MAJOR LEAGUES
Junior Lake homered, doubled twice and drove in six runs as the Chicago Cubs trounced St Louis 17-5 on Monday and forced the Cardinals to finish with infielder Daniel Descalso as a relief pitcher.
After the Cubs managed just four runs while getting swept in a three-game series at Atlanta over the weekend, Emilio Bonifacio scored five times himself in the romp over the Cardinals.
Photo: AFP
Chicago had lost seven of eight overall and have the worst record in the league at 13-24, but are 4-3 against the defending National League (NL) champions.
The Cubs hit for the cycle in the first five batters — Bonifacio doubled, Anthony Rizzo singled, Starlin Castro tripled and Mike Olt’s two-run homer capped a four-run first inning.
Cardinals reliever Randy Choate gave up six runs in the ninth and left with two outs. Descalso made his first pro pitching appearance and retired the only batter he faced, getting Olt on a fly ball. Tyler Lyons (0-3) surrendered nine runs in four innings in his fourth start in place of injured Joe Kelly.
Also in the NL, Yasiel Puig extended his career-best hitting streak to 12 games with his third home run in four days — a go-ahead three-run shot — and drew a bases-loaded walk in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 6-5 victory over the Florida Marlins.
Dan Haren (5-1) overcame a shaky start following his 3-2 loss at Washington on Wednesday last week, allowing three runs and seven hits over seven innings without walking a batter after losing his previous four decisions against the Marlins.
In other NL games, the San Francisco Giants downed the Atlanta Braves 4-2 and the Washington Nationals edged the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5.
In New York, Chris Young hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning and Jenrry Mejia provided a boost after his reluctant move to the bullpen, as the New York Mets had four home runs in a 9-7 win over the Yankees in the interleague Subway Series opener.
In the American League (AL), Mark Buehrle became the first seven-game winner in the major leagues, and Jose Bautista and Brett Lawrie homered as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Angels 7-3 to avoid a four-game sweep.
Bautista hit a three-run homer in the first inning and Lawrie, who returned to the lineup after missing six games with a sore right hamstring, added a two-run shot in the sixth as the Blue Jays avoided what would have been their first four-game sweep to the Angels.
The Tigers’ Rick Porcello won his fifth straight start as Detroit beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-1 in a duel between AL division leaders that included a benches-clearing confrontation.
After Ian Kinsler’s two-run homer in the eighth made it 4-1, Orioles starter Bud Norris hit Torii Hunter in the ribcage with a pitch. Hunter yelled at Norris and as he made his way toward first base, the Tigers outfielder moved slightly in the direction of the mound.
That caused both dugouts to empty and relievers from both bullpens charged toward the infield. Order was quickly restored before anyone blatantly shoved each other and no punches were thrown.
In other AL games, the Texas Rangers blanked the Houston Astros 4-0, the Oakland Athletics edged the Chicago White Sox 5-4 and the Seattle Mariners were 12-5 winners over the Tampa Bay Rays.
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