WASHINGTON — Francisco Liriano didn’t allow a hit until the sixth inning against a struggling and depleted Nationals lineup, and Pedro Alvarez homered off Stephen Strasburg to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates past Washington 4-2 on Wednesday night.
WASHINGTON — Francisco Liriano didn’t allow a hit until the sixth inning against a struggling and depleted Nationals lineup, and Pedro Alvarez homered off Stephen Strasburg to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates past Washington 4-2 on Wednesday night.
The Nationals fell to 0-6 since the All-Star break — scoring a total of 13 runs in that span — and have lost 11 of 13.
Liriano (10-4) walked the first batter he faced, then retired 11 in a row before another walk. Five more outs followed, before rookie Anthony Rendon reached on what was ruled an infield single with two away in the sixth.
The Nationals wasted an exceptional outing from Strasburg (5-8), who struck out 12 and didn’t walk anyone in eight innings. He gave up only one run and two hits, all in the second inning. It was Strasburg’s ninth career game with 10 or more strikeouts.
The Pirates tacked on three runs in the ninth against Drew Storen and Fernando Abad.
Mark Melancon got the last three outs to earn his third save.
BRAVES 8, METS 2
NEW YORK — Tim Hudson took a shutout into the eighth inning before getting spiked at first base and carted off the field during Atlanta’s victory over the New York Mets.
Hudson has a broken right ankle and will undergo surgery in Atlanta once the swelling goes down.
Evan Gattis, Dan Uggla and Andrelton Simmons all homered off an ineffective Jeremy Hefner to help the Braves’ bats break loose after scoring only four runs in their previous three games.
BREWERS 3, PADRES 1
MILWAUKEE — Kyle Lohse pitched seven strong innings, and Carlos Gomez had four hits and drove in two runs to lead Milwaukee over San Diego.
It was the Brewers’ first win since left fielder Ryan Braun was suspended Monday for the remainder of the 2013 season for violating Major League Baseball’s drug policy.
Lohse (7-7) gave up five hits and struck out six. He is 6-1 over his past 11 starts with a 2.51 ERA.
CARDINALS 11, PHILLIES 3
ST. LOUIS — Jake Westbrook pitched seven solid innings and contributed offensively with his second career steal, leading St. Louis past Philadelphia.
Matt Adams had two hits and three RBIs, and Shane Robinson’s three-run triple in the fifth was his third hit of the game for the Cardinals (61-37), who are 4-1 since the All-Star break.
ROCKIES 2, MARLINS 1
DENVER — Jorge De La Rosa tossed six scoreless innings, Todd Helton doubled and scored a run, and Colorado held on to beat Miami.
Michael Cuddyer reached three times and Rex Brothers earned his sixth save in seven chances with a scoreless ninth.
REDS 8, GIANTS 3
SAN FRANCISCO — Mike Leake pitched six-plus innings of wildly effective ball and had the third three-hit game of his career, leading Cincinnati past San Francisco.
Leake (10-4) allowed a career-high 12 hits but gave up just one run. He also snapped an 0-for-26 skid — his longest hitless streak — with two singles and a double.
CUBS 7, D’BACKS 6 (12)
PHOENIX — Nate Schierholtz lined a two-out double into the left-field corner in the top of the 12th inning to drive in the go-ahead run, and the Chicago Cubs held on to defeat Arizona.
The RBI was the fifth of the night for Schierholtz, who also hit a three-run home run. The Cubs lost a six-run lead but went ahead for good in the 12th on a walk to Anthony Rizzo followed by Schierholtz’s double.