Reds Hold Off Cardinals, Blue Jays Blast Cubs

Reds Hold Off Cardinals

(Cincinnati, OH) -- Alfredo Simon tossed seven innings of two-run ball as the Reds pushed past the Cardinals 4-2 at Great American Ball Park. John Lackey pitched two innings before being ejected for arguing balls and strikes. Tyler Lyons took the loss in relief. Matt Adams and Oscar Taveras each recorded an RBI as the Cards lead the Brewers by 3 1/2 games in the NL Central.

The Cardinals close out their three-game series with the Reds today at Great American Ball Park. Lance Lynn seeks his 16th win of the season as he takes the mound for St. Louis opposite Cincinnati's Johnny Cueto, who is 17-8. First pitch is at 11:35 a.m.

Fans looking for Cardinals playoff tickets can start buying them today. Tickets for potential National League Wild Card and Division Series games go on sale at 10 a.m. They can be purchased online at Cardinals.com/postseason, by phone or at the Busch Stadium ticket windows.

Blue Jays Blast Cubs

(Toronto, Ontario) -- Edwin Encarnacion, Dioner Navarro and Danny Valencia all had two RBI to power the Blue Jays to an 11-1 win over the Cubs from Toronto.  Anthony Gose was 2-for-2 with an RBI and three runs for Toronto, which has won four straight. Drew Hutchison picked up his 10th win with 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball and 10 strikeouts. Kyle Hendricks allowed four runs in 5 2/3 innings for the loss. Jorge Soler hit a solo homer for Chicago, which has lost six in-a-row.

White Sox Sink Athletics

(Chicago, IL) -- Avisail Garcia knocked in two runs with a single in the bottom of the eighth to give the White Sox a 2-1 win over the Athletics at U.S. Cellular Field. Chris Bassitt allowed a run in six-plus innings for a no-decision. Zach Putnam got the win while Jake Petricka added his 12th save. Chicago has taken two of three to start the four-game series. Jeff Samardzija gave up six hits in seven scoreless innings for a no-decision. Luke Gregerson fell to 4-4. Adam Dunn knocked in a run against his former team as Oakland slipped to nine games back of the Angels for first place in the AL West.

Paul Konerko is providing an update on his fractured left hand. The White Sox slugger plans to return during the upcoming nine-game road trip. Konerko has not played since September 2. He's hitting .220 with five homers and 22 RBI this season.

Braves Grab Game From Nationals

(Washington DC) -- Aaron Harang out pitched Stephen Strasburg as the Braves beat the Nationals 6-2 at Nationals Park. Harang struck out nine, allowing just six hits and an unearned run in seven innings, to improve to 11-and-10 as Atlanta snapped a three-game skid. B.J. Upton connected for his 11th home run and brother Justin drove in three runs for the Braves. Strasburg fanned eight and gave up seven hits and three runs in six innings to fall to 11-11. Bryce Harper homered in the ninth for the Nats, who had won three straight. Atlanta cut Washington's NL East lead to eight games.

Pirates Top Phillies

(Philadelphia, PA) -- Andrew McCutchen hit an inside-the-park home run, and Russell Martin had a solo shot as the Pirates topped the Phillies 6-3 from Citizens Bank Park. Martin ended 2-for-5 with three RBI for Pittsburgh, which moved three-and-a-half games back of St. Louis for first place in the NL Central.  Vance Worley tossed five innings of three-run ball for the win. Mark Melancon notched his 28th save. Jerome Williams allowed four runs in five frames for the loss. Williams also had two RBI for Philadelphia, which has lost three of four.

Mets Blank Rockies

(Flushing, NY) -- The Mets finished off a three-game sweep of the Rockies with their second consecutive 2-0 shutout at Citi Field. Rafael Montero and four relievers combined to pull off the feat. Montero grabbed his first career win striking out seven and walking four with three hits over 5 1/3 innings. Jenrry Mejia nailed down his 25th save. Eric Young Junior had three hits and an RBI, while Juan Lagares drove in the other run. New York pulled to within four games of .500 with its fourth straight victory and seven of the last eight. Colorado compiled four hits in the defeat. Tyler Matzek took the loss giving up two runs in 6 1/3 innings.

Brewers Drop Marlins

(Milwaukee, WI) -- Matt Clark belted a solo home run and totaled two RBI to lead the Brewers to a 4-1 win over the Marlins at Miller Park. Carlos Gomez and Wily Peralta each plated a run to help the Brew Crew snap their four-game losing streak. Peralta also threw six-and-two-thirds innings of one-run ball to pick up the win, and Francisco Rodriguez notched his 40th save. Milwaukee is a 1 1/2 games behind Pittsburgh for the second NL Wild Card spot. Jarred Cosart gave up one earned run and struck out seven in six innings of work but fell to 4-2 with the loss. Marcell Ozuna blasted a solo shot for Miami, which had it's three-game winning streak snapped.

Dodgers Blank Padres

(Los Angeles, CA) -- Dan Haren kept the Padres' bats quiet as the Dodgers pulled out a 4-0 win in the rubber match of a three-game set from Chavez Ravine.  Haren improved to 13-10 striking out five and allowing four hits. Carl Crawford keyed the offense going 4-for-4 with two RBI for Los Angeles, which stayed 2 1/2 games ahead of the Giants for first place in the NL West. San Diego was held to four hits. Ian Kennedy worked around 10 hits in six-plus innings to give up only three runs, but he fell to 10-13. San Diego has lost seven of eight.

Giants Down Diamondbacks

(San Francisco, CA) -- The Giants got to the Diamondbacks bullpen to earn a 5-0 win in the second of three at AT&T Park. San Francisco put up four in the bottom of the seventh headlined by two, one-run doubles from Gregor Blanco and Matt Duffy. Ryan Vogelsong tossed 6 2/3 shutout innings, and reliever Jean Machi picked up his seventh win. The Giants are 2 1/3 games behind the Dodgers for first place in the NL West. Josh Collmenter made it through six scoreless frames before giving way to Oliver Perez, who allowed three runs and only got one out. Perez took the loss. Arizona was limited to two hits in a fifth straight defeat.

Orioles Complete Sweep Of Red Sox

(Boston, MA) -- Wei-Yin Chen took a perfect game into the sixth inning and the Orioles survived a five-run ninth to beat the Red Sox 10-6 at Fenway Park. Dan Butler broke up the bid with a one-out double in the sixth.  Caleb Joseph went 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBI for Baltimore, which banged out 15 hits in all. Ryan Flaherty went 4-for-5 with two RBI and Adam Jones had three hits and knocked in two for the Birds, who swept the three-game series. Chen pitched seven innings of three-hit, one-run ball to move to 15-4. After Joe Saunders was tagged for five runs in the ninth, Darren O'Day came on to get the final out and record his third save. Brandon Workman fell to 1-9 with the loss. Xander Bogaerts and Carlos Rivero homered for Boston.

Yankees Take Care Of Rays

(Bronx, NY) -- The Yankees erased a four-run first inning deficit to pull out an 8-5 win against the Rays in the second of three from the Bronx. After Chris Capuano only recorded one out and was charged with four runs in the opening frame, New York's bats came to life. Brian McCann was 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI, while Chris Young left the yard capping a 3-for-4 night with two runs driven in. Reliever Preston Claiborne picked up the win for the Yanks, who snapped a two-game losing streak and are 4 1/2 out of the second Wild Card spot in the AL. Five different players had an RBI apiece for Tampa, including Evan Longoria hitting his 20th homer of the season. Jake Odorizzi fell to 10-12 allowing six runs and not making it out of the fifth inning. The Rays are 3-3 in their last six.

Royals Top Tigers, Retake First Place

(Detroit, MI)  --  James Shields allowed a lead off single to Ian Kinsler and then retired 18 straight Tigers as the Royals avoided a sweep with a 3-0 win at Comerica Park.  Shields grabbed his 14th win and struck out eight in seven innings as Wade Davis notched his third save.  Salvador Perez and Lorenzo Cain drove in a run each as Kansas City moved into first place in the AL Central by one game.  Rick Porcello allowed two runs in six-and-two-thirds-innings to fall to 15-11.  Detroit was held to two hits in the loss with Ian Kinsler and Torii Hunter collecting singles.  The Tigers hold the second Wild Card spot by half a game over Seattle.  

Angels Beat Rangers

(Arlington, TX) -- Albert Pujols finished a homer shy of the cycle as the Angels rolled the Rangers 8-1 from Globe Life Park. Pujols ended with three hits and an RBI for Los Angeles, which is up nine games on the Athletics for first place in the AL West. Kole Calhoun went deep for the Halos while Pujols, Mike Trout and Howie Kendrick all had two runs scored. Matt Shoemaker allowed a run over 6 2/3 innings for his 15th win. Nick Tepesch gave up three runs in four-and-two-thirds frames for the loss. Texas has lost 10 of 11.

Astros Route Mariners

(Seattle, WA) -- Nick Tropeano earned his first career win after firing five-plus innings of two-run ball to help Houston top Seattle 5-2 at Safeco Field.  Jose Altuve collected his 200th hit of the season in the victory and drove in a run. Max Stassi plated two runs for Houston, which has won three of its last four. Hisashi Iwakuma took the loss after allowing four runs in 4 1/3 innings to fall to 14-7. Mike Zunino collected both RBI on a two-run double. Seattle remains a half-game out of the second Wild Card spot in the AL.

Wednesday, September 10 Scoreboard

MLB National League

Atlanta Braves 6, Washington Nationals 2

Pittsburgh Pirates 6, Philadelphia Phillies 3

Cincinnati Reds 4, St. Louis Cardinals 2

New York Mets 2, Colorado Rockies 0

Milwaukee Brewers 4, Miami Marlins 1

Los Angeles Dodgers 4, San Diego Padres 0

San Francisco Giants 5, Arizona Diamondbacks 0

MLB American League

Baltimore Orioles 10, Boston Red Sox 6

Minnesota Twins at Cleveland Indians (PPD)

New York Yankees 8, Tampa Bay Rays 5

Kansas City Royals 3, Detroit Tigers 0

LA Angels of Anaheim 8, Texas Rangers 1

Chicago White Sox 2, Oakland Athletics 1

Houston Astros 5, Seattle Mariners 2

MLB Interleague

Toronto Blue Jays 11, Chicago Cubs 1

Thursday, September 11 Schedule (All Times Central)

MLB National League

11:35 a.m. - St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds

2:45 p.m. - Arizona Diamondbacks at San Francisco Giants

6:05 p.m. - Pittsburgh Pirates at Philadelphia Phillies

6:10 p.m. - Washington Nationals at New York Mets

7:10 p.m. - Miami Marlins at Milwaukee Brewers

MLB American League

11:05 a.m. - Minnesota Twins at Cleveland Indians G1

Minnesota Twins at Cleveland Indians G2

1:10 p.m. - Oakland Athletics at Chicago White Sox

6:05 p.m. - Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees

7:05 p.m. - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Texas Rangers

7:10 p.m. - Boston Red Sox at Kansas City Royals

MLB Interleague

No Games Scheduled