3-run homer by Moss wins game for Cards
9th straight over Nationals
ST. LOUIS — Brandon Moss hit a three-run walk-off home run with two outs in the ninth, giving the St. Louis Cardinals an 8-5 win over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night.
The NL Central-leading Cardinals have won nine of 10 and lead the division by six games. They’ve won nine in a row over Washington, coming from behind the last two nights.
Moss, who struck out with the bases loaded to end the third, homered off Casey Janssen (1-4) to straightaway center on a 1-0 count. Janssen took the loss on Monday, allowing four runs in two-thirds of an inning.
Mitch Harris (2-1) worked the last two innings, allowing two hits.
Ryan Zimmerman homered and Anthony Rendon had a two-run double in a four-run third for Washington.
The Cardinals scored three runs on one hit in the third and tied it with two runs on one hit with an error in the eighth.
Both starters lasted just 2¦ innings. Nationals rookie Joe Ross gave up one hit but had a season-high six walks and three runs. Cardinals call-up Marco Gonzales allowed four runs on seven hits.
Gonzales, who was 1-4 with a 5.20 ERA for the Redbirds, started in place of Carlos Martinez, who was scratched with back soreness but is expected to make his next turn.
Carlos Villanueva replaced Gonzales and allowed one hit in 3¥ innings with six strikeouts.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Cubs 5, Reds 4 at Chicago: Kyle Schwarber hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the seventh inning, and Kris Bryant had three hits for Chicago.
Brewers 7, Pirates 4 at Milwaukee: Jimmy Nelson pitched seven dominant innings, and Milwaukee tagged Pittsburgh ace Gerrit Cole for five early runs. Nelson (11-10) gave up four hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out six.
Phillies 14, Mets 8 at New York: Darin Ruf homered and had a career-high six
RBIs, powering the Phillies to a blowout that emphatically ended their 10-game losing streak to the Mets.
Marlins 7, Braves 1 at Atlanta: Justin Nicolino pitched seven scoreless innings and Justin Bour hit a three-run homer as Miami beat hapless Atlanta again. Atlanta lost for the 14th time in 15 games, including the last seven in a row, but at least avoided its second straight shutout when A.J. Pierzynski drove in a run with a two-out single in the eighth.
Diamondbacks 6-5,
Rockies 4-3 at Denver: A.J. Pollock hit a tiebreaking two-run homer, Paul Goldschmidt homered and Arizona completed a doubleheader sweep. Phil Gosselin homered and drove in four runs to lead Arizona in the first game. It was the second time this season the Diamondbacks swept a doubleheader from Colorado.
Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado homered in both games to take the NL lead with 32. He had three RBIs on the day and leads the league with 98 — one more than Goldschmidt.
In the first game, the Rockies turned the fourth triple play in team history in the ninth. With the runners on first and second moving on the pitch from Jason Gurka, Goldschmidt hit a line drive to shortstop Jose Reyes, who was shaded up the middle. Reyes threw to DJ LeMahieu to force out Ender Inciarte, and then LeMahieu relayed to first baseman Ben Paulsen to get Gosselin.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Tigers 6, Royals 5 at Kansas City, Mo.: Justin Verlander threw his fifth consecutive quality start, and Ian Kinsler homered and drove in three runs as the Tigers, who had lost nine of 10 to drop into last place in the AL Central, snapped a four-game losing streak.
Twins 8, White Sox 6 at Minneapolis: Miguel Sano’s towering home run tied the game for Minnesota in the seventh inning, and two Chicago errors aided the go-ahead rally in the eighth for the Twins.
Rays 11, Orioles 2 at Baltimore: J.P. Arencibia homered and drove in six runs to back an impressive pitching performance by Drew Smyly as Tampa Bay breezed past free-falling Baltimore. Brandon Guyer had four hits for the Rays, who scored four runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to send the Orioles to their 12th loss in 13 games. Tampa Bay has won three in a row to get back to .500 and stay in the hunt for the final AL wild card spot.
Blue Jays 5, Indians 3 (10) at Toronto: Ryan Goins hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning and Toronto snapped Cleveland’s winning streak at six games. Yan Gomes hit two home runs and Michael Brantley also connected, but it wasn’t enough for the Indians.
Toronto’s Edwin Encarnacion went 0 for 2 with a walk and a sacrifice fly, ending his career-high hitting streak at 26 games.
Yankees 3, Red Sox 1 at Boston: Brett Gardner homered and Stephen Drew hit a two-run double as the Yankees pieced together just enough offense to overcome Rick Porcello’s career-high 13 strikeouts. Porcello (6-12) scattered five hits over eight innings, and the only earned run he allowed was Gardner’s solo homer in the eighth. He topped his previous high for strikeouts by two, but the Red Sox gave him little support at the plate, stranding seven runners.
Mariners 7, Astros 5 at Houston: Logan Morrison’s tiebreaking two-run pinch-hit homer in the eighth inning lifted the Mariners over the Astros. Franklin Gutierrez hit a solo homer in the second, and Mark Trumbo added a two-run shot in the fifth.
DEVELOPMENTS
Uggla activated: The Washington Nationals activated second baseman Dan Uggla from the 15-day disabled list. The 35-year-old Uggla, a former Memphis Tiger, missed 22 games with back spasms and played seven games on a rehab assignment, batting .217 (5 for 23) with a homer and six RBIs. Uggla is batting .191 with a homer and 14 RBIs this season.
Briefly: Cal Ripken Jr. marked the 20th anniversary of his 2,131st consecutive game by throwing out the first pitch before the Orioles hosted Tampa Bay. ... Kansas City Royals right fielder Alex Rios and AllStar reliever Kelvin Herrera have been diagnosed with chickenpox. Team officials said Herrera and Rios likely will miss a couple of weeks.