Memphis connection sparks rising Cards
ST. LOUIS — Luke Weaver and Tommy Pham were teammates with Triple-A Memphis to open the 2017 season. Now they’re helping the St. Louis Cardinals make a push toward the playoffs.
Weaver threw six innings of two-hit ball, Pham drove in two runs and stole two bases, and the Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 5-2 on Thursday.
“I felt great,” Weaver said. “It’s a close race we’re in and we just needed the big win, and I’m just happy to contribute.”
The Cardinals, who are chasing the first-place Cubs in the NL Central and the Rockies in the wild-card standings, have won five of their last six and nine of 12.
Weaver (6-1), a rookie right-hander, allowed one unearned run, struck out six and didn’t walk a batter.
“Outstanding job from Luke,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “He’s done a real nice job of taking advantage of the opportunity.”
Weaver was 3-0 with a 1.71 ERA in four appearances, including three starts, in June. He’s now 3-0 with a 0.99 ERA in three starts this month.
“That guy, that bulldog, that everything he was in Memphis is exactly what he is up here and what he’s going to be moving forward,” Cardinals outfielder Harrison Bader said. “He’s found himself and he’s just rolling with it and it’s really fun to watch.”
Rookie left-hander Amir Garrett (3-8) was charged with four runs in four innings. He struck out seven and walked five.
Red Sox 6, Athletics 2
BOSTON — Drew Pomeranz pitched six innings of one-run ball, and Andrew Benintendi (University of Arkansas) had three hits and drove in three runs to lead the AL East-leading Boston Red Sox past the Oakland Athletics.
Christian Vazquez hit a solo homer and Mitch Moreland added an RBI double for the Red Sox, who have won six of eight. Boston began the day with a three-game lead over the second-place New York Yankees.
Ryon Healy hit a solo homer for the A’s, who fell for just the second time in eight games. The loss assured Oakland (64-82) of a losing record for the third-straight season.
Pomeranz (16-5) allowed five hits, walking three and striking out five to raise his record to 4-0 with a 1.29 ERA in his last six starts in Fenway Park. He also tied teammate Chris Sale and two others for the AL lead in victories.
Benintendi doubled high off the Green Monster, chasing Daniel Gossett (4-9) and scoring Dustin Pedroia to make it 2-1 in the sixth.
White Sox 17, Tigers 7
DETROIT — Avisail Garcia went 5 for 5 and drove in a career-high seven runs, Yoan Moncada scored five times and the Chicago White Sox pounded out 25 hits Thursday while routing the Detroit Tigers 17-7.
The White Sox posted their highest hit total since getting 26 against Baltimore in 1981. The modern major league record for hits in a nine-inning game is 31, by Milwaukee in 1992 and the New York Giants in 1901.
Garcia and Moncada each homered, and Jose Abreu added three hits.
Moncada had four hits and walked twice. The rookie had a chance to become the first White Sox player to reach base seven times in a nine-inning game, but struck out in the ninth.
D’backs 7, Rockies 0
PHOENIX — A.J. Pollock had four RBI for the second-straight day, J.D. Martinez homered for the 10th time in 11 games and the Arizona Diamondbacks extended their NL wild-card lead with a 7-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Thursday.
Zack Godley (8-7) pitched eight sharp innings as Arizona opened a five-game edge over Colorado for the top wild-card spot with 15 games left. The Rockies lead Milwaukee and St. Louis by 2 1/2 games for the final wild-card slot.
Pollock drove in four runs in an 8-2 win over the Rockies on Wednesday and added three more with a double in Arizona’s five-run first inning against Chad Bettis (1-3).
Martinez hit a solo homer off Chris Rusin in the third inning, his career-high 39th. He has 23 homers in the second half of the season and 10 in September, both team records.