Cardinals maintain 2-game lead
A little more carry on that fly ball, and there goes that 13th win. Watching from the dugout, St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright watched helplessly while chanting “Come down quick ball, come down!”
After Allen Craig’s game-ending leaping catch high at the left-field fence preserved a 3-2 victory over the San Diego Padres Sunday, Wainwright thought he’d played the role of a “nervous dad.”
“Like when I watch my friends do something, I’m always more nervous than when I do it,” Wainwright said. “When I watch my daughters, even at ballet or something, I’m more nervous than if I was out there doing ballet.”
Craig has 12 hits and six RBI during a seven-game hitting streak for the Cardinals, who took two of three in both series against the Padres this season. He’s a confident defender, too, and never thought pinch hitter Jedd Gyorko’s drive with two on and two out was going out.
The glove work prevented at least an extra-base hit that would have given the Padres the lead, and preserved Edward Mujica’s 28th save in 30 chances along with the win that gave Wainwright the National League lead.
“Obviously, it came off the bat good,” Craig said. “I don’t know if he hit it good enough. Obviously, it wasn’t enough.”
Arizona 3, San Francisco 1: Paul Goldschmidt hit a sacrifice fly and a double against All-Star Madison Bumgarner, Cody Ross added a late two-run single, and the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks held off a late rally by the San Francisco Giants for a 3-1 win to avoid a three-game sweep.
Milwaukee 1, Miami 0: Caleb Gindl hit his first career home run in the bottom of the 13th inning and the Milwaukee Brewers beat Miami 1-0, shutting out the punchless Marlins for the third consecutive game.
L.A. Dodgers 9, Washington 2: Matt Kemp returned to the lineup with a home run and a double in the same inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers completed a sweep of the Washington Nationals with a 9-2 win that moved them into a tie for first place at least temporarily in the NL West.
N.Y. Mets 5, Philadelphia 0: Matt Harvey struck out 10 in seven overpowering innings, and David Wright and Juan Lagares each hit a home run upheld by video review to lead the New York Mets to a 5-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Chicago White Sox 3, Atlanta 1: Left fielder Casper Wells robbed Reed Johnson of a home run in the eighth inning to help the Chicago White Sox beat the Atlanta Braves 3-1.
Oakland 6, L.A. Angels 0: Bartolo Colon pitched a four-hitter for his third shutout this season and center fielder Chris Young robbed Albert Pujols of a home run to help the Oakland Athletics beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-0.
Seattle 12, Houston 5: Nick Franklin hit his first career grand slam in Seattle’s big second inning to back up a scoreless start by Felix Hernandez, and the Mariners rolled past the Houston Astros 12-5 for their season-best sixth straight victory.
Cleveland 7, Minnesota 1: Justin Masterson took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning, Michael Brantley hit a bases-loaded triple and the Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins 7-1 to avoid a three-game sweep.
Detroit 4, Kansas City 1: Miguel Cabrera and Andy Dirks homered as the Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals 4-1 to avoid being swept.
Tampa Bay 4, Toronto 3: Luke Scott and Kelly Johnson hit back-to-back home runs, Evan Longoria also went deep and the Tampa Bay Rays survived a late scare to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3, completing a three-game sweep.