PISCOTTY’S GRAND SLAM HELPS CARDINALS WIN
washington» Stephen Piscotty hit a grand slam off Max Scherzer during a five-run third inning Friday night and Jaime Garcia quieted the Nationals’ lineup as the Cardinals won 6-2.
Coming off consecutive ineffective starts, Garcia held Washington to two runs and seven hits over seven innings. The Cardinals had lost four of five.
Scherzer allowed two earned runs in each of his previous three starts, including his 20-strikeout gem May 11 in a victory over Detroit. That version didn’t show early against St. Louis. He walked four batters and allowed five runs, all by the third inning. But he ended up allowing only three hits over seven innings.
Danny Espinosa’s second home run in as many games broke up Garcia’s shutout bid in the fifth inning.
FRIDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
The Cubs improved to 32-14 with a 6-2 victory over the Phillies. Jorge Soler, David Ross and Kris Bryant hit home runs for Chicago, which opened a 10game homestand. Winning pitcher Jon Lester (5-3) gave up two runs — one earned — and six hits while pitching into the seventh inning. He struck out seven and improved to 5-0 against the Phillies. Chicago’s Ben Zobrist extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a double and single . ... Alex Rodriguez homered for the first time since coming off the disabled list and Masahiro Tanaka pitched seven shutout innings, helping the Yankees defeat the Rays 4-1. Rodriguez returned Thursday after missing three weeks because of a hamstring injury. His sixth home run of the season and 693rd overall came during the Yankees’ three-run sixth . ... Chris Davis’ RBI double broke a seventh-inning tie and Manny Machado went 4-for-5 as the Orioles ended a fourgame losing streak with a 6-4 win over the Indians . ... Josh Donaldson hit two homers and had five RBIs as the Blue Jays snapped a five-game home losing streak with a 7-5 win over the Red Sox. ... The Braves improved to 3-20 in home games with a 4-2 victory over the Marlins. Nick Markakis hit a tiebreaking tworun single with two outs in the eighth . ... Eric Hosmer’s three hits and four RBIs included a home run, helping the Royals defeat the White Sox 7-5. Royals starter Danny Duffy retired the first 16 batters he faced on 59 pitches before giving up five runs on his next 17 pitches . ... Andrew McCutchen had one of four home runs for the Pirates, who pounded the Rangers 9-1 . ... The Brewers beat Cincinnati 9-5, extending the Reds’ losing streak to 11 games. Milwaukee’s Aaron Hill hit two solo home runs. Jonathan Lucroy also contributed a solo shot.
FOOTNOTES
Odor’s suspension begins. Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor began serving his suspension Friday for punching Toronto’s Jose Bautista after Odor’s penalty was reduced to seven games from eight. Odor was out of the lineup for Texas’ series opener against Pittsburgh. He will be eligible to return June 4 when Texas is home against Seattle. Bautista was suspended one game. He served that Friday, when his penalty was upheld a day after his appeal was heard . ... The Red Sox moved struggling starter Clay Buchholz to their bullpen. Eduardo Rodriguez will take Buchholz’s spot in the rotation, starting Tuesday at Baltimore. Buchholz is 2-5 with a 6.35 ERA in 10 starts. He gave up a season-high six runs, including three home runs, in Boston’s 8-2 loss to the Rockies on Thursday.