Nola helps Phils snap losing streak
PHILADELPHIA — Aaron Nola pitched shutout ball into the eighth inning, Freddy Galvis and Tommy Joseph homered, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1 Thursday to stop a five-game losing streak.
Joseph drove in three runs as Philadelphia, a major league-worst 23-48, won for just the second time in 15 games.
Nola (4-5) allowed one run, four hits and two walks in 7 1/3 innings and struck out eight.
Paul DeJong homered on a hanging curveball leading off the eighth, pulling the Cardinals to 3-1, and Matt Carpenter walked with one out. Pat Neshek relieved and got Tommy Pham to ground into an inning-ending double play, and Luis Garcia followed with a perfect ninth.
Carlos Martinez (6-6) gave up three runs — two earned — and six hits with four strikeouts in six innings. The Cardinals, who made three errors, had won their previous five games against the Phillies.
Galvis homered in the first and Joseph leading off the fifth. With two on and two outs, Andres Blanco scored from second on an errant flip to second by shortstop Aledmys Diaz after his fine grab of Galvis’ liner up the middle.
Left fielder Jose Martinez dropped Odubel Herrera’s fly ball in the eighth for a two-base error, and Joseph followed with a two-run, twoout single.
Herrera was picked off third base in the fourth inning. In Wednesday’s 7-6 loss, Herrera ran through thirdbase coach Juan Samuel’s stop sign in the ninth and was out by 10 feet.
Rangers 11, Blue Jays 4
ARLINGTON, Texas — Carlos Gomez homered twice to drive in five runs and the Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays for a split of the four-game series.
Mike Napoli and Robinson Chirinos also homered for the Rangers off Marcus Stroman (7-4).
Gomez has five homers in his six games since returning from the disabled list last week after missing a month with a right hamstring strain. His three-run shot in the third ricocheted off the leftfield foul pole and put Texas up 6-0, then he added a tworun homer in the seventh off reliever Cesar Valdez.
Texas (36-36) won for the ninth time in 13 games to get back to .500 before playing 20 of its next 26 games on the road.
D’backs 10, Rockies 3
DENVER — Paul Goldschmidt and Chris Owings hit three-run homers, Zack Godley threw well into the eighth inning, and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Colorado Rockies.
Goldschmidt finished with three hits and four RBI to increase his season total to
64, tops in the majors. Arizona took two of three in the NL West matchup and is now tied with Colorado for second place in the division behind the Dodgers. The Diamondbacks have won 12 of
14 and are a season-high 19 games above .500.
Godley gave up a home run to Charlie Blackmon to lead off the first inning, but shut down the Rockies from there.
Brewers 4, Pirates 2
MILWAUKEE — Corey Knebel broke Arodlis Chapman’s modern-era record for most consecutive games by a reliever with a strikeout at a season’s start, fanning a batter for the 38th straight game and closing out the Milwaukee Brewers’ win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Knebel struck out Josh Bell on a foul tip leading off the ninth. The 25-year-old right-hander retired Elias Diaz and Andrew McCutchen on popouts, finishing a four-hitter for his 12th save in 15 chances.
Chapman had set the mark since 1900 as part of a streak of 49 games for Cincinnati that began in August 2013 and ended the following August.
Travis Shaw drove in three runs with a homer and two doubles, and he came within inches of a second home run.
Chase Anderson (6-2) allowed two runs and two hits in six innings.
Ivan Nova (7-5) gave up four runs and 11 hits — matching his career high — in seven innings. He threw a season-high 107 pitches.