wynns had a solo shot in the seventh and finished with three RBIs for Baltimore.
“We swung the bat pretty well,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “We're just not pitching very well.”