Padres edge Cards in 11th on home run
ST. LOUIS — Will Venable hit a pinch-hit two-run home run in the top of the 11th inning and the San Diego Padres snapped a three-game losing streak with a 5-3 victory over the suddenly scuffling St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night.
Venable connected on the first pitch from Carlos Villanueva (3-3) after a ground-rule double by Clint Barmes.
Shawn Kelley (1-2) had four strikeouts in two scoreless innings and Craig Kimbrel earned his 20th save in 21 chances.
Jason Heyward and Matt Carpenter had two hits and an RBI apiece for the Cardinals.
St. Louis rookie starter Tim Cooney, called up from Triple-A Memphis before the game, allowed three runs in six innings, with two earned. Cooney doubled to begin St. Louis’ two-run rally in the bottom half to tie it at 3.
The Cardinals put outfielder Jon Jay on the 15day disabled list with a left wrist stress reaction and bone bruise to make room for Cooney.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Marlins 5, Giants 4 at Miami: Jose Fernandez shook off a rocky start, pitching six innings and hitting a homer to help the Marlins. Fernandez was making his first start since Tommy John surgery.
Fernandez won against former Houston High star Matt Cain (0-1), who was also making his 2015 debut. Cain, sidelined last July by an elbow injury that required surgery, allowed five runs in five innings.
“It was probably one of the better days I’ve had feeling-wise, which is really a big positive,” Cain said. “It’s just now ironing it out and making good pitches.”
Manager Bruce Bochy liked what he saw.
“I think Matt should be encouraged,” Bochy said. “The first four innings, I thought he was pretty good. He’s only going to get better building the strength and stamina.”
Braves 2, Nationals 1 at Atlanta: Cameron Maybin drove in the go-ahead run with a chopper against Max Scherzer that bounced over third base in the ninth inning, lifting Atlanta.
Pinch-hitter Pedro Ciriaco began the Atlanta ninth with an infield single, beating shortstop Danny Espinosa’s throw to stop a string of 10 in a row retired by Scherzer (96). He advanced to second on Jace Peterson’s sacrifice and scored on Maybin’s single.
Scherzer (9-6) allowed five hits and struck out nine in his third complete game in his last four starts.
Cubs 6, Mets 1 at New York: Jonathan Herrera drove in three runs with a squeeze bunt and homer for the Cubs. Miguel Montero also homered as the Cubs beat the Mets for a team-record ninth time in a row.
Brewers 8, Phillies 7 (11) at Philadelphia: Adam Lind hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the 11th inning to lift Milwaukee. The Brewers blew leads of 4-0, 5-2 and 7-4 but still won their fifth straight.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Twins 2, Royals 0 at Kansas City, Mo.: Kyle Gibson allowed four hits in eight innings, and Danny Santana and Eduardo Escobar had RBI triples for Minnesota. Gibson (6-6) stranded a pair of runners in the eighth before turning the lead over to Glen Perkins, who remained perfect in 26 save attempts.
Rangers 2, Orioles 0 at Baltimore: Leonys Martin ended a scoreless game with an RBI single in the ninth for Texas. After Shin-Soo Choo led off the ninth with a walk from Chaz Roe (2-1) and moved up on a bunt, Martin ended a 4-for-34 slump with a single to center. Martin came home on a single by Rougned Odor.
Indians 5, Rays 4 (10) at Tampa, Fla.: Mike Aviles homered on the first pitch of the 10th, giving Cleveland a victory and fourgame sweep over Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay struck out a franchise-record 19 times.
Red Sox 12, Blue Jays 6 at Toronto: David Ortiz and Hanley Ramirez had consecutive homers in an eight-run first, and Xander Bogaerts had four hits for Boston. Boston had a season-high 19 hits.
INTERLEAGUE
Pirates 8, Tigers 4 at Detroit: Francisco Liriano pitched seven shutout innings as Pittsburgh finished a three-game sweep. Liriano (5-6) allowed five hits and three walks in his first victory over the Tigers since Aug. 15, 2011.