NATIONAL LEAGUE

Cardinals improve playoff chances

St. Louis Cardinals' Paul DeJong (12) is congratulated by teammates after his two-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2018, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Todd Kirkland)
St. Louis Cardinals' Paul DeJong (12) is congratulated by teammates after his two-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2018, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Todd Kirkland)

ATLANTA -- St. Louis Cardinals Manager Mike Shildt loved watching Yadier Molina grind out a big at-bat in the eighth inning.

With the bases loaded and two outs in a two-run game, Shildt got exactly what he wanted from Molina, a veteran catcher who has helped St. Louis chase down plenty of playoff spots during his 15-year career.

"He gets down 0-2, and you can just watch him bearing down," Shildt said. "He got the count full and got a base hit to score two and took advantage of the (error), and we were able to clear the bases there."

Paul DeJong hit a two-run home run, Molina added a two-run single in the four-run eighth and St. Louis won its third straight game with an 8-1 victory over the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night.

Austin Gomber pitched five innings for St. Louis, which holds a slim lead for the second NL wild card. The Cardinals top the National League with 36 victories since the All-Star break, and their 43 road wins rank second.

Atlanta's division lead dropped to 5½ games over Philadelphia as the Braves lost their fourth in a row after a season-best six-game winning streak. The Braves' magic number remained at seven as they try to clinch a division title for the first time in five years. Philadelphia beat the New York Mets 5-2.

Anibal Sanchez (6-6) allowed 4 hits and 2 runs and struck out 6 in 5 innings. He faced the minimum through his first three innings and retired his first batter in the fourth before Jose Martinez singled and DeJong hit his 19th home run.

DeJong added a run-scoring single in the eighth off Dan Winkler.

"I think he's figuring out he's a run producer," Shildt said. "We're seeing a good swing, and the timing is there."

Gomber (6-1) gave up 6 hits, 1 run and 3 walks. He struck out five for his fifth victory in his past six decisions, but it wasn't easy for the rookie.

After Ronald Acuna Jr. hit his 26th home run to begin the third, Gomber escaped a bases-loaded jam on Ender Inciarte's lineout to end the inning. Gomber got Inciarte to fly out to strand a runner at third to end the fifth.

"I threw a lot of pitches (98) in five innings," he said. "It was one of those days with a lot of traffic on the bases, but you've got to figure a way to get out of it."

Molina's single in the eighth off Sam Freeman scored three runs. Molina was credited with two RBI, and a third run scored because Acuna made an error in left field.

Tyler O'Neill, who entered as a pinch-runner in the eighth, had a run-scoring double, and Marcell Ozuna followed with an RBI single to make it 8-1 in the ninth inning.

St. Louis has won eight straight games in Atlanta dating to 2016, the best run since the Cardinals took 11 road games in a row against the Braves from 1967-68.

PHILLIES 5, METS 2 Jorge Alfaro hit a go-ahead, three-run home run in the sixth inning and host Philadelphia rallied past New York to boost its faint playoff hopes. Philadelphia overcame an uneven outing from ace Aaron Nola and a home run by starter Steven Matz that made him the third Mets pitcher to hit home runs in consecutive appearances.

REDS 3, BREWERS 1 Jose Peraza hit a home run in the first inning and visiting Cincinnati beat Milwaukee, the Brewers' third loss in four games. The Brewers' edge for the top National League wild-card spot was cut to two games by St. Louis, with Colorado also in close contention. It was the third low-scoring loss for the Brewers in four games -- they fell to Pittsburgh 3-1 on Saturday and 3-2 on Sunday.

NATIONALS 4, MARLINS 2 Stephen Strasburg matched his season-high with 11 strikeouts and Bryce Harper tied a career-high with five walks as visiting Washington beat Miami. Anthony Rendon drove in two runs for the Nationals.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

YANKEES 3, RED SOX 2 Neil Walker hit a three-run home run, and host New York kept Boston from a division-title celebration in the Bronx. Batting from the left side, Walker golfed a home run in the seventh inning off Ryan Brasier for the Yankees' third hit of the game and a 3-1 lead.

ASTROS 7, MARINERS 0 Marwin Gonzalez hit a two-run home run in a four-run third inning that helped host Houston beat Seattle. Houston eliminated the Mariners from contention for the AL West title with the victory. Rookie starter Josh James (1-0) struck out 7 and scattered 4 hits over 5⅓ innings for his first major league win. Four relievers completed the shutout.

INDIANS 5, WHITE SOX 3 Corey Kluber struck out 11 in eight innings to record his career-high 19th victory as host Cleveland beat Chicago. Kluber (19-7), who allowed 3 runs, topped 200 strikeouts for the fifth consecutive season.

BLUE JAYS 6, ORIOLES 4 Host Baltimore fell to Toronto to drop its 108th game, a team record for losses since it arrived in Baltimore in 1954. The 1988 Orioles, who opened the season 0-21, held the previous team record for losses with a 54-107 finish. The overall franchise record for defeats is 111, set by the 1939 St. Louis Browns.

TWINS 5, TIGERS 3 Chris Gimenez hit a home run and Tyler Austin drove in three runs as visiting Minnesota beat Detroit. Mikie Mahtook drove in all of Detroit's runs. Jake Odorizzi (7-10) allowed 2 runs on 4 hits in 6⅓ innings. He walked one and struck out six in his first start since losing a no-hitter in the eighth inning against the New York Yankees.

RAYS 4, RANGERS 0 Blake Snell became baseball's first 20-game winner in two years, helping pitch visiting Tampa Bay past Texas. Snell (20-5) threw one-hit ball for five innings and tied the Tampa Bay record for victories in a season. David Price also won 20 in his Cy Young Award season of 2012. Snell won his eighth consecutive start. The 25-year-old lefty struck out 5, walked 2 and threw 92 pitches, exiting with a 1.97 ERA.

INTERLEAGUE

PIRATES 2, ROYALS 1 (11) Pinch-hitter Ryan Lavarnway drove in the winning run with a single in the 11th inning, Jameson Taillon struck out a career-high 11 and host Pittsburgh beat Kansas City. Starling Marte led off the 11th with an infield single off Burch Smith (1-6). Josh Bell walked and Smith struck out Francisco Cervelli before Adam Frazier was intentionally walked to load the bases, setting up Lavarnway's walk-off hit to shallow center.

Sports on 09/19/2018

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