Michael Morse #38 of the Washington Nationals hits a grand slam against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on September 29, 2012 in St. Louis, Missouri. After a review by the umpires Morse’s hit was ruled a grand slam.
(September 28, 2012 – Source: Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images North America)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Michael Morse circled the bases for a grand slam after taking an imaginary swing, and the Washington Nationals cut their magic number for winning the NL East to one Saturday night, beating St. Louis 6-4 on Kurt Suzuki’s two-run double in the 10th inning.

The Nationals were forced to wait at least another day when second-place Atlanta won.

St. Louis’ magic number for clinching the second NL wild-card spot remained at three.

The Nationals opened the game with a blast, and a bit of comedy.

Morse’s drive with the bases loaded cleared the wall but caromed back onto the field, sending runners and fielders scurrying. The umpires reviewed the ball on replay and confirmed it was indeed a grand slam.

The umps ordered all runners to retrace their steps and Morse back to the plate. He mimicked his swing minus a bat, then made his trip around the bases.

BREWERS 9, ASTROS 5

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Marco Estrada struck out 11 in eight shutout innings, Corey Hart homered twice and the Brewers beat the Astros.

The Brewers began the day barely in the playoff race, a year after they reached the NL championship series. Any Milwaukee loss or St. Louis win would mean elimination.

Hart drove in four runs to back Estrada (5-7), who won for the third time in four starts. The right-hander allowed only four singles and a walk after giving up six earned runs in just four innings against Washington in his last outing.

Houston hit three home runs in the ninth to score five times off reliever Livan Hernandez. Fernando Martinez and Brian Bogusevic hit two-run homers and Tyler Greene added a solo shot.

BRAVES 2, METS 0

ATLANTA (AP) — Mike Minor pitched 6 1-3 sharp innings to win his fifth straight decision, Martin Prado and Jason Heyward each had an RBI and the Braves beat the Mets.

Chipper Jones, who played his next-to-last regular-season game at Turner Field, was hitless in four at-bats.

Craig Kimbrel earned his 41st save of in 44 chances with a scoreless but shaky ninth.

The Braves began the night four games behind Washington in the National League East. If they don’t win the division, the Braves will host a wild-card playoff game next Friday.

PIRATES 2, REDS 1

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Andrew McCutchen hit a solo home run off Jonathan Broxton with one out in the ninth inning, lifting the Pirates over the Reds.

A day after getting no-hit by Cincinnati’s Homer Bailey, the Pirates won with eight hits.

McCutchen’s 31st homer helped Pittsburgh keep a record 20th consecutive losing season at bay for at least a day. The All-Star hit a 2-2 fastball from Broxton (4-4) a couple rows deep in right-center before getting mobbed at home plate by his teammates.

Joel Hanrahan (5-1) worked out of a two-on, two-out jam in the ninth, setting the stage for McCutchen. Pedro Alvarez had two hits for the Pirates, who won for just the seventh time this month.

PHILLIES 9, MARLINS 5

MIAMI (AP) — Roy Halladay survived a shaky opening inning, Jimmy Rollins had three hits and scored three times, and the Phillies beat the Marlins.

Chase Utley drove in three runs and Carlos Ruiz added a two-run double for the Phillies, who evened their record at 79-79 with four games left.

Halladay (11-8) allowed six hits and four runs, striking out seven and walking three in five innings.

Giancarlo Stanton had three hits, including his 36th homer, and drove in three runs for Miami. The Marlins led 3-0 after an inning but lost for the 91st time — matching the most by the franchise in any season since 1999.

Ricky Nolasco (12-13) allowed nine hits and five runs in five innings for Miami, which got a three-hit night from Donovan Solano.

DIAMODNBACKS 8, CUBS 2

PHOENIX (AP) — Trevor Cahill threw a four-hitter in his third career complete game, Justin Upton drove in three runs and the Diamondbacks added to Chicago’s futility in the NL West with a victory over the Cubs.

Cahill (13-12), 4-1 in his final five starts of the season, struck out a season-high nine and walked three. He was two outs shy of his third career shutout when Alfonso Soriano hit his 32nd home run of the season in the ninth.

Upton hit a booming two-run homer onto the second deck in left field in the fifth and had an RBI single Arizona’s three-run first. Aaron Hill went 3 for 4 with two RBIs. He doubled in a run in the first and singled in one in the second off Justin Germano (2-10), loser of eight straight starts.

PADRES 7, GIANTS 3

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Chase Headley hit his 30th home run and had three RBIs to tie Ryan Braun for the NL lead with 112 and the Padres beat Buster Posey and the NL West champion Giants.

Posey, who started at catcher a night after being hit in the throat with a wild pitch, went 2 for 2 with a to raise his average to .337 and increase his lead in the NL batting race over Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen. McCutcheon went 1 for 5 to drop to .329. Suspended outfielder Melky Cabrera of the Giants has a .346 mark but won’t qualify for the batting crown at his own request after a positive drug test.

Headley hit a two-run homer off Madison Bumgarner in the third to give the Padres a 4-3 lead. It’s San Diego’s first 30-homer season since Adrian Gonzalez had 31 in 2010, and the 17th time it’s been done in team history. Headley also had an RBI grounder in the first and scored three runs.

The Padres scored as many runs Saturday night as they did in being outscored 19-7 during a three-game losing streak. Chris Denorfia had three hits and scored twice.

DODGERS 3, ROCKIES 0

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Matt Kemp homered twice, Joe Blanton pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning and the Dodgers climbed within two games of the second NL wild-card spot with a victory over the Rockies.

The Dodgers’ fourth straight victory, coupled with St. Louis’ 10-inning loss to Washington, kept the Dodgers clinging to their postseason hopes with four games left.

After this weekend, Los Angeles finishes up with a three-game series against NL West champion San Francisco. The defending World Series champion Cardinals close out the regular season with a three-game set at home against West champion Cincinnati.

MLB: NL Roundup – Nationals beat Cardinals 6-4 is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

Stephen Strasburg #37 of the Washington Nationals celebrates after winning the National League East Division Championship after the game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Nationals Park on October 1, 2012 in Washington, DC.
(September 30, 2012 – Source: Greg Fiume/Getty Images North America)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thanks to strong pitching from Gio Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper’s burst of energy and Adam LaRoche’s slugging, the Washington Nationals won enough from April through September that even a loss on the first day of October could not stop them from clinching the NL East.

Despite being beaten 2-0 by the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night, the Nationals earned their first division title since moving from Montreal in 2005, because the second-place Atlanta Braves lost 2-1 at the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Washington, in first since May 22, leads Atlanta by three games with two to play in the regular season. The Braves’ loss finished as the top of the ninth inning ended in Washington, and the Nationals celebrated in their dugout with hugs, high-fives and spiked gloves.

PIRATES 2, BRAVES 1

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Atlanta Braves’ hopes of winning the National League East ended with a loss to the Pirates that clinched the division title for the Nationals.

The Braves, who needed to sweep the Pirates and have first-place Washington drop three games to Philadelphia to tie for the division lead, will instead be the top wild card team and host the wild card game Friday.

Starling Marte hit his sixth home run of the season and scored twice to lead the Pirates.

Atlanta managed just two hits against Pittsburgh’s Jeff Locke (1-3), who picked up his first major league win. Jared Hughes worked the ninth for his second save in place of regular closer Joel Hanrahan.

Paul Maholm (13-11) gave up two runs in seven innings while losing to his former team for the first time, striking out eight and walking three.

CARDINALS 4, REDS 2

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jaime Garcia homered off Bronson Arroyo and pitched into the seventh inning, helping the Cardinals clinch a tie for the second NL wild card and spoil Dusty Baker’s return from a mini-stroke.

The defending World Series champions have won 11 of 14 and led the Los Angeles Dodgers, playing at home later against San Francisco, by 2½ games. The Cardinals have two games to go, the Dodgers three.

Arroyo (12-10) threw 73 pitches while allowing three runs over five innings in a tuneup for the postseason. He topped 200 innings for the seventh time but is 0-3 in his last four starts.

The Reds are 96-64, tied with the Nationals for the best record in the National League with two games to go, and must finish ahead of Washington to get home-field advantage throughout the postseason after losing the season series.

ASTROS 3, CUBS 0

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs got their 100th loss of the season when Lucas Harrell threw six shutout innings to lead the Astros to a win.

Four Houston pitchers combined on a two-hitter and Fernando Martinez homered for the third consecutive game. The Astros avoided their franchise-record 107th loss in the opener of their final series in the National League before they move to the American League next season.

The Cubs lost 100 games in a season for the first time since 1966 and were shut out for the 14th time this season. Chicago has lost more than 99 games twice, setting the franchise record of 103 losses in 1962 and 1966. The Cubs have dropped 12 of their last 14.

Houston has matched its franchise record for losses with 106, but the Astros have won four of their last five and are 14-14 since Sept. 1.

MARLINS 3, METS 2

MIAMI (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton hit his 37th homer, and Rob Brantly hit a tiebreaking RBI double in the eighth inning to help the Marlins beat the Mets.

Heath Bell (4-5) pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Steve Cishek pitched the ninth for his 15th save in 19 chances. Cishek issued a two-out walk to Fred Lewis before Ike Davis grounded out to end the game, giving the Marlins their second win in 11 games.

In the bottom of the eighth, Ramon Ramirez (3-4) allowed a lead-off walk to Carlos Lee and then allowed Lee to reach second on a wild pitch. Brantly followed with a double down the left-field line.

BREWERS 5, PADRES 3

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Carlos Gomez, Rickie Weeks and Jonathan Lucroy all hit home runs to lead the Brewers to a win over the Padres.

Shaun Marcum gave up two runs and six hits in six innings as Milwaukee clinched a winning season for the second straight year.

Jim Henderson gave up a run in the seventh inning, Francisco Rodriguez pitched a scoreless eighth and John Axford struck out the side in the ninth inning to get his 34 save in 43 chances.

Clayton Richard (14-14) gave up five runs and 10 hits in seven innings for his second straight loss after winning five straight decisions.

MLB: NL Roundup – Nationals clinch NL East despite loss to Phillies 2-0 is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

Rafael Soriano #29 of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch against the Boston Red Sox on October 2, 2012 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City.
(October 1, 2012 – Source: Elsa/Getty Images North America)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Reliever Rafael Soriano and the Washington Nationals were working to finalize a $28 million, two-year contract on Tuesday, said a person familiar with the negotiations.

The person said Soriano’s deal would contain a $14 million option for 2015 that would become guaranteed if he has 120 games finished over 2013 and 2014 combined. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been signed.

Soriano, who turned 33 in December, would join a Nationals bullpen that already includes Drew Storen and Tyler Clippard. Both of those right-handers closed games for the NL East champions last season.

A one-time All-Star, Soriano had 42 saves and a 2.26 ERA for the AL East champion New York Yankees last year while filling in for injured closer Mariano Rivera, who plans to return from a knee injury in 2013.

Soriano decided in October to decline a $14 million option for 2013, taking a $1.5 million buyout from the Yankees and entering free agency instead.

Washington will lose its first-round draft pick in this year’s amateur draft, while the Yankees will gain an extra pick after the first round as compensation for losing Soriano.

He signed his old contract with the Yankees after saving a career-high 45 games for Tampa Bay in 2010. Soriano began his tenure in New York as a setup man, and ended up getting the bulk of his work in the seventh inning in 2011. But he wound up taking over as the closer after Rivera was hurt.

MLB: Nationals, Soriano close to $28M deal is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

This week, Lemke misses the show because he went to WWE Monday Night RAW in Pittsburgh, leaving Swafford and Lundy to break down the NCAA Tournament, NFL Free Agency and the NL East. And by breakdown, we mean THE WHOLE TOURNAMENT like only Swafford and Lundy can do.

(PhatzRadio / AP) — ATLANTA – Jordan Zimmermann turned in another dominant performance with two-hit ball over eight innings, Ian Desmond hit a two-run homer in the fourth and the Washington Nationals finally beat the Atlanta Braves, 2-0 Wednesday night.

The Braves had won five in a row this season over their NL East rival, and nine straight dating to last season.

Zimmermann (5-1) made sure that streak ended with another dominating performance, snapping a three-game losing streak that had knocked the Nationals under .500.

Atlanta starter Paul Maholm (3-3) nearly matched Zimmermann. He allowed only three hits in eight innings, retiring the last 13 batters he faced.

But Desmond provided all the runs that Washington needed, homering to left-centre on a 1-1 pitch in the fourth after Bryce Harper led off with a walk.

PIRATES 6, BREWERS 4

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Starling Marte hit a tying two-run homer in the eighth inning and Brandon Inge had a go-ahead RBI single to rally Pittsburgh to a victory over Milwaukee, snapping the Pirates’ nine-game losing streak against the Brewers.

Pedro Alvarez added a run-scoring single to cap a four-run eighth as Pittsburgh won for the 10th time in its last 15 games and ended Milwaukee’s eight-game home winning streak.

Bryan Morris (1-1) got the last two outs of the seventh for his first career victory. Mark Melancon pitched the eighth and Jason Grilli the ninth for his 11th save.

John Axford (0-3) gave up all four runs while getting just two outs in the eighth for the Brewers.

CARDINALS 4, REDS 2

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Lance Lynn won his 10th straight decision, allowing one run and five hits in seven innings to lead the Cardinals over the Reds.

Lynn (5-0) struck out five and walked two, improving to 10-0 in 10 starts and one relief appearing since losing to Milwaukee on Sept. 7.

It’s the second straight quick start for Lynn, who was 6-0 with a 1.48 ERA through May 7 last season, then went 12-7 with a 4.46 ERA the rest of the way.

METS 7, MARLINS 6

MIAMI (AP) — Jordany Valdespin hit a three-run, pinch-homer, and the Mets rallied Wednesday to break a six-game losing streak and avert a series sweep, beating the Marlins.

The Mets’ dormant offence finally came alive after they fell behind 4-1. Valdespin put New York ahead to stay in the sixth inning with his second homer, and NL RBIs leader John Buck added a two-run double in the seventh.

Buck and David Wright each had three of New York’s 13 hits. Wright hit his third homer for the Mets, who totalled only 11 runs during their losing streak.

CUBS 6, PADRES 2

CHICAGO (AP) — Scott Feldman retired 18 straight on his way to his first career complete game and the Cubs took advantage of former No. 1 pick Andrew Cashner’s wildness in a 6-2 win over the Padres.

Feldman (2-3) earned his second straight win, allowing two runs and three hits while walking one. After Chase Headley singled with two outs in the first, Feldman retired the next 18 batters.

Feldman had 12 strikeouts to set a new career high. He also had an RBI double in the second to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead.

Starlin Castro was 2 for 4 with two runs scored for the Cubs.

Cashner, making his first start against the team that made him its No. 1 pick in 2008, lasted four innings and gave up five runs, four earned.

GIANTS 9, DIAMONDBACKS 6

PHOENIX (AP) — Brandon Belt hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning and the San Francisco Giants rallied against Arizona’s bullpen for the third straight game, beating the Diamondbacks to complete a three-game sweep.

Belt hit a two-run single off Brad Ziegler in the opener and Pablo Sandoval hit a two-run homer off Arizona closer J.J. Putz on Tuesday.

Belt finished off the series of comebacks with his homer off David Hernandez (1-2), giving San Francisco its first road sweep over the Diamondbacks since July 22-25, 2010.

Angel Pagan led off the game with a homer, Hunter Pence added a 460-foot solo shot and George Kontos (2-1) pitched 1 2-3 innings after starter Tim Lincecum struggled. Sergio Romo extended his scoreless streak against Arizona to 27 innings in the ninth for his 11th save.

Chad Pennington homered and matched a career-high with four RBIs for the Diamondbacks.

ROCKIES 7, DODGERS 3

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez each hit two-run doubles, and centre fielder Dexter Fowler robbed Adrian Gonzalez of what would have been his second home run of the game, leading the Rockies to a victory over the Dodgers.

Reliever Josh Outman (1-0) got credit for the victory in the rubber game of the series, allowing one hit over two scoreless innings.

Josh Beckett (0-4) gave up five runs and five hits in four innings before he was lifted for a pinch-hitter. It’s the first time in Beckett’s 13-year career that the three-time All-Star and 2003 World Series MVP has gone winless in his first six starts.

MLB – NL Roundup: Zimmermann, Desmond help Nationals figure out Braves is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

(PhatzRadio / AP) — ATLANTA – Dan Haren pitched eight sharp innings, Denard Span hit a two-run double and the Washington Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves 3-1 Thursday night.

The Nationals, who snapped a nine-game losing streak to Atlanta on Wednesday, allowed their NL East rivals to get only three runners in scoring position over two nights.

Haren (3-3) won his second consecutive start, giving up four hits and one run with one walk and four strikeouts.

Washington got off to a good start in the first off Kris Medlen, breaking its 15-game streak without a first-inning run.

Medlen (1-4) lost his third straight start, allowing seven hits, three runs and three walks in seven innings. He struck out eight.

CARDINALS 6, BREWERS 5

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Jake Westbrook allowed one run over six innings for his 100th career win and the Cardinals held off the Brewers.

Westbrook (2-1) walked three and struck out four. The Brewers were 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position against him.

Westbrook allowed Norichika Aoki’s double to open the game and then nothing more until one out in the fourth when the Brewers pushed across a run on three consecutive singles. He struck out Alex Gonzalez and then fanned Wily Peralta (2-2), his third strikeout of the inning.

Westbrook left with a 6-1 lead for the relievers to protect, but the Brewers scored twice in the seventh, one in the eighth and one in the ninth.

PHILLIES 7, MARLINS 2

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Ryan Howard and Domonic Brown hit solo homers to back Kyle Kendrick and the Phillies beat the Marlins.

Kendrick (3-1) allowed two runs and seven hits in seven innings to earn his ninth straight win against the Marlins, dating to May 28, 2010.

Justin Ruggiano hit a solo shot for Miami. Alex Sanabia (2-4) gave up four runs — two earned — and six hits in five innings.

PADRES 4, CUBS 2

CHICAGO (AP) — Yonder Alonso’s two-out fly ball to right field dropped in front of Julio Borbon for an RBI single that led to a four-run eighth inning and boosted the Padres over the Cubs for a four-game series split.

Travis Wood (2-2) retired his first 14 batters before Kyle Blanks singled, and he led 2-0 when Jesus Guzman reached on an infield single leading off the eighth. San Diego went ahead with just one hard-hit ball in the inning, taking advance of two infield hits, the shallow fly and a passed ball.

Joe Thatcher (2-0) pitched one-third of an inning for the win.

MLB – NL Roundup: Haren tosses eight strong innings as Nationals top Braves 3-1 is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

(PhatzRadio / AP) — ATLANTA – Craig Stammen pitched four perfect innings after ace Stephen Strasburg left with a strained muscle on his right side, and the Washington Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves 3-2 Friday night.

Strasburg lasted two innings before leaving the shortest outing of his career. He is headed back to Washington to be examined.

Denard Span tripled twice and scored two runs for Washington, which snapped a two-game skid and trimmed its second-place deficit in the NL East to 4 1/2 games behind the Braves.

Strasburg left with a 2-1 lead. He allowed two hits and one run — a homer by Freddie Freeman — with no walks and two strikeouts. Stammen (3-1) shut down the Braves from there.

Tyler Clippard escaped a bases-loaded jam in the seventh and Drew Storen worked a scoreless eighth before Rafael Soriano converted his 15th save in 18 chances.

Bryce Harper missed his fifth straight game with bursitis in his left knee.

Julio Teheran (3-2) allowed seven hits and three runs with a career-high nine strikeouts in 6 2-3 innings.

REDS 6, PIRATES 0

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Johnny Cueto allowed one hit over eight dominant innings to pitch Cincinnati past Pittsburgh.

Jay Bruce and Brandon Phillips hit solo home runs for the Reds, who cooled off the Pirates behind their ace. Cueto (3-0) struck out six and walked one to improve to 13-4 against Pittsburgh.

Wandy Rodriguez (6-3) gave up five hits and walked three in seven innings.

The Reds broke it open with four runs off reliever Mike Zagurski, a rare hiccup by baseball’s best bullpen through the first third of the season as the two rivals moved into a second-place tie behind St. Louis in the NL Central.

BREWERS 8, PHILLIES 5

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jonathan Lucroy went 5 for 5 with two home runs and four RBIs as Milwaukee battered a struggling Cole Hamels to beat Philadelphia and snap its longest losing streak of the season at six games.

Yovani Gallardo (4-5) overcame a shaky first inning to stop a four-game skid, the worst of his career. Yuniesky Betancourt added three hits and an RBI for the Brewers, who finished 6-22 in May to tie the 1969 Seattle Pilots (August) for the worst month in franchise history.

Francisco Rodriguez pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save.

Domonic Brown had two homers and four RBIs for the Phillies. Brown has six home runs in his last five games and finished May with 12 homers. Jimmy Rollins also went deep for Philadelphia.

Hamels (1-9), who signed a $144 million, six-year contract last season, gave up seven runs (six earned) on a career-worst 12 hits in five-plus innings.

CUBS 7, DIAMONDBACKS 2

CHICAGO (AP) — Scott Hairston hit a grand slam, Matt Garza got his first victory of the season and Chicago extended its winning streak to five games by defeating Arizona.

Alfonso Soriano had a two-run homer and Cody Ransom added a solo shot for the Cubs, who have won five straight for the first time since winning seven in a row from July 31 to Aug. 6, 2011.

Hairston’s grand slam was the second in two games for the Cubs. Chicago pitcher Travis Wood hit one Thursday against the White Sox. It also gave the Cubs grand slams in consecutive games at Wrigley Field for the first time since Jim Hickman and Burt Hooton did it Sept. 15-16, 1972, against the Mets.

Garza (1-0), making his third start of the season since coming back from a strained back muscle, pitched seven innings and allowed two runs and six hits for his first win since July 15.

Wade Miley (3-5) went seven innings and allowed seven runs and seven hits. He has lost four straight decisions and given up 22 earned runs over his past four starts.

MARLINS 5, METS 1

MIAMI (AP) — Jacob Turner pitched seven scoreless innings in his season debut and Marcell Ozuna had three hits to help Miami halt a nine-game losing streak with a win over New York.

Pinch-hitter Jordan Brown hit a two-run double, and Ed Lucas and Jeff Mathis each drove home a run in the pivotal seventh as the Marlins won for the third time in 19 games.

After sweeping four Subway Series games from the New York Yankees, the Mets had their longest winning streak of the season snapped at five.

Recalled from Triple-A New Orleans before the game, Turner (1-0) allowed five hits and walked one while striking out three.

Shaun Marcum (0-6) yielded four runs in 6 2-3 innings, becoming the first Mets pitcher to open a season with six consecutive losses since Mike Pelfrey went 0-7 in 2007.

DODGERS 7, ROCKIES 5, 10 INNINGS

DENVER (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers recovered from a ninth-inning blown save and scored two runs off Rockies closer Rafael Betancourt in the top of the 10th to beat slumping Colorado.

Carl Crawford scored from third on Luis Cruz’s hard comebacker that bounced off the back leg of Betancourt (1-3) and dribbled toward the third base side. Juan Uribe followed with a run-scoring single.

Brandon League (1-2) picked up the win despite allowing Todd Helton’s two-run homer that tied the game at 5 in the ninth.

Ronald Belisario pitched a perfect 10th for his first save since Aug. 29, 2012, also at Colorado.

Before that, Clayton Kershaw allowed three earned runs and eight hits over seven-plus innings. He also hit a two-run double.

___

INTERLEAGUE

PADRES 4, BLUE JAYS 3, 17 INNINGS

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Clayton Richard earned his first win of the season by pitching two innings in relief and Jesus Guzman singled home the winning run with two outs in the 17th to give San Diego a victory over Toronto.

Richard (1-5), who had been scheduled to start Saturday night, came on to start the 16th. He came in 0-5 with an 8.35 ERA in seven starts and recently spent time on the disabled list with an intestinal virus. He gave up one hit and struck out two in two innings in his first relief appearance since May 2009 with the Chicago White Sox.

Rookie Jedd Gyorko’s third hit of the night, a one-out single, caromed off third base into shallow left. Gyorko was sacrificed to second by Richard and scored when Guzman singled up the middle off Todd Redmond (0-1).

The winning hit came three innings after the 14th-inning stretch. The game lasted 4 hours, 58 minutes.

The Blue Jays and Padres weren’t alone playing deep into the night, though. After nearly five hours of rain delays, the Tampa Bay-Cleveland game ended about 20 minutes before this one did — one night after the Royals beat the Cardinals in a rain-delayed game that finished at 3:14 a.m. CDT.

Toronto’s Colby Rasmus had a two-run homer among his season-high four hits and robbed Yonder Alonso of a solo shot. Edwin Encarnacion also connected off Jason Marquis.

Gyorko hit a two-run double to help the Padres rally from a 3-0 deficit.

MLB – NL Roundup: Washington Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves 3-2 Friday night is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

(PhatzRadio / AP) — PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Starling Marte had a career-high four hits and scored four times, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the San Francisco Giants 12-8 on Wednesday night.

Neil Walker and Alex Presley homered for Pittsburgh. Jordy Mercer, Andrew McCutchen and Gaby Sanchez had three hits each as the Pirates set season highs for runs and hits.

Francisco Liriano (5-2) got through six erratic innings for the win.

Joaquin Arias knocked in three runs for the Giants and Hunter Pence doubled twice but San Francisco continued to struggle on the road. The defending World Series champions have lost 12 of 16 away from home.

Barry Zito (4-5) allowed eight runs and 11 hits in 4 2-3 innings as his road ERA ballooned to 11.28.

DIAMONDBACKS 8, DODGERS 6, 12 INNINGS

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Martin Prado hit an RBI double during a four-run 12th inning to help Arizona beat Los Angeles.

There was no repeat of the brawl that occurred in the seventh inning of the Dodgers’ 5-3 victory a night earlier, when six players and coaches were ejected. No batters were hit by pitches this time.

Prado put the Diamondbacks ahead 5-4 with a ground-rule double off Ronald Belisario (3-5), charged with four runs and three hits in two-thirds of an inning. He walked two and didn’t retire any of the four batters he faced in the 12th.

Arizona made it 6-4 on Cliff Pennington’s bases-loaded RBI single off Brandon League. Gerardo Parra added a two-run single.

Josh Collmenter (3-0) got the win with two innings of relief. The Diamondbacks had 20 hits while improving to 7-2 against the Dodgers this season.

Heath Bell gave up two runs in the bottom of the 12th but retired pinch-hitter Tim Federowicz with two on to end it.

PADRES 5, BRAVES 3

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Edinson Volquez struck out a season-high nine in seven innings, rebounding from the worst start of his career to help San Diego to a three-game sweep of NL East-leading Atlanta.

Chris Denorfia hit a two-run homer for the Padres, who swept the Braves in San Diego for the first time since May 2005. The Braves were swept for just the second time this season.

Everth Cabrera got his major leaue-leading 30th stolen base ahead of Denorfia’s homer.

Volquez (5-5) held the Braves to one run and six hits. In his previous two starts, he had allowed a combined 13 earned runs and 17 hits in 7 1-3 innings.

Paul Maholm (7-5) allowed five runs, four earned, on seven hits in 5 2-3 innings for Atlanta.

REDS 2, CUBS 1

CHICAGO (AP) — Mike Leake combined with Aroldis Chapman on a three-hitter and Todd Frazier hit a tiebreaking home run in the seventh inning against Travis Wood, leading Cincinnati to a record 12th straight victory at Wrigley Field.

Leake (6-3) allowed Nate Schierholtz’s second-inning homer but won for the fourth time in five decisions. Chapman struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 17th save in 19 chances.

The previous record for consecutive wins by a visitor at Wrigley was 10.

Wood (5-5) gave up two runs and four hits in seven innings, his third loss in four decisions.

METS 5, CARDINALS 1

NEW YORK (AP) — Dillon Gee had his third straight stellar start, Lucas Duda hit one of three Mets homers and New York scored the most runs allowed by St. Louis rookie Shelby Miller in his young career.

David Wright and Marlon Byrd also connected for the Mets, who snapped a three-game skid and improved to 2-6 in June. Duda drove in two runs, including a first-inning single that scored Daniel Murphy from first base.

With prized pitching prospect Zack Wheeler nearing his promotion to the big leagues, Gee (5-6) has done everything possible to protect his spot in the rotation. The right-hander has yielded only three earned runs over 21 innings in his past three starts — all wins.

Gee scattered six hits in this one and and struck out seven in 6 2-3 innings. He gave up a homer to Allen Craig, his second in two days against the Mets.

Miller (7-4) gave up four runs and five hits in six innings. He struck out 10 without a walk.

David Freese went 0 for 4 for the Cardinals, ending his career-best hitting streak at 20 games — longest in the majors this season.

BREWERS 10, MARLINS 1

MIAMI (AP) — Carlos Gomez had four hits, including two triples, and Jonathan Lucroy drove in four runs to lead Milwaukee over Miami.

Gomez also drove in three runs and scored three times. Jean Segura homered for the Brewers, who have won five of six.

Alfredo Figaro (1-0) pitched seven scoreless innings to earn his first victory since Sept. 26, 2009, at the Chicago White Sox. He retired 16 in a row at one point and struck out four.

Gomez and Lucroy both had bases-loaded triples. They combined to go 12 for 24 with 12 RBIs in the three-game series.

It was the largest margin of victory for Milwaukee this season, even though Ryan Braun (right thumb) missed his third consecutive game.

Pitching on three days’ rest, Marlins starter Kevin Slowey (2-6) allowed six runs — five earned — and nine hits in five innings.

NATIONALS 5, ROCKIES 1

DENVER (AP) — Ross Ohlendorf pitched six strong innings in his Washington debut and Ian Desmond drove in three runs against Colorado.

The win was the Nationals’ third in their last 12 road games.

Recalled earlier in the day from Triple-A Syracuse, Ohlendorf (1-0) allowed one run and two hits in his first start since last Aug. 17 with San Diego against San Francisco.

Desmond extended his hitting streak to a career-high 14 games with an RBI single in the fourth and the Nationals struck for three more in the sixth. They chased Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa (7-4), beating him for the first time in the past five tries.

MLB – NL Roundup: Pirates outslug Giants, 12-8, as top of batting order shines is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips (4) sits on the ground after making an error in the fifth inning during a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday, June 23, 2013, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

(PhatzRadio / AP) — PHOENIX — Mat Latos matched his career high with 13 strikeouts and the Cincinnati Reds salvaged the finale of their three-game series in Arizona with a 4-2 victory over the Diamondbacks on Sunday.

Shin-Soo Choo hit a leadoff home run and Brandon Phillips added a two-run shot in the first inning off Randall Delgado (0-1).

That was plenty of offense for Latos (7-1), who allowed a run on six hits with one walk in 7 2-3 innings.

Latos, coming off his first loss in 21 starts, didn’t strike out anyone in the first two innings, then fanned 13 over the next 5 2-3.

After blowing a save in Cincinnati’s 4-3 loss on Saturday, Aroldis Chapman gave up a run in a shaky ninth but still got his 19th save.

The loss snapped Arizona’s four-game winning streak.

BRAVES 7 BREWERS 4

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Brian McCann hit an early grand slam and Atlanta got solo home runs from Chris Johnson and Jordan Schafer in a victory over Milwaukee.

Beaten 2-0 by the Brewers on Friday and Saturday, the Braves entered the game scoreless in 24 consecutive innings. The streak came to a quick end when McCann smacked a two-out shot to left-center in the first inning off Alfredo Figaro (1-2) for his 10th career slam.

Brewers outfielder Carlos Gomez sprained his left shoulder when he fell awkwardly near the center-field wall while making a leaping catch of Andrelton Simmons’ drive in the fourth. Gomez, hit in the left knee by a pitch earlier in the game, immediately left the field clutching his shoulder.

Schafer had four hits, including a double. McCann also reached base safely four times in five trips.

The Braves, who lead the NL East despite getting shut out a major league-high 11 times this season, snapped an eight-game losing streak at Miller Park dating to April 2011.

Jonathan Lucroy hit a two-run homer off winner Paul Maholm (8-6). Five Braves relievers held Milwaukee scoreless over the final four innings. Craig Kimbrel earned his 21st save in 24 attempts.

DODGERS 3, PADRES 1

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Adrian Gonzalez and Hanley Ramirez hit back-to-back home runs in the ninth inning to lift Los Angeles over San Diego.

Gonzalez, the former Padres star, broke a 1-all tie with a drive to right field off closer Huston Street. Ramirez hit the next pitch to right-center to help the Dodgers split the four-game series. It was the second home run in two days for both players.

Street (0-4) has given up 10 home runs in 26 1-3 innings.

Brandon League (3-3) got the last out in the eighth and Kenley Jansen earned his fourth save.

Padres starter Andrew Cashner allowed one run in eight innings. Juan Uribe broke a scoreless tie with a two-out double in the seventh that drove in Gonzalez.

Carlos Quentin homered against reliever Peter Moylan in the bottom half.

METS 8, PHILLIES 0

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — David Wright homered, tripled and matched a Mets record with four extra-base hits to back Matt Harvey’s splendid start in a lopsided victory over Philadelphia.

Wright went 4 for 5 with two of New York’s season-high seven doubles to help the Mets take two of three in Philadelphia after winning a five-game series at first-place Atlanta.

Given a rare heaping of run support, Harvey (7-1) allowed two hits in six innings and struck out six to earn consecutive wins for the first time since mid-April. The 24-year-old righty threw a season-low 72 pitches — his outing was cut short by a 20-minute rain delay in the seventh.

Harvey also hit an RBI double to deep right-center and scored in a three-run fifth that made it 4-0.

John Lannan (0-2) unraveled in the fifth after a three-base error by center fielder Ben Revere.

ROCKIES 7, NATIONALS 6

WASHINGTON (AP) — Michael Cuddyer homered in his first at-bat to extend the longest hitting streak in the majors this season to 21 games, and Colorado hung on to beat Washington.

Cuddyer went 3 for 4 with four RBIs to break a tie with St. Louis third baseman David Freese for the year’s top streak, and the Rockies right fielder is two games shy of matching the franchise’s best run.

Cuddyer also extended his Colorado record for consecutive games reaching base to 40.

Nolan Arenado homered to help the Rockies build a 7-0 cushion for Jorge De La Rosa (8-4), who went six innings.

Ross Detwiler (2-6) allowed a season-high seven earned runs and nine hits in 3 2-3 innings.

MARLINS 7, GIANTS 2

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Justin Ruggiano hit a leadoff homer to get Miami started and added a two-run shot in the ninth, leading the Marlins to their 10th win in their last 11 games at San Francisco.

Nathan Eovaldi (1-0) held the Giants in check into the seventh inning and Marcell Ozuna hit an RBI double and a solo homer as the Marlins beat Matt Cain (5-4) and a struggling San Francisco bullpen.

The defending World Series champions dropped three of four at home to the team with the worst record in the National League, scoring just eight runs in the four games.

The Giants did end a 90-inning home run drought when Hunter Pence led off the seventh with his 12th to cut Miami’s led to 3-2.

___

INTERLEAGUE

RANGERS 2, CARDINALS 1

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Ian Kinsler singled in the tiebreaking run in the seventh inning after the Rangers knocked 10-game winner Adam Wainwright out of the game, and Texas completed a soggy, three-game sweep of St. Louis.

The finale of Texas’ first visit to Busch Stadium since losing Games 6 and 7 of the 2011 World Series, and first time ever in the regular season, was delayed 2 hours and 59 minutes by heavy rain.

Rookie Nick Tepesch allowed a run on four hits in 5 2-3 innings for Texas, which has won five in a row after losing six straight.

The Cards, who have the majors’ best record at 47-29, were swept for the first time this season.

Wainwright (10-5) allowed an earned run in 6 2-3 innings with six strikeouts and one walk. Matt Carpenter homered for St. Louis.

Robbie Ross (4-1) got the last out of the sixth to earn the win for Texas.

CUBS 14, ASTROS 6

CHICAGO (AP) — Ryan Sweeney had a career-high six RBIs, including a three-run homer, as Chicago routed Houston.

Sweeney drove in runs in each of his first four at-bats, capping the stretch with his homer. He also had two doubles and a run-scoring grounder.

Anthony Rizzo added a two-run homer and finished 3 for 3 with four runs and four RBIs.

Chicago scored its most runs and had its most hits (16) this season. All nine starters reached base for the Cubs.

Jeff Samardzija (5-7) went seven innings to win his second straight. He gave up four runs, three earned, and did not walk a batter for the first time this season.

Jordan Lyles (4-2) lost for the first time since May 12.

MLB – NL Roundup: Reds win final game of their three-game series with D’backs 4-2 is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero, left, reacts after Atlanta Braves’ Dan Uggla, not pictured, beats his tag at home plate to score off a bunt ground ball by Reed Johnson in the eighth inning of a baseball game, Friday, June 28, 2013, in Atlanta. The Braves beat the Diamondbacks 3-0. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

(PhatzRadio / AP) — ATLANTA — Julio Teheran pitched six strong innings, Andrelton Simmons homered and the Atlanta Braves beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-0 on Friday night.

The Braves, who have won three of four and lead second-place Washington by 5½ games in the NL East, retired former All-Star third baseman Chipper Jones’ number before the game.

Teheran (6-4) allowed four hits, one walk and struck out 10.

The NL West-leading Diamondbacks have lost three of four. They were shut out for the first time since losing 5-0 at San Francisco on Sept. 26, a span of 85 games.

Atlanta closer Craig Kimbrel earned his 23rd save in 26 chances. After Aaron Hill grounded out, Kimbrel walked Paul Goldschmidt and then Miguel Montero grounded into a double play.

Arizona’s Randall Delgado (0-2) gave up eight hits, two runs and three walks in six innings.

PADRES 9, MARLINS 2

MIAMI (AP) — Will Venable drove in three runs and saved one with a diving catch in right field to help San Diego beat Ricky Nolasco and Miami.

Logan Forsythe hit a two-run homer for the Padres and had three of their 15 hits. Edinson Volquez (6-6) gave up two runs in six innings for the Padres, who have outscored Miami 20-3 this season while winning all four games.

Nolasco (4-8), the subject of trade speculation, allowed six runs and 11 hits in five-plus innings to match or surpass his worst effort of the season in all three categories.

The Marlins’ loss snapped a three-game winning streak that matched their longest this year.

NATIONALS 6, METS 4

NEW YORK (AP) — Ian Desmond doubled home the go-ahead run in the ninth inning and Washington rallied late after a dominant Matt Harvey departed.

Harvey struck out 11 and left with the Mets leading 4-1 after seven innings.

Ryan Zimmerman lined a three-run double with two outs in the eighth that made it 4-all. The Mets used four relievers in the inning, and still couldn’t protect the lead.

Jayson Werth, who had struck out in all three at-bats against Harvey, hustled for a leadoff double in the ninth against closer Bobby Parnell (5-4). Desmond doubled down the right-field line and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Kurt Suzuki.

Tyler Clippard (6-1) won in relief and Drew Storen got his second save.

PIRATES 10, BREWERS 3

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Gerrit Cole overcame a rocky start to become the first Pirates pitcher to win his first four career starts in more than a century and Starling Marte missed getting cycle a few feet short of a home run in a win over Milwaukee.

Cole (4-0) gave up three runs in the first inning but no more as he made it through six innings, allowing eight hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Nick Maddox started 4-0 in his first four starts in 1907.

Johnny Hellweg (0-1) failed to get out of the second inning in his major league debut, giving up seven runs — five earned — in 1 2-3 innings.

Marte had a double and triple among his three hits, and just missed a homer in the eighth when he flied out to deep center field.

ROCKIES 4, GIANTS 1

DENVER (AP) — Michael Cuddyer homered to extend his hitting streak to 25 games, Jhoulys Chacin pitched eight scoreless innings and Colorado beat slumping San Francisco.

Wilin Rosario also went deep and Jordan Pacheco had three hits for the Rockies, who moved within three games of Arizona in the NL West.

Chacin (7-3) earned his fourth straight win with another standout performance.

Buster Posey homered among his three hits for the Giants, who have lost five straight and seven of their last eight.

Giants starter Barry Zito (4-6) allowed four runs and 10 hits while striking out three in 5 1-3 innings.

PHILLIES 16, DODGERS 1

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Delmon Young had a career-high six RBIs, helping John Lannan breeze to his first victory with Philadelphia, and the Phillies got homers from Michael Young and John Mayberry while snapping Los Angeles’ season-best, six-game winning streak.

Phillies All-Star first baseman Ryan Howard, batting .268 overall and .173 against left-handers, was given the day off by manager Charlie Manuel. Despite Howard’s absence from the lineup, the Phillies ended up with a season-high 21 hits, including four by Michael Young.

Dodgers starter Chris Capuano (2-5) surrendered seven runs and 10 hits over 3 2-3 innings in his third start off the DL.

Lannan (1-2) gave up five hits over seven innings in his sixth start with the Phillies and third since coming off the disabled list.

MLB – NL Roundup: Teheran, Simmons lead Braves past Arizona, 3-0 is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

Cincinnati Reds’ Zack Cozart strikes out in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Thursday, July 11, 2013, in Atlanta. Atlanta won 6-5. (John Bazemore)

(PhatzRadio / AP) — ATLANTA – Freddie Freeman celebrated his newly won All-Star berth by driving in four runs with three hits, and the Atlanta Braves beat Mat Latos and the Cincinnati Reds 6-5 on Thursday night.

Freeman held off Dodgers rookie Yasiel Puig to win the fan voting for the final spot on NL All-Star roster. The first baseman drove in two runs with a first-inning double and added run-scoring singles in the second and fourth innings.

Justin Upton also had three hits to help Tim Hudson (6-7) earn his second straight win. Craig Kimbrel pitched the ninth for his 25th save.

Latos (8-3) lasted only four innings in his shortest start of the season. He allowed six runs on nine hits and two walks. The six earned runs allowed matched his season high.

Braves right fielder Jason Heyward left the game in the second inning with a strained right hamstring.

PHILLIES 3, NATIONALS 1

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kyle Kendrick outpitched All-Star Jordan Zimmermann, pinch-hitter Kevin Frandsen hit a tiebreaking double in the seventh and Philadelphia beat Washington.

Frandsen is hitting .355 (11 for 31) with 10 RBIs as a pinch-hitter this season.

Kendrick (8-6) allowed one run and five hits in seven innings to help Philadelphia take three of four from the defending NL East champions.

The Phillies (46-47) are 7-3 since July 2 and are within 1 1/2 games of the second-place Nationals.

Zimmermann (12-4) gave up two runs and eight hits, striking out six in 6 1-3 innings.

Antonio Bastardo pitched a perfect eighth and Jonathan Papelbon finished for his 20th save in 24 tries.

Kendrick overcame a season-high four errors by the Phillies. Chase Utley had a career-worst three errors.

CUBS 3, CARDINALS 0

CHICAGO (AP) — Edwin Jackson earned his third straight win, combining with four relievers on a four-hitter, and Anthony Rizzo drove in all the runs to lead the Chicago Cubs over St. Louis.

St. Louis had the tying run at the plate in the ninth inning after Kevin Gregg dropped a throw covering first on Allen Craig’s grounder, and David Freese walked.

Alfonso Soriano made a shoestring catch on Jon Jay’s liner to end the game. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny was then seen arguing vehemently with plate umpire Dan Bellino and appeared to make contact with him.

The Cubs escaped with the win, and Gregg got his 16th save in 18 chances.

St. Louis’ five-game winning streak ended.

Jackson (6-10) struck out five without a walk in seven innings. Starlin Castro added three singles and scored two runs for the Cubs, who won for the fifth time in six games.

DIAMONDBACKS 5, BREWERS 3

PHOENIX (AP) — Martin Prado lined a two-run single in the eighth inning, Wade Miley pitched eight effective innings, and Arizona topped Milwaukee to snap a three-game losing streak.

Miley (6-7) gave up a pair of homers in the first three innings before settling down.

Adam Eaton helped Arizona close to 3-2 with a two-run triple in the fifth inning, Jason Kubel tied it with a sacrifice fly the next inning and Prado capped the comeback with the bases loaded against Jim Henderson (3-3) in the eighth.

Brad Ziegler worked around two runners in the ninth to earn his second save, a night after Heath Bell blew a save with two outs in the ninth in a loss to the Dodgers.

Jonathan Lucroy hit a two-run homer, and Carlos Gomez had a solo shot for the Brewers.

Milwaukee starter Yovani Gallardo allowed three runs and four hits in six innings.

GIANTS 4, PADRES 2

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Pablo Sandoval hit his first home run since May 21, and All-Star Madison Bumgarner settled down to allow four hits in seven innings as San Francisco beat San Diego in a matchup of the worst teams in the weak NL West.

The defending World Series champion Giants, who snapped a four-game losing streak, had lost 19 of 24 coming in and were a season-high 10 games under .500.

Bumgarner (10-5) allowed two runs on three hits in the first inning and then retired 14 in a row before Carlos Quentin singled with two outs in the sixth. The lefty struck out six and walked one.

The Giants are 2-8 in July, with Bumgarner getting both wins. Sergio Romo pitched the ninth for his 21st save in 24 chances.

The Padres have lost 16 of 19.

San Francisco broke through in the eighth with two runs and three hits off Luke Gregerson (4-5).

San Diego starter Jason Marquis failed for the fifth time to get his 10th victory. He allowed two runs and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings, struck out three and walked two.

DODGERS 6, ROCKIES 1

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Chris Capuano pitched shutout ball for 6 1/3 innings, Mark Ellis drove in four runs, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat Colorado for their fifth win in a row.

The Dodgers moved above .500 for the first time since April 15.

Capuano (3-6) allowed six hits, struck out a season-high eight and walked none to earn just his second win at home and first since beating Miami 5-3 on May 12.

Drew Pomeranz (0-3) gave up three runs and seven hits in four innings, struck out four and walked five in his third start of the season.

Ellis went 3 for 4 with a walk, the fourth time he has had three or more hits in a game this season.

MLB – NL Roundup: Atlanta Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-5 is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

FILE – In this Sept. 19, 2012, file photo, Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun stands in the dugout before a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh. Much of the focus as baseball heads into the second half is being placed on the possible suspensions of Alex Rodriguez, Braun and a handful of All-Stars implicated in the Biogenesis performance-enhancing drug scandal. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

(PhatzRadio / AP) — Much of the focus as baseball heads into the second half is on the possible suspensions of Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Braun and a handful of All-Stars implicated in the Biogenesis performance enhancing drug scandal.

Puigmania, a Pirates revival and one impressive power show in Baltimore may shift the gaze back onto the field, where there will be a lot to watch headed down the stretch of the regular season.

Fans who have been celebrating Mariano Rivera at every stop of his farewell tour should get a chance to watch returning stars Derek Jeter, Chris Carpenter, A-Rod and even Manny Ramirez after a first half dominated by 20-somethings.

The American League won the All-Star game on Tuesday night, giving home-field advantage in the World Series back to the junior circuit after three years of NL dominance. Now the race is on to get to the Fall Classic, and some underachieving preseason favourites are looking to make their moves.

Every playoff spot is legitimately up for grabs, with no team leading a division by more than a half-dozen games. And the NL East, where Atlanta is up six on Washington, is the only place where the division leader is ahead by three games or more.

What to look for in the second half, that begins Friday:

___

CLOCK IS TICKING

— The Washington Nationals need a healthy Bryce Harper to get into a groove and help them chase down Atlanta.

— The big-spending Dodgers are suddenly surging, 17-5 since June 22, thanks to the youthful exuberance of Yasiel Puig, with a smile to match that of owner Magic Johnson.

— North of the border, the Blue Jays made the biggest off-season moves but NL Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey’s knuckleball has been mostly off-target and Toronto finds itself in last place in the powerful AL East. But don’t count anyone out in what’s widely considered the toughest division in the majors.

— Pedro Alvarez and the Pittsburgh Pirates appear poised to put 20 years of misery behind them, after two years of teasing their fans by being in the hunt heading into the break only to fade down the stretch. With the Houston Astros now in the AL, the NL Central is one of the most competitive divisions.

Reds manager Dusty Baker knew it would be a stiffer challenge this year.

“I figured it’d be close, closer, because none of us have the Astros in our division that we were counting on — not to malign them — but they were in our division last year and every team kind of counted on beating them,” he said. “Now you’ve got to beat each other.”

— So far it’s only been California dreamin’ for Josh Hamilton in his first year in Los Angeles, even with Houston in the division. He’ll have to improve on his .224 average, .413 slugging percentage for the Angels to have a shot to overtake Home Run Derby champ Yoenis Cespedes and the pesky A’s. Albert Pujols’ ballclub is 11 games back in the AL West and nine games behind for the wild card.

___

HOMER CRUSH

Baltimore’s big bopper Chris Davis is off on a race of his own. With 37 homers before the break — tying Reggie Jackson (1969) for best ever in the AL — talk of the single-season home run record is bubbling again.

Crush Davis, however, doesn’t have his sights set on Barry Bonds’ 73 homers, he wants to top Roger Maris’ 61, the number he thinks is the legitimate, untainted mark.

“After everything came out, I assumed 61 was the record,” Davis said. “I think it’s what a lot of fans would agree on.”

Davis, whose previous career high for homers was last year’s 33, needs 25 long balls in 66 games to reach 62. Of course, most of the rest of baseball goes with Bonds’ number, including Davis’ teammate Adam Jones.

“He still hit them over the fence,” Jones said.

___

A HALF FOR THE AGED

Move over whippersnappers, the old guard is back — maybe.

Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Matt Harvey, Patrick Corbin and a record 39 first-time All-Stars grabbed the spotlight in the first half but expect to see some seasoned stars in the next few weeks that could impact the pennant races.

The injury-ravaged Yankees have hung around in the potent AL East with a “Who’s on First?” lineup. Now they should get Derek Jeter back after a one-game false start and Alex Rodriguez’s return from off-season hip surgery is imminent.

The St. Louis Cardinals have surged to baseball’s best record in part behind the pitching of some pretty good rookies. Imagine how much better they’ll be if 2005 NL Cy Young Award winner Chris Carpenter is fully recovered from a nerve injury and bad back.

Talking about back, how about Manny Ramirez — all the way from Taiwan? The twice suspended slugger is hitting .300 with three homers in eight games for Texas’ top minor league club, Triple-A Round Rock, and the Rangers are in need of a big righty bat. Could it be the dreadlocked Ramirez?

___

WHEELIN’ AND DEALIN’

After pushing their payroll over $200 million this off-season, don’t expect the Dodgers to sit quietly as the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline approaches. They got an early start acquiring Ricky Nolasco from the Marlins to bolster the rotation and could make further moves.

The resurgent Red Sox might be on the lookout for another reliever after picking up left-hander Matt Thornton when lefty Andrew Miller was lost for the season with an injury.

Teams hoping to fill a spot in the rotation can call Cubs executive Theo Epstein. Matt Garza is up for grabs and he’s one of the most prominent names fans will hear a lot of in the next two weeks.

The flagging Phillies could look to move infielder Michael Young. The pitching-rich Giants might try to trade Tim Lincecum after he threw a no-hitter just before the break.

If A-Rod is unable to play because of his hip, expect the Yankees to look for a corner infielder. Pitchers Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain could be the bait.

___

AP Baseball Writer Janie McCauley contributed to this report.

MLB: With drug scandal hovering, setting up to be an exciting 2nd half in major leagues is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

(Pittsburgh Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen, left, celebrates with Jordy Mercer after hitting a two-run home run off St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Tyler Lyons during the fifth inning of the second baseball game of a doubleheader in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, July 30, 2013. AP)

(PhatzRadio / AP) — PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Andrew McCutchen clubbed his 15th homer of the season and the Pittsburgh Pirates completed a doubleheader sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals with 6-0 victory Tuesday night.

Brandon Cumpton (1-1) allowed three hits over seven innings to pick up his first major league win. The sweep propelled the Pirates into first place in the NL Central. Pittsburgh is a season-high 22 games over .500 (64-42).

Tyler Lyons (2-4) gave up four runs, three earned, in six innings. The rookie struck out five and walked one, but received no help from a reeling offence. The Cardinals have dropped six straight and have scored five runs in their last 56 innings.

St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina left in the fourth inning with a right knee strain.

The Pirates took the opener 2-1 in 11 innings when Alex Presley’s sharp grounder deflected off the glove of pitcher Kevin Siegrist and rolled into shallow left field, allowing Pittsburgh’s Russell Martin to score from second.

BRAVES 11, ROCKIES 3

ATLANTA (AP) — Freddie Freeman hit two home runs, Brian McCann added a three-run shot and Atlanta beat Colorado to win its fifth straight game.

The Braves, who scored 10 unanswered runs, moved 10 games ahead of second-place Washington on the NL East. They lead the majors with a 36-15 home record.

Freeman had four RBIs with his first multihomer game this season and fourth of his career.

Rookie Alex Wood (1-2) earned his first career victory after allowing six hits, three runs, one walk while striking out seven in seven innings.

Juan Nicasio (6-5) allowed 10 hits, a season-high eight runs, three walks and struck out four in four innings. Colorado has lost 16 of 19 series games against Atlanta.

PHILLIES 7, GIANTS 3

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Carlos Ruiz and Michael Young hit two-run homers to back John Lannan, and Philadelphia beat San Francisco to snap an eight-game losing streak.

The Phillies beat the New York Mets 13-8 in their first game after the All-Star break, but scored a total of 14 in the next eight losses to drop out of contention.

The defending World Series champion Giants have lost five in a row and eight of nine. They came off a 3-7 homestand that left them in last place in the NL West.

Lannan (3-4) allowed three runs and seven hits in seven innings.

Barry Zito (4-8) gave up four runs and five hits in 3 1-3 innings. The 2002 AL Cy Young Award winner is 0-7 with a 9.97 ERA on the road.

METS 4, MARLINS 2, 10 INNINGS

MIAMI (AP) — Marlins reliever Chad Qualls took a tumble after escaping late trouble, but Miami stumbled in the 10th inning when John Buck hit a tiebreaking two-run single that lifted New York to victory.

Zack Wheeler took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and Juan Lagares had three hits and two RBIs for the Mets.

Donovan Solano and Jake Marisnick had consecutive RBI singles after Ed Lucas got Miami’s first hit with one out in the seventh to tie it 2-all.

Scott Atchison (1-0) pitched a scoreless ninth to earn the victory and Bobby Parnell pitched the 10th for his 22nd save in 26 opportunities.

Steve Cishek (3-6) allowed two runs and three hits in two innings.

BREWERS 6, CUBS 5, 1ST GAME; BREWERS 3, CUBS 2, 2ND GAME

CHICAGO (AP) — Jeff Bianchi delivered a two-run single off shortstop Starlin Castro’s glove with two out in the ninth to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs and a day-night doubleheader sweep on Tuesday.

The Brewers pulled out the nightcap after a 6-5 victory in which they lost starter Yovani Gallardo to a tight left hamstring.

In the second game, they got six scoreless innings from Tyler Thornburg and a leadoff homer from Juan Francisco in the fifth. But they had to rally after David DeJesus delivered a two-run double off Burke Badenhop following a pair of errors in the seventh.

Chicago took a 2-1 lead to the ninth, but closer Kevin Gregg (2-3) couldn’t hold it.

PADRES 4, REDS 2

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Nick Hundley hit a two-run double with two outs in the eighth inning and San Diego handed Cincinnati its fifth straight loss.

Will Venable, who scored the go-ahead run on Hundleys’ hit, went 3 for 3 with a walk, a run scored and an RBI.

Venable singled to right with one out in the eighth against Manny Parra (1-2). Sam LeCure came on and allowed a single to rookie Jedd Gyorko before striking out pinch-hitter Chris Denorfia. Hundley then doubled down the left-field line.

Parra hadn’t allowed a run since June 7, a streak of 19 games.

Dale Thayer (1-3) pitched 1 1-3 innings for the win. Huston Street pitched the ninth for his 20th save in 21 chances.

Cincinnati’s Mat Latos and San Diego’s Edinson Volquez were matched up for the second time since being part of a five-player trade between the clubs on Dec. 17, 2011. Neither got a decision.

INTERLEAGUE

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mark Ellis singled in the winning run in the ninth inning, lifting Los Angeles to the victory over New York.

With two out, Ellis lofted the ball over the head of leaping shortstop Derek Jeter to score Andre Ethier, who singled and stole second.

The Dodgers improved to 27-6 since June 21, their best stretch since going 29-5 during a 34-game run from Aug. 7-Sept. 9, 1953.

Kenley Jansen (4-3) pitched a perfect ninth with two strikeouts to earn the win.

Shawn Kelley (3-1) took the loss in relief in the Yankees’ third-ever series at Dodger Stadium and first since June 2010.

Yankees starter Andy Pettitte gave up two runs and eight hits in seven innings, struck out three and walked none.

Dodgers starter Zack Greinke allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings, struck out seven and walked none.

MLB – NL Roundup: Andrew McCutchen’s HR helps Pirates complete doubleheader sweep of Cards is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

(Pittsburgh Pirates’ Russell Martin (55) singles off St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Trevor Rosenthal, driving in the go-ahead run during the eighth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh Wednesday, July 31, 2013. The Pirates won 5-4. AP)

(PhatzRadio / AP) — PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Andrew McCutchen clubbed his 15th homer of the season and the Pittsburgh Pirates completed a doubleheader sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals with 6-0 victory Tuesday night.

Brandon Cumpton (1-1) allowed three hits over seven innings to pick up his first major league win. The sweep propelled the Pirates into first place in the NL Central. Pittsburgh is a season-high 22 games over .500 (64-42).

Tyler Lyons (2-4) gave up four runs, three earned, in six innings. The rookie struck out five and walked one, but received no help from a reeling offence. The Cardinals have dropped six straight and have scored five runs in their last 56 innings.

St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina left in the fourth inning with a right knee strain.

The Pirates took the opener 2-1 in 11 innings when Alex Presley’s sharp grounder deflected off the glove of pitcher Kevin Siegrist and rolled into shallow left field, allowing Pittsburgh’s Russell Martin to score from second.

BRAVES 11, ROCKIES 3

ATLANTA (AP) — Freddie Freeman hit two home runs, Brian McCann added a three-run shot and Atlanta beat Colorado to win its fifth straight game.

The Braves, who scored 10 unanswered runs, moved 10 games ahead of second-place Washington on the NL East. They lead the majors with a 36-15 home record.

Freeman had four RBIs with his first multihomer game this season and fourth of his career.

Rookie Alex Wood (1-2) earned his first career victory after allowing six hits, three runs, one walk while striking out seven in seven innings.

Juan Nicasio (6-5) allowed 10 hits, a season-high eight runs, three walks and struck out four in four innings. Colorado has lost 16 of 19 series games against Atlanta.

PHILLIES 7, GIANTS 3

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Carlos Ruiz and Michael Young hit two-run homers to back John Lannan, and Philadelphia beat San Francisco to snap an eight-game losing streak.

The Phillies beat the New York Mets 13-8 in their first game after the All-Star break, but scored a total of 14 in the next eight losses to drop out of contention.

The defending World Series champion Giants have lost five in a row and eight of nine. They came off a 3-7 homestand that left them in last place in the NL West.

Lannan (3-4) allowed three runs and seven hits in seven innings.

Barry Zito (4-8) gave up four runs and five hits in 3 1-3 innings. The 2002 AL Cy Young Award winner is 0-7 with a 9.97 ERA on the road.

METS 4, MARLINS 2, 10 INNINGS

MIAMI (AP) — Marlins reliever Chad Qualls took a tumble after escaping late trouble, but Miami stumbled in the 10th inning when John Buck hit a tiebreaking two-run single that lifted New York to victory.

Zack Wheeler took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and Juan Lagares had three hits and two RBIs for the Mets.

Donovan Solano and Jake Marisnick had consecutive RBI singles after Ed Lucas got Miami’s first hit with one out in the seventh to tie it 2-all.

Scott Atchison (1-0) pitched a scoreless ninth to earn the victory and Bobby Parnell pitched the 10th for his 22nd save in 26 opportunities.

Steve Cishek (3-6) allowed two runs and three hits in two innings.

BREWERS 6, CUBS 5, 1ST GAME; BREWERS 3, CUBS 2, 2ND GAME

CHICAGO (AP) — Jeff Bianchi delivered a two-run single off shortstop Starlin Castro’s glove with two out in the ninth to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs and a day-night doubleheader sweep on Tuesday.

The Brewers pulled out the nightcap after a 6-5 victory in which they lost starter Yovani Gallardo to a tight left hamstring.

In the second game, they got six scoreless innings from Tyler Thornburg and a leadoff homer from Juan Francisco in the fifth. But they had to rally after David DeJesus delivered a two-run double off Burke Badenhop following a pair of errors in the seventh.

Chicago took a 2-1 lead to the ninth, but closer Kevin Gregg (2-3) couldn’t hold it.

PADRES 4, REDS 2

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Nick Hundley hit a two-run double with two outs in the eighth inning and San Diego handed Cincinnati its fifth straight loss.

Will Venable, who scored the go-ahead run on Hundleys’ hit, went 3 for 3 with a walk, a run scored and an RBI.

Venable singled to right with one out in the eighth against Manny Parra (1-2). Sam LeCure came on and allowed a single to rookie Jedd Gyorko before striking out pinch-hitter Chris Denorfia. Hundley then doubled down the left-field line.

Parra hadn’t allowed a run since June 7, a streak of 19 games.

Dale Thayer (1-3) pitched 1 1-3 innings for the win. Huston Street pitched the ninth for his 20th save in 21 chances.

Cincinnati’s Mat Latos and San Diego’s Edinson Volquez were matched up for the second time since being part of a five-player trade between the clubs on Dec. 17, 2011. Neither got a decision.

INTERLEAGUE

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mark Ellis singled in the winning run in the ninth inning, lifting Los Angeles to the victory over New York.

With two out, Ellis lofted the ball over the head of leaping shortstop Derek Jeter to score Andre Ethier, who singled and stole second.

The Dodgers improved to 27-6 since June 21, their best stretch since going 29-5 during a 34-game run from Aug. 7-Sept. 9, 1953.

Kenley Jansen (4-3) pitched a perfect ninth with two strikeouts to earn the win.

Shawn Kelley (3-1) took the loss in relief in the Yankees’ third-ever series at Dodger Stadium and first since June 2010.

Yankees starter Andy Pettitte gave up two runs and eight hits in seven innings, struck out three and walked none.

Dodgers starter Zack Greinke allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings, struck out seven and walked none.

MLB – NL Roundup: Pirates rally to beat Cardinals 5-4 is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

(St. Louis Cardinals’ Tony Cruz (48) hits into a bases loaded double play, and Cards’ Jon Jay scores from third during the third inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013. The Cardinals won 13-0. AP)

(PhatzRadio / AP) — PITTSBURGH — Joe Kelly and the St. Louis Cardinals averted a five-game sweep at Pittsburgh, ending a season-worst seven-game losing streak by routing the Pirates 13-0 Thursday night in a matchup between the NL’s top two teams.

St. Louis began the series with a 2½-game lead in the NL Central but left with the Pirates ahead by 1½ games. The Cardinals avoided their first sweep in a set of at least five games since 1916, when the New York Giants took all six games.

Pittsburgh had won the previous four games at PNC Park by a combined score of 36-10.

Kelly (2-3) pitched six scoreless innings and had two hits. Tony Cruz added three hits, including a two-run double during an eight-run seventh inning.

Charlie Morton (3-3) gave up five runs and 10 hits in six innings. He is 2-8 in his career against St. Louis.

BRAVES 11, ROCKIES 2

ATLANTA — Justin Upton drove in five runs with two homers, Julio Teheran matched his career high with 11 strikeouts, and Atlanta beat Colorado for its seventh straight win.

Jason Heyward added a two-run homer, and Chris Johnson had three hits as the Braves completed a four-game sweep of the Rockies. The Braves outscored the Rockies 31-5 in the last three games of the series.

Atlanta’s 7-0 homestand also included three wins over St. Louis.

The NL East-leading Braves stretched their lead over Washington to 11½ games.

Teheran (8-5) struck out the side in the third and fifth innings. He lasted only five innings, allowing one run and five hits and two walks, in his third straight start of allowing no more than one run.

Colorado’s Chad Bettis (0-1), called up from Double-A Tulsa for his major league debut, allowed five runs and six hits and five walks in five innings.

GIANTS 2, PHILLIES 1

PHILADELPHIA — Joaquin Arias and pinch-hitter Roger Kieschnick had RBI singles off Jonathan Papelbon in the top of the ninth inning, then Sergio Romo escaped a bases-loaded jam in the bottom half as San Francisco beat Philadelphia.

Matt Cain (7-6) gave up one run and six hits in eight innings. The struggling ace lowered his ERA to 4.57.

Cole Hamels allowed seven hits and struck out five in eight scoreless innings. He left with a 1-0 lead that he gave himself with an RBI single.

Then Papelbon (2-1) blew it — a familiar scene for the 2012 All-Star closer. He started the season 13 for 13 in save opportunities, but is 7 for 13 since. He heard loud boos throughout the inning and when he walked to the dugout.

The Phillies are 2-10 since the All-Star break and have dropped to 9½ games behind Cincinnati for the second wild-card spot in the NL.

MARLINS 3, METS 0

MIAMI — Tom Koehler pitched six effective innings, and Miami stalled Matt Harvey once again, beating the New York Mets.

Logan Morrison’s two-out single broke a scoreless tie in the sixth. Donovan Solano added a two-run single later in the inning.

Harvey (8-3) allowed three runs and five hits in 5 2-3 innings. The NL’s All-Star starter struck out eight.

Harvey’s three shortest outings this season have come at Marlins Park. The All-Star is 0-1 with a 3.52 ERA in four starts against the Marlins this season while going 8-2 with a 1.97 ERA against the rest of the majors.

The Marlins are the lowest-scoring team in the majors and have the worst record in the NL.

Koehler (3-6) gave up five hits, walked five and struck out five. A.J. Ramos pitched two innings, and Steve Cishek worked the ninth for his 23rd save in 25 chances.

It was the first time the Mets had been shut out since May 25 against Atlanta.

DODGERS 6, CUBS 4

CHICAGO — Yasiel Puig hit a long home run and scored two runs to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Chicago Cubs.

Hanley Ramirez and Jerry Hairston each drove in two runs for the Dodgers, who got a win a night after having a four-game winning streak snapped. Los Angeles is 11-2 since the All-Star break.

Junior Lake and Anthony Rizzo each homered twice for the Cubs, who lost for the fourth time in five games. Chicago had only five hits.

Dodgers starter Ricky Nolasco (7-9) allowed three solo home runs and lasted just five innings, but earned the win. Kenley Jansen pitched a perfect ninth to earn his 15th save.

Cubs starter Chris Rusin (1-1) was sharp in the fourth and fifth innings, but appeared to get tired in the sixth. He was pulled after allowing a single and a walk to the first two batters.

MLB – NL Roundup: Tony Cruz has 3 hits; Cardinals rout Pirates, 13-0 is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

Washington Nationals’ Bryce Harper (34) points at Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Julio Teheran as he takes first base after being hit by a pitch during the fifth inning of a baseball game at Nationals Park on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2013, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

(PhatzRadio / AP) — WASHINGTON — Hit by a pitch two innings after homering, Bryce Harper jawed and pointed at Atlanta’s Julio Teheran, and the dugouts and bullpens emptied, but the only haymakers thrown during the NL East-leading Braves’ 2-1 victory over the Nationals on Tuesday night came from the teams’ Twitter feeds.

Evan Gattis’ two-run single in the fifth inning and the six innings thrown by Teheran (9-5) while allowing one run combined to produce Atlanta’s season-high 12th consecutive win, padding their NL East lead to 14½ games over Washington.

Gattis’ big hit came off Gio Gonzalez (7-5), who pitched one night after Major League Baseball announced its Biogenesis investigation cleared the left-hander.

CARDINALS 5, DODGERS 1

ST. LOUIS — Carlos Beltran and Matt Adams homered in the eighth inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals snapped the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 15-game road winning streak with a 5-1 victory on Tuesday night.

Joe Kelly pitched into the sixth inning, outperforming Clayton Kershaw and helping St. Louis to its fourth victory in the last six games. Tony Cruz added an RBI single.

Adrian Gonzalez hit a one-out RBI single off Kelly (3-3) in the sixth, but that was it for Los Angeles against the right-hander. He left with runners on first and second and the Cardinals nursing a 2-1 lead.

Kershaw (10-7) allowed two runs and six hits in six innings for Los Angeles, which dropped to 15-3 since the All-Star break. The left-hander is 5-2 with a sparkling 1.62 ERA over his last eight starts.

PIRATES 4, MARLINS 3

PITTSBURGH — Josh Harrison homered leading off the bottom of the ninth, lifting the Pirates to a win over the Marlins.

Harrison sent a fastball from Miami’s Mike Dunn (2-3) into the first row of seats in left-center field for his first career walk-off homer.

Dunn had worked out of a bases loaded, no-out jam in the eighth.

Bryan Morris (5-4) pitched a perfect top of the ninth for the victory. The Pirates have won three straight and are a season-high 24 games over .500 (68-44).

Neil Walker had three hits for the Pirates. Andrew McCutchen had two hits, including a two-run double, for Pittsburgh.

PHILLIES 9, CUBS 8

PHILADELPHIA — Darin Ruf and Chase Utley sparked a three-run fifth inning to lift the Phillies to a 9-8 win over the Cubs.

Utley, who had three hits, drove in the tying run on a triple to deep center field. He soon scored on Domonic Brown’s groundout to give the Phillies the lead. Ruf added one more on a solo home run, his fourth of the season.

Philadelphia tagged Edwin Jackson (7-12) for seven runs and 10 hits in six innings.

Trailing 9-5 in the ninth, the Cubs scored three runs off Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon before pinch-hitter Thomas Neal flew out with men on the corners to end it.

Kyle Kendrick (10-8) allowed five runs and six hits in six innings. He also had an RBI single.

METS 3, ROCKIES 2

NEW YORK — Eric Young made a diving catch to take a go-ahead hit away from Todd Helton in the sixth inning, then raced home with the tiebreaking run in the eighth, and the Mets beat the Rockies.

The Rockies have lost 12 of 18 since the All-Star break and have scored five runs in their last three games.

LaTroy Hawkins got his first save since May 6, 2012, for the Angels.

Scott Atchison (2-0) pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

Eric Young led off the eighth with a single against Wilton Lopez (1-4). He was able to take second on Marlon Byrd’s deep fly, putting him in position to make it home on Juan Lagares’ infield single, a slow chopper to second base, that he just barely beat out.

Young sped up as he rounded third and beat the throw home.

BREWERS 3, GIANTS 1

SAN FRANCISCO — Carlos Gomez homered, Wily Peralta outdueled Matt Cain to end a three-start winless stretch and the Brewers beat the Giants.

Gomez hit his 18th homer in the second as the Brewers jumped on Cain (7-7) early. Jonathan Lucroy added a ninth-inning sacrifice fly.

Peralta (8-11) struck out six of nine batters during an early sequence and finished with six Ks in 6 1-3 innings for his first career victory against the Giants.

___

INTERLEAGUE

REDS 3, ATHLETICS 1

CINCINNATI — Jay Bruce homered and made a run-saving catch on the warning track, and Mat Latos pitched into the eighth inning against Oakland’s slumping lineup, leading the Reds to a victory over the Athletics.

The Reds had dropped seven of nine and were coming off what players called an embarrassing weekend against St. Louis — losses of 13-3 and 15-2.

They found an American League team struggling even more. The West-leading Athletics have lost five of six.

Latos (11-3) allowed four hits through 7 1-3 shutout innings, leaving him 3-0 in his last four starts.

Bruce hit his 23rd homer off Dan Straily (6-6), who has lost his last four starts. The right fielder also went a long way to run down Josh Reddick’s fly ball to the warning track in the fourth, saving a run.

DIAMONDBACKS 6, RAYS 1

PHOENIX — Cody Ross homered and Wade Miley allowed five hits in seven innings to help the Diamondbacks beat the Rays.

Miley (9-8) allowed one run, struck out five and walked two for his fifth win in his past six starts.

Eric Chavez had a pair of RBI doubles for the Diamondbacks, who pulled within five games of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.

Jeremy Hellickson (10-5) failed to pitch past the fifth inning for the second straight outing for the Rays, both against the Diamondbacks.

Hellickson gave up five runs and five hits and three walks, hit a batter and struck out one as the Rays slipped 1 1-2 games behind Boston in the AL East.

ORIOLES 4, PADRES 1

SAN DIEGO — Adam Jones tied his career high with four hits, including a home run, drove in two runs and scored twice against his hometown Padres as the Orioles beat San Diego.

Bud Norris (8-9) won his second straight start since joining the Orioles, holding San Diego to one run and five hits in six innings.

Jones homered into the balcony on the second level of the Western Metal Supply Co. brick warehouse in the left field corner at Petco Park leading off the fourth off Edinson Volquez. It was his 23rd.

Jones singled in the first to bring in Nate McClouth, aboard on a leadoff double. He singled and scored on Chris Davis’ double in the eighth.

Jim Johnson pitched the ninth for his 39th save, tops in the majors.

Edison Volquez (9-8) allowed two runs and six hits in six innings, struck out six and walked two.

MLB – NL Roundup: Atlanta extends winning streak to 12; beat Nationals is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

(Los Angeles Dodgers’ Yasiel Puig follows through on a game-winning solo home run in the eighth inning during a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2013 in Miami. The Dodgers defeated the Marlins 6-4. AP)

(PhatzRadio / AP) — MIAMI — With his first swing of the night, Yasiel Puig ended a slump and silenced speculation he’s in trouble.

He came off the bench to hit a tiebreaking home run in the eighth inning and help the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Miami Marlins 6-4 on Tuesday night.

Puig was held out of the starting lineup after going hitless in his past 11 at-bats. He also drew a fine when he arrived late for pregame drills, raising more questions about the 22-year-old’s maturity and comportment.

He entered in the sixth inning in a double switch, batted for the first time leading off the eighth and needed only one pitch to break a 4-all tie.

The NL West leaders broke a two-game losing streak, their longest in two months. They won despite blowing a 4-1 lead and hitting into four double plays.

METS 5, BRAVES 3

NEW YORK — Rookie Zack Wheeler beat NL East-leading Atlanta for the third time, pitching shutout ball into the seventh inning and sending New York to victory.

Wheeler improved to 3-0 this year against the team with the best record in the majors. Helped by his midseason promotion from Triple-A, the Mets hold an 8-7 edge over the Braves.

Marlon Byrd and Ike Davis homered and speedy Eric Young Jr. sparked the Mets, stealing two bases, scoring twice and making a diving catch in left field. Catcher Travis d’Arnaud doubled for his first hit in the majors, ending an 0-for-10 rut.

Wheeler (6-2), raised in the Atlanta suburbs, defeated the Braves at Turner Field in his big league debut in June, then topped them at Citi Field in July.

ROCKIES 5, PHILLIES 3

PHILADELPHIA — Troy Tulowitzki and Wilin Rosario homered to lead Colorado past Philadelphia.

Jorge De La Rosa (13-6) pitched into the seventh to win his third straight start. Dexter Fowler also drove in a run to help the Rockies jump out to a 5-0 lead.

Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado made a fantastic backhanded stop and in-the-air throw to first in the seventh inning to rob Jimmy Rollins of a run-scoring hit.

Rafael Betancourt tossed a scoreless ninth for his 16th save.

Tyler Cloyd (2-3) allowed five runs in six innings in his first major league start since June 12.

DIAMONDBACKS 5, REDS 2

CINCINNATI — Paul Goldschmidt set a club record with his third grand slam of the season and became the first NL player to drive in 100 runs, powering Arizona over Cincinnati.

Goldschmidt connected in the eighth inning off J.J. Hoover, ending the reliever’s streak of 23 scoreless appearances. His 31st homer tied him with Pittsburgh’s Pedro Alvarez for the NL lead. All of his career grand slams have come this season.

Left-hander Patrick Corbin (13-3) stymied Cincinnati’s lefty-dominated lineup, pitching a six-hitter, including Chris Heisey’s two-run homer, during his second complete game. Corbin matched his career high with 10 strikeouts.

The left-hander shut down the Reds’ left-handed threats — Shin-Soo Choo, Joey Votto and Jay Bruce were a combined 0 for 12 with seven strikeouts.

NATIONALS 4, CUBS 2

CHICAGO — Ryan Zimmerman had two hits and drove in a run, Bryce Harper had two hits and scored a crucial ninth-inning run, and Dan Haren pitched six strong innings to help Washington beat Chicago.

Zimmerman had two doubles and could have had four hits as he lined out to third base in the third inning to start a double play and hit a hard shot at the center-fielder in the seventh.

Haren (8-11) kept the Cubs off-balance despite not throwing a pitch faster than 89 all night. Rafael Soriano gave up a leadoff homer to Donnie Murphy in the ninth before getting the last three outs for his 32nd save in 38 chances.

Cubs starter Chris Rusin (2-3) gave up two runs and 10 hits in 5 2-3 innings.

BREWERS 6, CARDINALS 3

MILWAUKEE — Kyle Lohse beat St. Louis for the first time this season and Sean Halton knocked in a career-high three runs to help lead Milwaukee to victory.

Lohse (9-8) beat the Cardinals in his fourth try this season and improved to 3-5 in nine outings overall against his former team.

Lohse left after six innings with the Brewers leading 6-3. He struck out four, walked two and allowed six hits and three runs, two coming on Yadier Molina’s two-run homer in the fourth. Molina also doubled and scored in the second on Matt Adams’ single.

John Axford and Brandon Kintzler each pitched a scoreless inning, and Jim Henderson pitched the ninth for his 19th save in 22 chances.

Lance Lynn (13-7) got roughed up in the Brewers’ five-run fourth, highlighted by Halton’s two-run single with the bases loaded.

PIRATES 8, PADRES 1

SAN DIEGO — A.J. Burnett threw seven strong innings and Pittsburgh had six extra-base hits, including Neil Walker’s home run, to beat San Diego.

Burnett (6-8) held the Padres to one run and four hits, struck out seven and walked one. He bounced back from two starts in which he allowed 10 earned runs and 16 hits in 10 innings.

The right-hander improved to 2-5 lifetime against the Padres. His only previous victory against San Diego was a no-hitter on May 12, 2001, while with the Marlins. Burnett walked nine that night.

The Pirates opened a two-game lead in the NL Central over St. Louis, which lost 6-3 at Milwaukee.

The Padres have lost 10 of 14 and tied their season high by dropping 17½ games behind the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.

MLB – NL Roundup: Yasiel Puig ends slump; Dodgers beat Marlins, 6-4 is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

(St. Louis Cardinals’ David Freese follows through on an RBI-single during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves.AP)

(PnatzRadio / AP) — ST. LOUIS — Joe Kelly pitched six effective innings, Matt Holliday broke out of a slump with two doubles and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Atlanta Braves 6-2 on Thursday night.

David Freese drove in two runs as St. Louis won for the fifth time in six games.

The NL East-leading Braves played without Jason Heyward, one day after he broke right jaw after he was beaned during a win at the New York Mets. The outfielder had surgery on Thursday and could miss the rest of the regular season.

Justin Upton hit his 24th homer for the Braves, and Paul Maholm (9-10) came off the disabled list and allowed five runs, four earned, and five hits in 5 1-3 innings.

Kelly (5-3) yielded two runs and seven hits while improving to 5-0 with a 1.79 ERA in his last seven starts. Holliday went 2 for 3 and drove in a run, after going 2 for 24 over his previous six games.

DODGERS 6, MARLINS 0

MIAMI (AP) — Clayton Kershaw pitched eight strong innings, and the Dodgers won their third game in a row.

Kershaw (13-7) allowed five hits, struck out six and walked three while lowering his ERA to a major league-best 1.72. The Marlins hit into three double plays and went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position.

Former All-Star closer Brian Wilson pitched the ninth for Los Angeles in his first appearance since undergoing Tommy John surgery. He allowed one hit while striking out two in his first game since April 2012.

The Dodgers lead the majors with 17 shutouts, and Miami was blanked for the 15th time.

Kershaw had a two-out single in the fourth to drive in the first of the Dodgers’ three runs in the inning. He is tied for the major league lead among pitchers with eight RBIs.

Henderson Alvarez (2-3) went five innings and allowed five runs, all scoring with two outs.

PHILLIES 5, ROCKIES 4

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Domonic Brown hit a game-ending RBI single to lift the Phillies to their second come-from-behind win in as many days.

The Phillies scored twice in the eighth and twice in the ninth, winning for the fourth time in five games to improve to 4-3 under interim manager Ryne Sandberg.

Colorado carried a 4-3 lead into the ninth, but Rafael Betancourt (2-5) blew a save opportunity for the second straight game and the third time in 19 chances. He recorded two outs before departing with a sprained right elbow.

Cesar Jimenez (1-0) pitched a scoreless ninth for the victory.

Willin Rosario homered for Colorado, which has dropped five of six. The Rockies have won nine of 39 games against Philadelphia since the start of the 2008 season.

Darin Ruf went deep for the Phillies.

REDS 2, DIAMONDBACKS 1

CINCINNATI (AP) — Shin-Soo Choo scored in the eighth inning on Arizona’s fourth wild pitch of the game, and Cincinnati raced to an improbable win.

Choo scored both Cincinnati runs, helping the Reds to their third win in the four-game series. Cincinnati improved to a season-high 18 games over .500 and increased its lead over Arizona to seven games for the NL’s second wild-card playoff spot.

Choo singled to lead off the eighth against reliever Eury De La Rosa (0-1) and moved to second when De La Rosa’s pickoff attempt rolled away from first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. Todd Frazier sacrificed Choo to third, and Choo scored when ball four to Joey Votto was a wild pitch.

Mat Latos (13-4) went eight innings and Sam LeCure gave up two hits in the ninth, but earned his first career save.

Arizona starter Trevor Cahill, in his second start since coming off the disabled list, allowed four hits and one run. He walked three, struck out seven and threw three wild pitches — all in the third inning.

NATIONALS 5, CUBS 4, 13 INNINGS

CHICAGO (AP) — Denard Span scored the go-ahead run on pinch-hitter Chad Tracy’s grounder in the 13th inning, and Washington beat the Chicago Cubs after Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg blew a three-run lead in the ninth.

Span doubled leading off the 13th against Michael Bowden (1-3), moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Steve Lombardozzi and scored on Tracy’s roller to the first-base side of the mound.

Craig Stammen (7-5) pitched two innings for the win and Drew Storen got the last three outs for his third save in eight chances. Storen deflected Dioner Navarro’s liner toward Lombardozzi to start a game-ending double play after Anthony Rizzo reached on a throwing error by the second baseman with one out.

After a 2-hour rain delay at the start, Strasburg was one out away from a complete game with a 4-1 lead before Chicago rallied to tie as Junior Lake had an RBI single, and Donnie Murphy hit a two-run homer.

PIRATES 10, GIANTS 5

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Garrett Jones and Jordy Mercer homered, Jose Tabata hit a three-run double, and NL Central-leading Pittsburgh beat San Francisco.

Pedro Alvarez hit a go-ahead, two-run double to start a seven-run fifth and matched his career high for RBIs in a season with 85. Russell Martin and Gaby Sanchez added sacrifice flies and Tabata had a three-run double in his second plate appearance of the inning.

Marco Scutaro had a tying two-run single in the fourth for San Francisco after scoring in the third on Buster Posey’s sacrifice fly.

Giants right-hander Matt Cain left in the fourth inning after getting hit on his pitching arm on a line drive by Sanchez. He sustained a contusion on his forearm and X-rays were negative.

MLB – NL Roundup: St. Louis Cardinals beat the Atlanta Braves 6-2 on Thursday night. is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

Arizona Diamondbacks’ Adam Eaton scores as Philadelphia Phillies’ pitcher Casper Wells watches in the eighteenth inning of an MLB National League baseball game Sunday, Aug. 25, 2013, in Philadelphia. The Diamondbacks won 12-7. (H. Rumph Jr)

(PhatzRadio / AP) — PHILADELPHIA — Adam Eaton hit a go-ahead double in the 18th inning and the Arizona Diamondbacks outlasted the Philadelphia Phillies 12-7 in a record-setting, marathon game for both clubs Saturday night.

The teams combined to use 20 pitchers in a contest that ended at 2:12 a.m. and took 7 hours, 6 minutes — setting a mark for length of game for both teams.

The Phillies began the 18th with outfielder Casper Wells (0-1) on the mound. After retiring the first two batters, Wells walked Tony Campana to start Arizona’s five-run inning. With Campana running, Eaton lined a double to left-center to put Arizona in front 8-7.

After Wells intentionally walked Paul Goldschmidt, Martin Prado drove in Eaton with a single to right to give the Diamondbacks a two-run advantage. Gerardo Parra broke the game open with a two-run single that spelled the end for Wells, who was replaced by another position player, infielder John McDonald.

CARDINALS 6, BRAVES 2

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Rookie Shelby Miller worked seven innings of three-hit ball, Matt Carpenter and Carlos Beltran each homered and St. Louis beat Atlanta for the third straight time.

Freddie Freeman homered for the NL East-leading Braves, who totaled five runs while dropping three in a row for the first time since July 3-5. Julio Teheran (10-7) allowed a season-worst five walks and was charged with four runs.

Miller (12-8) worked more than six innings for the first time in 13 starts since June 1. He struck out six without walking a batter while pitching with no more than a one-run cushion against a fellow 22-year-old right-hander. Center fielder Jon Jay made a leaping catch at the wall to rob Brian McCann of at least extra bases in the seventh.

The Cardinals, who began the night a game back in the NL Central, go for a four-game sweep Sunday with Lance Lynn (13-7) opposing Mike Minor (12-5).

REDS 6, BREWERS 3

CINCINNATI (AP) — Ryan Ludwick hit his first homer since last October, another indication his swing is coming around, and Zack Cozart had a tiebreaking two-run shot, powering the Reds to a victory over the Brewers.

The Reds had four homers among their 14 hits while evening their series at a game apiece. Cincinnati has won 13 of its last 18 overall, tightening the NL Central race.

Bronson Arroyo (13-9) won his fourth straight start by allowing three runs, including Caleb Gindl’s pinch-hit homer leading off the eighth. The right-hander hasn’t walked a batter in his last 29 2-3 innings.

Aroldis Chapman pitched the ninth for his 33rd save in 38 chances. The left-hander hit a batter and fanned three with a fastball that repeatedly registered 102 mph.

Ludwick and Cozart connected in the sixth inning off John Axford (6-7), who failed to hold a 2-1 lead. Joey Votto added his 19th homer an inning later off Michael Gonzalez, and Cozart singled for his third RBI.

MARLINS 3, ROCKIES 0

MIAMI (AP) — Rookie Jose Fernandez struck out eight in seven innings, leading the Marlins to a win over the Rockies.

Fernandez (10-5) allowed four hits and did not walk a batter as he lowered his ERA to 2.30. Fernandez has been one of the best pitchers in the Majors since June 1, compiling a 1.52 ERA and 112 strikeouts in 15 starts.

A.J. Ramos pitched the eighth and Steve Cishek earned his 28th save in 30 chances.

Todd Helton had two hits for the Rockies to move into 96th place on the career hit list with 2,496 in 17 seasons, all with Colorado.

The Marlins scored three runs in the fourth off Jeff Manship (0-4).

GIANTS 6, PIRATES 3

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Buster Posey had three hits, Pablo Sandoval drove in two runs and the Giants beat the Pirates.

Tim Lincecum pitched into the sixth inning after two rocky starts for his first win in more than two weeks. The former two-time NL Cy Young winner walked four but struck out eight and pitched out of trouble in back-to-back innings before giving way to the bullpen.

The Giants did most of the damage in the first inning when they batted around and scored four times off Pirates starter Francisco Liriano (14-6).

Tony Sanchez hit his first career home run for Pittsburgh, which dropped into a first-place tie with St. Louis in the NL Central.

CUBS 3, PADRES 2

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Jeff Samardzija pitched eight impressive innings and Darwin Barney homered and drove in two runs as the Cubs beat the Padres.

In his second straight solid outing, Samardzija (8-11) limited the damage to one run in the eighth inning when the Padres twice loaded the bases and cut the lead to one run.

Samardzija allowed two runs on seven hits. The right-hander struck out seven and walked two.

The light-hitting Barney, who had three hits, connected for a solo shot in the fifth inning and added a go-ahead RBI double in the Cubs’ two-run seventh.

INTERLEAGUE

TIGERS 3, METS 0

NEW YORK (AP) — Max Scherzer outpitched Matt Harvey in their All-Star rematch, striking out 11 and hitting a stunning RBI double that sent the Tigers to a victory over the Mets.

Scherzer (19-1) joined Rube Marquard in 1912 and Roger Clemens in 2001 as the only major league pitchers to win 19 of their first 20 decisions in a season.

Andy Dirks had three hits off Harvey (9-5), who gave up a career-high 13 against Detroit’s powerful lineup. He pitched out of trouble to keep the Mets in the game, but they lost for the fifth time in his last six starts.

Missing injured slugger David Wright, the Mets have managed only two runs during a three-game skid. They were outhit 15-3 in this one.

RED SOX 4, DODGERS 2

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jon Lester pitched three-hit ball into the eighth inning, Jonny Gomes’ three-run homer capped a four-run first, and the Red Sox beat Los Angeles, snapping the Dodgers’ four-game winning streak.

The Red Sox began the day percentage points behind Tampa Bay for first in the AL East. They won at Dodger Stadium for the first time in five games dating to their first visit in 2002, when they were swept in three games.

Lester (12-7) gave up one run in 7 1-3 innings, struck out six and walked four.

Koji Uehara got the final four outs to earn his 13th save in 16 chances.

MLB – NL Roundup: Diamondbacks outlast Phillies 12-7 in 18 innings is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

(File Photo – ESPN)

(PhatzRadio / AP) — NEW YORK — Philadelphia’s Cliff Lee outpitched Zack Wheeler after the Mets learned All-Star starter Matt Harvey has a partially torn ligament in his right elbow, Cody Asche had a two-run triple, and the Phillies beat New York 2-1 Monday night.

Lee (11-3) gave a bullpen taxed by an 18-inning loss Saturday a much-needed rest. He allowed a run and five hits in eight innings to win for the first time in seven starts since July 5.

Asche hit his first major league triple — with two outs in the fourth — as the Phillies improved to 7-4 under new manager Ryne Sandberg and won for the second time in 15 road games.

The Mets lost their fifth straight and dropped into fourth place in the NL East.

Jonathan Papelbon was perfect in the ninth for his 22nd save in 28 opportunities.

Wheeler (6-3) worked 6 2-3 impressive innings in his 13th big league start. New York lost for just the second time in his last 10 outings. The rising star gave up two runs and five hits, and threw 105 pitches.

DODGERS 6, CUBS 2

LOS ANGELES — Zack Greinke came within one strike of his fifth career shutout, Hanley Ramirez and Yasiel Puig homered, and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Chicago Cubs, ending a two-game skid.

The Cubs lost for the eighth straight time to the Dodgers, including a four-game sweep at Wrigley Field earlier this month. The Dodgers equaled their longest winning streak against the Cubs in franchise history, set from June 9, 1974-May 19, 1975.

Greinke (13-3) tied his season high with nine strikeouts and he walked two while improving to 5-0 this month. The right-hander has won 10 of 11 decisions since June 22.

Greinke had a two-out hit in the fourth that scored the Dodgers’ first run.

After giving up a single to Starlin Castro to open the game, Greinke retired the next 13 batters before Donnie Murphy singled in the fifth.

Greinke got the first two outs of the ninth before running into trouble. Brian Bogusevic’s RBI double scored Chicago’s two runs. Brian Wilson came in to strike out Murphy for the final out.

Jake Arrieta (1-1) gave up four runs and six hits in five-plus innings in his first road start for the Cubs.

CARDINALS 8, REDS 6

ST. LOUIS — Allen Craig hit his first career grand slam with two outs in the seventh inning, helping St. Louis rally to beat Cincinnati.

Matt Holliday also had a long three-run homer as St. Louis moved into sole possession of first place in the NL Central for the first time since July 29. The Cardinals lead idle Pittsburgh by a half-game and Cincinnati by 3½ games.

Rookie Carlos Martinez (1-1) pitched two innings for his first major league win, and Edward Mujica worked a perfect ninth for his 35th save.

Zack Cozart had two hits and three RBIs for the Reds, who dropped to 4-9 against St. Louis this season. Jay Bruce hit his 25th homer in the eighth.

Cozart and Todd Frazier both hit two-run triples off Tyler Lyons in the second, helping Cincinnati build a 4-0 lead. Holliday homered in the third.

The Cardinals went ahead to stay in the seventh. Jon Jay drove in a run with a bases-loaded grounder off Manny Parra (1-3). J.J. Hoover then walked Holliday, and Craig drove the next pitch over the wall in right for his 13th homer.

ROCKIES 6, GIANTS 1

DENVER — Todd Helton homered to move within three hits of 2,500, and Colorado beat San Francisco.

Juan Nicasio tossed six shutout innings and added an RBI single, and Charlie Blackmon also homered for the Rockies.

Buster Posey singled and reached base for the 49th straight game against Colorado.

The Rockies began a nine-game, 10-day homestand with a strong performance against lefty Barry Zito (4-10), who has struggled away from home this season. Zito allowed five runs and nine hits and struck out one in four innings in his second start since being put back into the rotation. He is 0-8 with a 9.61 ERA on the road this season.

Nicasio (8-6) tied a season high with nine strikeouts and allowed four hits. He worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning and pitched around two hit-batters before leaving after 95 pitches.

The Giants spoiled the shutout attempt on Joaquin Arias’ two-out RBI double off Jeff Francis in the ninth.

DIAMONDBACKS 6, PADRES 1

PHOENIX — Brandon McCarthy turned in seven strong innings, and Paul Goldschmidt drove in two runs to lead Arizona over San Diego.

After a shaky first inning, the 6-foot-7 McCarthy (3-8) allowed only four runners over his final six innings. It was his first win since he beat San Diego on May 28. His other victory was a shutout at Miami on May 18.

Goldschmidt stretched his NL-leading RBI total to 103 with his first triple of the season and a ground out. He has the most RBIs for an Arizona hitter since Luis Gonzalez drove in 104 in 2003.

Between the first inning and when he left the game, McCarthy allowed a one-out single in the third to Venable, a two-out single in the fourth to Chase Headley and a two-out single to opposing pitcher Tyson Ross (3-7) in the fifth.

MLB – NL Roundup: Mets lose after learning Harvey has torn UCL is a post from: PhatzRadio.com