MAJOR LEAGUES
St Louis’ Matt Carpenter had four hits and scored the winning run on Matt Holliday’s single in the 12th inning, helping the Cardinals beat Pittsburgh 6-5 on Thursday to tighten the race for the National League Central Division title.
The Cardinals’ second extra-inning triumph over Pittsburgh in three days saw them move within two games of the sagging Pirates, who have dropped five of six.
Photo: Reuters
Cincinnati stayed right on St Louis’ heels, beating Cleveland to be half a game back.
Over in the American League Central, Detroit increased their lead with a win over Kansas City and the fight for the AL East heated up as Boston lost a tight game against Toronto, while Tampa Bay closed in with a comfortable win over Seattle.
Pittsburgh led St Louis 4-0, but gave up that lead in just one inning.
Cardinals rookie Kevin Siegrist (1-1), the hosts’ seventh pitcher, struck out two in a perfect top of the 12th against the heart of Pittsburgh’s batting order.
In the bottom of the frame, Carpenter sparked the winning rally with a one-out walk. He went to third on Jon Jay’s single, before Holliday grounded a single up the middle off Bryan Morris (5-6) to drive in the winner.
Cincinnati’s Joey Votto hit a tiebreaking homer in the sixth inning as the Reds held on for a 2-1 win over Milwaukee.
Cincinnati starter Tony Cingrani (6-2) allowed only one run, while pitching into the seventh inning.
The Reds have won five straight, thanks chiefly to their rotation. The starters are 4-1 with a 1.35 ERA in the past seven games.
Detroit’s Prince Fielder ended a three-week homer drought by hitting a two-run shot in the first inning which sparked the Tigers to a 4-1 win over Kansas City.
The Tigers took the opener of this key five-game series and pushed their AL Central lead over second-placed Cleveland to 6.5 games, with the Royals a further two games back.
Toronto pinch-hitter Mark De-Rosa hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the seventh inning which lifted the Blue Jays to a 2-1 victory against Boston. The defeat saw the Red Sox’ lead in the AL East sliced to two games over Tampa Bay.
Toronto starter Buehrle (9-7) came in 0-4 with a 4.97 ERA in his previous eight starts against the Red Sox, a team he had not beaten since 2009, but emphatically ended that run by going seven innings, allowing only one run.
Tampa Bay made up ground with a 7-1 win over Seattle, with Alex Cobb pitching five strong innings in his first big league game since being hit in the head by a batted ball two months ago.
Cobb (7-2) ended his night by striking out Nick Frankiln on a full-count pitch with the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth. He received a standing ovation as he walked off the field, having given up one run.
Los Angeles’ Chris Nelson hit his first two home runs of the season, including a grand slam against his former team, to send the Angels to an 8-4 win over the New York Yankees.
Washington pinch-hitter Hector Sanchez hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning, giving the Giants an unlikely 4-3 win over Washington.
New York’s Marlon Byrd lined a two-out double over the head of hesitant right-fielder Chris Denorfia, giving the Mets a 4-1 win over San Diego.
Oakland’s Sonny Gray struck out nine on the way to an impressive first major league victory, leading the Athletics to a 5-0 victory that averted a three-game sweep by lowly Houston.
Minnesota’s Chris Herrmann singled in the bottom of the ninth to drive in the winner and give the Twins a 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox.
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