NATIONAL LEAGUE
AFP AND AP, CHICAGO
Juan Uribe hit a grand slam and a two-run home run in the second inning as the San Francisco Giants dominated the Chicago Cubs 13-0 to vault back into first place in the NL West.
Uribe’s grand slam came in a nine-run second inning for the Giants who recorded 19 total hits as they wrapped up a three-game series at Wrigley Field.
The Giants began the day one-half game behind San Diego in the NL West. They got help from the Dodgers who beat the Padres 3-1 in a late game at Dodger Stadium and are now a half game in front of San Diego.
“He’s a guy that can do a lot of damage,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of Uribe. “It’s nice to have a shortstop like that.”
“He’s knocked in a lot of runs for us this year. We needed a big game from somebody and we got it from him tonight,” he said.
Uribe, who had six RBIs, became the first San Francisco player to hit two homers in one inning since Bengie Molina in 2007 against the New York Mets.
Buster Posey and Cody Ross also homered for the Giants, who have won three of four.
Giants left-handed pitcher Madison Bumgarner tossed seven scoreless innings to pick up his first win in four weeks. Bumgarner allowed seven hits to go with a career-best nine strikeouts.
DODGERS 3, PADRES 1
In Los Angeles, Hiroki Kuroda pitched eight strong innings, Andre Ethier had two run-scoring hits for the Dodgers.
Japan’s Kuroda allowed one run and five hits, struck out four and walked one. He retired 14 of his last 15 batters.
The right-hander tossed 98 pitches before Taiwan’s Kuo Hong-chih came on to strike out the side in the ninth and get his 10th save.
DIAMONDBACKS 10, ROCKIES 9
In Phoenix, Arizona, Steven Drew homered and had four RBIs and Kelly Johnson hit a two-run shot as Arizona held off Colorado to complete a three-game sweep of the fading Rockies.
Colorado had won 13 of 15 in another late-season run to get close in the NL West, but leaves the desert three-and-a-half games behind San Francisco in the division and Atlanta in the wild-card race.
Jeff Francis (4-6) struggled in his second start off the disabled list and the Rockies got little production from Troy Tulowitzki to go home on a debilitating four-game losing streak.
Carlos Gonzalez hit his first career grand slam in the seventh inning and added a two-run single in Colorado’s three-run ninth, but the Rockies couldn’t come all the way back.
CARDINALS 9, PIRATES 2
In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Albert Pujols hit his 40th and 41st home runs and Matt Holliday reached the 100-RBI mark to lead slumping St Louis over Pittsburgh.
The Cardinals snapped a three-game losing streak and won for just the 13th time in 38 games since Aug. 14, the last day they were in first place in the NL Central.
St Louis’ chances of defending its division title remain slim.
The Cardinals trail idle Cincinnati by seven-and-a-half games with only 10 games left.
Pittsburgh ended season-high five-game winning streak. The Pirates are one defeat short of their first 100-loss season since 2001.
NATIONALS 7, ASTROS 2
In Washington, Michael Morse homered, doubled and drove in three runs, Roger Bernadina and Danny Espinosa hit two-run homers and Ross Detwiler earned his first win in nearly a year as Washington beat Houston.
It was the third consecutive win for Washington and the first time they’d won three straight at home since the end of July.
Houston has lost three in a row for the first time since early last month.
Detwiler (1-2) pitched six innings, allowing two runs. It was his first win since last September. He missed much of the season after right hip surgery in February.
BREWERS 8, MARLINS 3
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Corey Hart hit one of three Milwaukee homers to help Yovani Gallardo and the Brewers beat Florida.
Hart reached 30 homers for the first time in his career with his first-inning drive. Rickie Weeks and Prince Fielder hit consecutive shots in the seventh on the first three pitches of Sandy Rosario’s major league debut.
Florida rookie Logan Morrison extended his streak of reaching base safely to 42 straight games, tying the best mark in the majors this season.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
AP, NEW YORK
B.J. Upton and Carl Crawford each drove in two runs in a seven-run sixth inning as the Tampa Bay Rays punished CC Sabathia in his much-anticipated rematch with David Price in a 10-3 win over the New York Yankees on Thursday.
Price (18-6) labored through six innings, but Sabathia (20-7) struggled even more. The Rays beat New York for the second straight day, splitting the four-game set and pulling within a half-game of the first-place Yankees in the American League East.
Yankees reliever Javier Vazquez equaled a big league record by hitting three straight batters in the seventh as the Rays added two runs without getting a hit.
Ten days earlier, Sabathia and Price showed fans why they are the leading candidates for the AL Cy Young pitching award, each tossing eight scoreless innings in a game that the Rays won 1-0 in 11 innings.
ATHLETICS 5, RANGERS 0
In Oakland, California, Dallas Braden allowed one hit in eight innings as Oakland beat Texas to stall the Rangers’ push for their first AL West title since 1999.
Braden (10-13) outpitched Cliff Lee to end his four-game losing streak and keep Texas’ magic number at four for clinching the division.
The left-hander, who pitched a perfect game against Tampa Bay in May, retired 19 batters in a row after Nelson Cruz’s two-out single in the first inning. Ian Kinsler ended the streak by drawing a leadoff walk in the eighth. Braden walked two and struck out seven.
Lee (12-9) set down his first eight batters before an uncharacteristic bout of wildness. He walked his first two hitters in the fourth, marking the first time he’s walked consecutive batters in two years.
ROYALS 4, INDIANS 2
In Cleveland, Ohio, Sean O’Sullivan earned his first win as a starter for Kansas City and Joakim Soria converted his 33rd straight save in a victory over Cleveland.
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