Pujols hits 2 HRs, Molina pitches as Cardinals trounce Pirates

Albert Pujols hit two home runs, then caught the warmup tosses when star catcher Yadier Molina made his first pitching appearance to close out the St. Louis Cardinals’ 18-4 romp over the host Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday afternoon.

Molina gave up a pair of homers and four runs while working the ninth inning, eventually completing the Cardinals’ three-game sweep.

But it was not all fun and games for St. Louis. Starter Steven Matz lasted only four pitches before being pulled with stiffness in his left shoulder.

“Sometimes stuff comes up,” Matz said. “I felt it a little bit in the bullpen. I was trying to work through it a little bit . ... Just try to get through this, get some outs.”

Pujols boosted his career home run count to 683. Pinch-hitting for Nolan Arenado with St. Louis up 11-0 in the fifth inning, Pujols launched a 425-foot drive off the left-field rotunda.

The 42-year-old slugger added a three-run homer in the ninth off Pirates infielder Josh VanMeter. Pujols is fifth on the alltime homer list, 13 behind Alex Rodriguez in fourth, and his 32 at PNC Park are the most by an opposing player.

“I’m here to try to help this ball club as much as I can,” Pujols said. “This is not about me. It’s never been about me. It’s always been about this Cardinals organization and the impact I can make on the players in the organization.”

Phillies 4, Dodgers 3

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(10): Max Muncy’s two-run fielding error in the bottom of the 10th capped a wild late-inning sequence and allowed host Philadelphia to beat Los Angeles.

Nationals 8, Brewers

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2: Lane Thomas hit two

RBI doubles and Washington broke out of its hitting slump by beating host Milwaukee.

Cubs 5, Diamondbacks

● 4: Patrick Wisdom and Frank Schwindel hit consecutive homers against Ian Kennedy in the eighth inning, and host Chicago beat Arizona to avoid a four-game series sweep.

Mets 2, Rockies 0:

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Francisco Lindor broke a scoreless tie with a single in the sixth inning, Taijuan Walker and three relievers combined on a six-hitter and New York extended its streak of rebounding from losses by blanking host Colorado.

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Manny Machado set a career high and matched a franchise record with four extra-base hits, and surging San Diego completed a three-game sweep at San Francisco.

Padres 10, Giants 1: AMERICAN LEAGUE

Red Sox 8, Mariners 4 (10):

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Franchy Cordero hit a grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, lifting surging Boston past visiting Seattle.

Trevor Story continued his recent power surge with his fifth homer over the Green Monster in four days and Christian Arroyo added a solo shot for Boston, which posted its seasonhigh fifth straight victory and completed a four-game sweep over Seattle.

Orioles 7, Rays 6 (11):

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Rougned Odor had his second game-winning at-bat in three days as host Baltimore beat Tampa Bay in 11 innings.

Tigers 4, Guardians 2:

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Rookie Alex Faedo allowed two runs in 5 1⁄3 innings for his first major league win and Miguel Cabrera had an RBI double as Detroit won at Cleveland.

Twins 7, Royals 6: . Gio

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Urshela hit a tiebreaking single in the ninth inning to complete Minnesota’s comeback from a six-run deficit, lifting the Twins at Kansas City.

Astros 5, Rangers 2:

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Jose Altuve hit a leadoff home run and a double, José Urquidy tied a career high with 10 strikeouts and host Houston beat Texas.

White Sox 3, Yankees

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1: Johnny Cueto pitched six more scoreless innings, AJ Pollock hit a tiebreaking home run off Aroldis Chapman in the ninth and Chicago beat host New York in the first game of a doubleheader.

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Shohei Ohtani hit a leadoff home run, and Mike Trout added a solo shot while getting three hits and two RBI in host Los Angeles’ victory over Oakland.

Angels 4, Athletics 1: INTERLEAGUE

Reds 3, Blue Jays 2:

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Joey Votto hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning and Cincinnati held on at Toronto, avoiding a threegame sweep.