MLB: Cardinals end Brewers’ nine-game win streak
| Tuesday, April 15, 2014, 11 a.m.
MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Brewers’ nine-game winning streak was snapped Monday night when Lance Lynn struck out 11 in seven innings and Jon Jay hit a three-run homer for the St. Louis Cardinals in a 4-0 victory.
Lynn allowed three hits over seven innings before Carlos Martinez finished off the surprising Brewers, who still have the majors’ best record at 10-3. Lynn (3-0) frustrated hitters by mixing a fastball that topped 95 mph with a slider.
Jhonny Peralta hit a solo shot in the second off Brewers starter Matt Garza (0-2) before Jay sent a ball over the wall near the right field corner in the sixth.
BRAVES 9, PHILLIES 6
PHILADELPHIA — Dan Uggla hit two home runs, including a grand slam in the ninth inning that lifted the Atlanta Braves to a wild win over the Phillies.
Evan Gattis also homered twice and Uggla drove in five runs as the Braves won their fourth straight. The teams combined for five homers and 12 runs in the final two innings.
Gattis, Uggla and Andrelton Simmons hit consecutive homers in the eighth that put Atlanta ahead 5-1.
Domonic Brown’s three-run homer capped a five-run bottom of the eighth that gave the Phillies a 6-5 lead.
But the Braves rallied against Jake Diekman (1-1).
Luis Avilan (3-1) wound up with the win and David Carpenter got his first save.
Ryan Howard homered and Marlon Byrd drove in two runs for Philadelphia. Utley had two hits, and is batting .489 this season.
PIRATES 7, REDS 7, 6 INNINGS, SUSPENDED
CINCINNATI — Neil Walker and Gaby Sanchez hit back-to-back homers twice, and the Pirates and and Reds combined for 10 homers in only six innings before rain forced a suspension.
The game will be resumed in the top of the seventh inning Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
Pittsburgh hit six solo shots and Cincinnati had four homers, most of them into a heavy rain. Already, it’s the most homers in a major league game since 2006.
Pittsburgh had three sets of back-to-back homers, only the third time that’s happened in major league history.
NATIONALS 9, MARLINS 2
MIAMI — Jordan Zimmermann bounced back from the shortest start of his career to pitch seven innings and lead the Nationals to a win over the Marlins, who endured their eighth loss in a row.
Bryce Harper had two doubles and an RBI triple for Washington. He has batted .520 over his past seven games to boost his average to .348.
Catcher Sandy Leon hit his first career home run, while Tyler Moore also homered and had an RBI single. Anthony Rendon drove in three runs with a double and a triple, and Danny Espinosa doubled and tripled for two of the Nationals’ 11 extra-base hits.
Zimmermann (1-0) allowed two runs, struck out seven and lowered his ERA from 8.10 to 5.27.
Brad Hand (0-1) fell to 1-11 in his career as a starter. He lasted only three innings while allowing five runs and five extra-base hits.
PADRES 5, ROCKIES 4
SAN DIEGO — The Padres scored twice in the eighth inning on Rex Brothers’ wild pitch and catcher Wilin Rosario’s errant throw back to the plate, lifting San Diego to a victory over the Rockies.
The Rockies held a one-run lead when Brothers walked the bases loaded with two outs. Facing Yasmani Grandal, Brothers (1-2) unleashed a wild throw. As Rosario retrieved the pitch, he turned and threw wildly back to Brothers covering the plate.
The ball was out of Brothers’ reach and Xavier Nady scored. As the ball sailed past the mound, Seth Smith scored from second base as the Padres took a 5-4 lead.
Dale Thayer (2-0) pitched a perfect eighth inning and Huston Street worked the ninth for his fourth save.
METS 7, DIAMONDBACKS 3
PHOENIX — Lucas Duda had four hits and two RBIs, Zack Wheeler pitched effectively into the seventh inning and the Mets beat the Diamondbacks.
David Wright added two RBIs and the Mets had 13 hits to open a three-game series in the desert they hope won’t be too costly.
Juan Lagares left in the seventh inning with a strained right hamstring after legging out a grounder. Curtis Granderson went out in the sixth with rib and forearm injuries he sustained in a collision with the wall in the first, though X-rays were negative.
Wheeler (1-2) worked around traffic to end a five-start winless streak.
Miguel Montero had three RBIs for the Diamondbacks, who lost their sixth straight at Chase Field after Josh Collmenter (0-1) gave up three runs the first three innings.
ATHLETICS 3, ANGELS 2
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Pinch-hitter John Jaso came through with a two-run homer off closer Ernesto Frieri in the ninth inning, sending Oakland over Los Angeles.
Yoenis Cespedes also went deep for the A’s, offsetting Albert Pujols’ 496th home run.
Frieri (0-1) was trying to preserve a 2-1 lead for starter Hector Santiago when Josh Donaldson led off the ninth with a single. One out later, Jaso drove a 1-2 pitch deep into the right-field seats for his first homer of the season and the first by an A’s pinch-hitter.
Jaso has six homers and 21 RBIs at Angel Stadium along with a .424 average, the highest by any player with at least 75 plate appearances at the “Big A.”
Jim Johnson (1-2) got the victory with a scoreless eighth, and Luke Gregerson earned his second save.
Pujols also had an RBI single.
ORIOLES 7, RAYS 1
BALTIMORE — Wei-Yin Chen took a four-hitter into the seventh inning and Baltimore got its offense back on track against Chris Archer in a victory over Tampa Bay.
Matt Wieters and J.J. Hardy each had three hits, scored twice and drove in a run for the Orioles, who were coming off a three-game series against Toronto in which they scored only five runs in 30 innings.
In this one, Baltimore built a 6-0 lead over the first three innings and coasted to the finish. The Orioles had 13 hits, including five doubles.
It was by far the worst of Archer’s 30 big league starts. The seven runs and 12 hits allowed by Archer (1-1) were both career highs, and his ERA jumped from 1.38 to 4.50.
Chen (2-1) retired his first 10 batters and didn’t allow a hit until James Loney doubled with one out in the fifth. The left-hander gave up one run, five hits and two walks in 6 1-3 innings.
MARINERS 7, RANGERS 1
ARLINGTON, Texas — Mike Zunino homered an inning before adding an RBI single in Seattle’s strange six-run outburst that included three Texas Rangers errors and a replay reversal that gave the Mariners a run.
Roenis Elias (1-1) worked into the seventh inning with five strikeouts for his first major league victory in his third career start.
The Mariners went ahead to stay in the fifth on Zunino’s solo homer off Colby Lewis (0-1), who made his first big league start in 21 months after elbow and hip operations.
Rangers manager Ron Washington was ejected during Seattle’s six-run sixth for arguing a call that was overturned on instant replay in favor of the Mariners.
Seattle had gone 21 innings without a run before Zunino’s third homer.