Hosmer homers, bullpen shines as Padres beat Cardinals

ST. LOUIS — Eric Hosmer homered, San Diego’s bullpen took a perfect game into the sixth inning and the Padres beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2 on Tuesday night for their 10th win in 14 games.

Padres reliever Matt Strahm started the bullpen game and retired nine batters on 36 pitches, including four strikeouts. It was the team’s third bullpen start this season while left-hander Joey Lucchesi recovers from a right hip strain.

Adam Cimber (3-2) retired the next six with two strikeouts before Harrison Bader broke up the perfect game with an infield single in the sixth. Bader was promptly erased in a double play.

Brad pitched the ninth for his 20th save.

Hosmer drove the first pitch of the fourth inning to center field to give the Padres a 1-0 lead. It was his second home run in three games.

A.J. Ellis tacked on two more with a two-out hit in the fourth. The Cardinals challenged the safe call on the second run, but replay showed the Freddy Galvis beat catcher Yadier

Molina’s tag at home plate.

Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas (7-2) struck out five in six innings and walked none. He has walked one or less in all seven of his home starts this season, but St. Louis still lost for the second time in three games. MARLINS 3, GIANTS 1 Trevor Richards pitched six effective innings for his first major league win, helping the Miami Marlins beat the San Francisco Giants. Richards (1-3) allowed two hits in his seventh major league start. The 25-yearold right-hander struck out two and walked three. Brandon Crawford’s groundout in the first inning drove in the only run for the Giants.

PHILLIES 5, ROCKIES 4 Aaron Nola struck out 10 in another dominant performance, Scott Kingery hit a three-run homer and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Colorado Rockies. Nola (82) allowed one run and four hits in 62/ innings, 3 lowering his ERA to 2.27. He has given up three runs or less in 13 of 14 starts.

BRAVES 8, METS 2 Ozzie Albies hit a grand slam and Freddie Freeman homered during a six-run sixth inning, and the Atlanta Braves beat the reeling New York Mets. Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz pitched five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out six, but left the game after batting in the fifth. The team said he has triceps tightness. Ender Inciarte added a pair of RBI singles to help Atlanta shake a rough West Coast trip, when it lost four of six. The Braves moved ahead of Washington for first in the NL East by beating a Mets team that has lost nine of 10 and 16 of 20. BREWERS 4, CUBS 0 Chase Anderson pitched seven innings of one-hit ball to take advantage of some rare run support, and the Milwaukee Brewers two-hit the Chicago Cubs to take back first place in the NL Central. Travis Shaw hit a pair of two-run doubles, and Anderson (5-5) locked it down from there to end Milwaukee’s seven-game skid against the Cubs. The Brewers had been shut out in Anderson’s three most recent starts against Chicago. Anderson threw a Brewers’ season-high 107 pitches. Chicago’s only hit against him was an infield chopper by Willson Contreras in the second. Anderson made effective use of his curveball and changeup and retired his final 17 hitters.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RAYS 4, BLUE JAYS 1 Wilson Ramos homered, six Tampa Bay relievers combined for a five-hitter and the Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays. With right-handers Chris Archer and Jake Faria on the disabled list, Tampa Bay is using relievers to start three times through the rotation. Ryne Stanek opened the game, striking out three in two perfect innings, and was followed by Austin Pruitt (22/ innings), Jonny Venters 3 (one-third of an inning), Chaz Roe (11/ innings), 3 Jose Alvarado (12/ innings) and Sergio Romo 3 (one inning).

RED SOX 6, ORIOLES 4 Home runs by Rafael Devers and Andrew Benintendi helped Eduardo Rodriguez win his fifth straight start, and the Boston Red Sox extended Baltimore’s losing streak to six games with a victory. Rodriguez (8-1) gave up two runs and eight hits over 52/ innings to increase a career-best run 3 of success that began on May 20 against the Orioles. Rodriguez is 3-0 this season against Baltimore, the team that gave the left-hander his first professional contract in 2010 and traded him to Boston in 2014.

TWINS 6, TIGERS 4 Miguel Cabrera ruptured his left biceps tendon, an injury that will sideline the Detroit slugger for the rest of the season, and the Tigers lost to the Minnesota Twins. The two-time AL MVP will have surgery this week, the Tigers said. Cabrera, playing his 12th game since missing 26 with a hamstring strain, exited in the third inning and underwent an MRI during the game. Cabrera missed three games earlier this season with spasms in his left biceps.

WHITE SOX 5, INDIANS 1 James Shields won for the first time since opening day, Yoan Moncada and Yolmer Sanchez homered to lead off a three-run first, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians. Shields (2-7) gave up one run and four hits in seven innings after going 12 starts and 13 appearances without a win. The veteran right-hander struck out two and did not walk a batter in his first victory since the opener at Kansas City. Moncada and Sanchez connected on consecutive pitches from Adam Plutko.

INTERLEAGUE

YANKEES 3, NATIONALS 0 Didi Gregorius ended a long power outage with a pair of home runs, Washington slugger Bryce Harper left in the eighth inning after he was hit by a pitch for the second time, and the New York Yankees beat the Nationals for their 10th win in 12 games. Harper returned to Yankee Stadium for the first time in three years and fell to the ground in pain when hit on the right elbow by a 90 mph pitch from CC Sabathia (4-1) in the fifth inning. The 2015 NL MVP initially remained in the game but came out after he was hit on the left foot by Dellin Betances’ 89 mph slider leading off the eighth.

REDS 5, ROYALS 1, 10 INNINGS Joey Votto hit a bases-loaded triple in the 10th inning after Billy Hamilton slipped out of a rundown, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Kansas City Royals. Hamilton got hung up between third and home when pitcher Kevin McCarthy (4-3) tipped Tyler Barnhart’s line drive with his glove. McCarthy picked up the ball behind the mound and threw home, and Hamilton looked done until he sidestepped Alcides Escobar’s tag and dived back safely into third base to leave the bases loaded with one out.