NATIONAL LEAGUE
St Louis’ Albert Pujols began a 4 for 4 night with a solo homer as the Cardinals went on to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-2 on Thursday to close the gap in the National League Central race.
St Louis pulled within four games of division-leading Milwaukee, who have won 13 of 15. The Cardinals are the only team to beat the Brewers during their hot streak.
Photo: AFP
Pujols entered with just five hits in 42 at-bats against the Brewers. He ended that slide with a drive in the first against Yovani Gallardo (13-8), tying him with teammate Lance Berkman for the NL lead with 28 homers.
Pujols added two singles against Gallardo, who lasted just five innings.
Cardinals starter Chris Carpenter (8-8) shut out the Brewers after they scored twice in the first.
REDS 2, ROCKIES 1
In Cincinnati, Ohio, two runs in the first inning proved enough for Cincinnati in their win over Colorado.
Cincinnati starter Johnny Cueto (8-5) — taken out of his previous start early because of an stomach upset — bounced back to pitch seven shutout innings. He took over the NL ERA lead, lowering his mark from 2.06 to 1.94.
He struck out a season-high nine, including Carlos Gonzalez with the bases loaded to end the fifth inning.
Reds closer Francisco Cordero allowed a leadoff homer in the ninth, then earned his 22nd save in 27 chances.
Rockies starter Jhoulys Chacin (9-9) pitched eight innings.
In other NL games, it was:
‧ Padres 3, Mets 2
‧ Cubs 4, Nationals 3
‧ D-backs 8, Astros 5, 10 inns
AMERICAN LEAGUE
AP, NEW YORK
Robinson Cano hit a Grand Slam as the New York Yankees held on in a nervous finish to beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-5 in the American League on Thursday.
Curtis Granderson made up for hitting into two double plays by getting a tying two-run homer in the sixth for the Yankees, and Cano then capitalized on an Angels error with two outs in the seventh inning, going long to give the hosts a four-run buffer.
New York closer Mariano Rivera gave up a three-run homer with the first pitch in the ninth, but he recovered to get the final two outs.
Angels reliever Fernando Rodney (2-4) gave up two walks in the seventh for the loss.
TIGERS 4, INDIANS 3
In Cleveland, Ohio, the Tigers avoided a sweep by Cleveland, eking out their AL Central Division lead to three games.
Tigers starter Justin Verlander (17-5) allowed three hits and struck out 10 in seven innings to earn career win No. 100.
Detroit ended a 13-game losing streak in Cleveland and kept their nose ahead in the AL Central race. The teams will play 10 more times this season, including a season-ending three-game series in Detroit.
In other AL games, it was:
‧ Rays 4, Royals 1
‧ Athletics 10, Blue Jays 3
‧ White Sox 6, Orioles 3
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