Hits by Carpenter, Bader help Cardinals to dual wins

ST. LOUIS — Matt Carpenter and Harrison Bader hit run-scoring singles during St. Louis’ two-run ninth inning, sending the Cardinals to a sweep of the day-night doubleheader.

Each of St. Louis’ four batters reached in the ninth. Tommy Ed- man singled and Yadier Molina was hit by a pitch from Raisel Iglesias (2-11) before Bader tied it at 2 with a single to left.

Kevin Gausman then came in, and Carpenter’s pinch-hit single drove in Molina for the dramatic victory.

St. Louis (75-59) improved to 8-1 in its last nine games and moved 2½ games ahead of the second-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central.

Dakota Hudson (14-6) led the Cardinals to the win in the opener, striking out eight in a career-high 72/3 innings. Dexter Fowler and Yadier Molina homered.

St. Louis and Cincinnati will play another doubleheader on Sunday.

John Gant (10-0) got the win in the second game after he escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth.

Cincinnati wasted a terrific performance in the nightcap by Sonny Gray, who allowed an unearned run and five hits in 62/3 innings. Trevor Bauer (10-12) pitched just four innings in the opener.

Eugenio Suárez hit his 39th homer for Cincinnati in Game 1, and Josh VanMeter and Joey Votto connected in Game 2.

METS 6, PHILLIES 3

PHILADELPHIA — Wilson Ramos matched his career high with four hits and extended his hitting streak to 24 games, helping the Mets to the road win.

Todd Frazier had three hits and two RBIs for the Mets, who pulled within four games of the Cubs for the second NL wild card. Frazier also made a stellar run-saving catch in the sixth inning.

Ramos had three singles and a double, upping his average to .446 (41 for 92) during the streak.

Bryce Harper homered for Philadelphia, which remained 3½ games behind the Cubs. Former Mets lefthander Jason Vargas (6-7) gave up five runs in four-plus innings.

Steven Matz (9-8) pitched fiveplus innings for the win, and Seth Lugo got six outs for his fourth save.

BREWERS 2, CUBS 0

CHICAGO — Manny Piña drove in two runs with a first-inning single and Josh Hader finished a strong performance by Milwaukee’s bullpen.

Ben Gamel added three hits as Milwaukee pulled within four games of Chicago for the second NL wild card.

The Brewers used five pitchers in the six-hitter. Junior Guerra (84) worked 12/3 innings for the win, and Hader earned his 27th save by recording five outs on just 12 pitches.

Chicago wasted a solid performance by Cole Hamels (7-5), who allowed five hits in six innings. The Cubs had won four in a row.

AMERICAN LEAGUE TIGERS 10, TWINS 7

The Minnesota Twins capped a night of sensational slugging by breaking the major league record for home runs in a season, but that wasn’t enough to overcome Detroit’s seven-run third inning in the Tigers’ 10-7 victory Saturday.

The Twins homered six times to bring their season total to 268, one more than the New York Yankees managed last year. Minnesota broke the mark when Mitch Garver led off the ninth with a drive to left for his second homer of the game.

Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco, C.J. Cron and Nelson Cruz also went deep for Minnesota, which passed the 1997 Mariners (264 homers) during the game. Martín Perez (96) got the loss.

Ronny Rodriguez hit a pair of two-run homers for the Tigers, who snapped a six-game skid and halted a six-game winning streak by the AL Central-leading Twins. Matthew Boyd (7-10) earned the win.

YANKEES 4, A’S 3 (11 INNINGS)

NEW YORK — DJ LeMahieu homered on the first pitch in the bottom of the 11th inning, handing the Yankees their first victory in five tries against the Athletics this season.

Aaron Judge hit a tying homer for New York with two outs in the eighth, his 19th of the season. The 6-foot-7 Judge also took a potential home run away from Matt Chapman in the 10th, barely needing to leave his feet for a grab at the right field wall.