Cubs Edge Cardinals on Valbuena's Homer, Sox Win, Cardinals Picking Up Pierzynski

(Chicago, IL)  --  Luis Valbuena hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning to lift the Chicago Cubs to a 7-6 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field. Ryan Sweeney added a three-run shot and drove in four for Chicago, which had lost five of six since the All-Star break. Travis Wood hit a solo homer at the plate and pitched five innings while allowing five runs, two earned. Justin Grimm picked up the win while Hector Rondon notched his 12th save. Joe Kelly was tagged for five runs in 4-2/3 innings for St. Louis while Kevin Siegrist took the loss. Matt Holliday and Matt Carpenter each had three hits with a solo homer while Jon Jay knocked in two. The Cardinals have lost four straight.

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(Minneapolis, MN)  --  Jose Abreu set the tone early with a three-run homer as the White Sox picked up a 9-5 win over the Twins at Target Field. Tyler Flowers and Alexei Ramirez each belted a solo shot and Dayan Viciedo went four-for-five with a RBI for Chicago, which had lost three of four. John Danks fanned five in seven innings of work to improve to 9-6 with the win. Kevin Correia got hammered for six earned runs in just four innings to fall to 5-13 for the Twins, who have lost six of eight since the All-Star break. Josh Willingham and Oswaldo Arcia blasted solo homers and Chris Colabello plated a pair of runs in the loss.

TODAY'S SCHEDULE: Cardinals at Cubs, 3:05pm...White Sox at Minnesota, 6:10pm

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(Chicago, IL)  --  A.J. Pierzynski appears to have found a new home. The catcher is expected to join the St. Louis Cardinas according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Pierzynski was released by the Boston Red Sox a few weeks ago. The Cardinals are expected to be without Yadier Molina for several more weeks after thumb surgery. The 37-year-old Pierzynski hit .254 with four homers in 72 games with Boston prior to his departure.