Paul DeJong went 4-for-4 with three homers, a double and five RBIs, and the St. Louis Cardinals outslugged the Pittsburgh Pirates 14-8 Wednesday night.
DeJong, Andrew Knizner and Paul Goldschmidt all hit two-run homers in the Cardinals' nine-run second inning, helping St. Louis earn its fourth win in a row and its third straight to start a four-game series that concludes Thursday.
Starling Marte went 4-for-5 with three doubles and three RBIs for the Pirates, who have lost four in a row.
Indians 4, Blue Jays 0
Shane Bieber pitched a one-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts, Greg Allen had three hits and an RBI, and Cleveland defeated host Toronto.
Bieber (10-3) walked one and hit a batter as the Indians won the rubber match of the three-game series and completed the season series against the Blue Jays with six wins in seven games.
Toronto's only hit was Eric Sogard's leadoff double in the seventh inning. Bieber fired his second complete game of the season, both shutouts. He threw a five-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles on May 19.
Nationals 3, Rockies 2 (Game 1)
Anthony Rendon belted a go-ahead homer to lead off the seventh inning as host Washington won the opening game of a doubleheader.
Adam Eaton (NYSE:ETN) homered to lead off the fifth inning, and Gerardo Parra worked a bases-loaded walk for the Nationals.
Ryan McMahon had a run-scoring single among his two RBIs, and Yonder Alonso ripped a pair of doubles and scored twice for the reeling Rockies.
Nationals 2, Rockies 0 (Game 2)
Patrick Corbin scattered three hits over six innings as host Washington completed the doubleheader sweep of Colorado.
Yan Gomes belted a solo homer in the seventh inning for Washington, which improved to 36-15 in its past 51 contests and 12-3 in its past 15 at home.
Corbin (8-5) settled down after walking three of the first six batters he faced to retire 15 of his last 17. He finished with seven strikeouts and three walks in a 106-pitch performance.
Yankees 10, Twins 7
Aaron Hicks, Gleyber Torres and Edwin Encarnacion homered, and Didi Gregorius had a single, a double, a triple and three RBIs to lift New York over Minnesota in the rubber game of a three-game series in Minneapolis.
Mike Tauchman also doubled and tripled and drove in two runs, and Encarnacion, Hicks, Aaron Judge each had two of the Yankees' 15 hits. Nelson Cruz homered for the third straight game, and Eddie Rosario and Marwin Gonzalez also went deep for Minnesota.
Nestor Cortes Jr. (4-0) picked up the win, allowing one run on three hits in 3 1/3 innings of relief. Aroldis Chapman pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up his 26th save.
Angels 3, Dodgers 2
Kole Calhoun hit a home run for the second consecutive night, and the visiting Los Angeles Angels finished a perfect 4-for-4 against the Los Angeles Dodgers this season.
Calhoun had two doubles and two RBIs, and Mike Trout hit a sacrifice fly as the Angels won both games at Dodger Stadium this week. Justin Turner hit a home run for the Dodgers.
The Dodgers' frustration boiled over in the eighth inning when Cody Bellinger was ejected after disputing a strikeout. The hosts also lost starter Ross Stripling (neck) and second baseman Enrique Hernandez (hand)
Astros 4, Athletics 2
Jose Altuve and George Springer each hit a two-run homer, and host Houston took the rubber game of a three-game series with Oakland.
Justin Verlander (13-4) allowed two hits over six innings and struck out 11 for his third straight win. He moved into the AL lead with 13th victory.
Springer took Oakland starter Chris Bassitt deep to left field in the third inning for his 23rd home run of the season, surpassing his total from last season. Altuve hit his 15th home run of the season in the fifth, also off Bassitt.
Rays 3, Red Sox 2
All-Star pitcher Charlie Morton struck out 11 in seven strong innings, and Guillermo Heredia doubled in the go-ahead run to lead Tampa Bay past Boston in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Morton (12-3) allowed two earned runs and five hits in beating the Red Sox for the second time this season. He also won for the fourth time in his past five decisions.
The win allowed the Rays to avoid a sweep in the three-game series and broke Boston's five-game winning streak at Tropicana Field. The victory also knotted the season series at 6-6 but was just Tampa Bay's second in its past nine games.
Cubs 4, Giants 1
Javier Baez hit the eighth pitch of the game for a home run, and Kris Bryant and Albert Almora Jr. added homers, allowing Chicago to beat host San Francisco.
Emergency starter Tyler Chatwood worked four effective innings as the Cubs salvaged a win in the three-game set.
In the wake of a pair of 5-4 losses to open the series, Chicago learned before the Wednesday afternoon game that Jon Lester would have to be scratched due to an illness. Chatwood, who hadn't started a game since June 27, took the ball and allowed the red-hot Giants just one run in four innings, leaving with a 4-1 lead.
Mariners 5, Rangers 3
Daniel Vogelbach hit two solo home runs, and host Seattle beat Texas in the rubber game of a three-game series.
Vogelbach sparked a four-run inning with a leadoff home run in the fifth. After the Rangers scored three runs in the sixth, Vogelbach went deep again with one out in the bottom half of the inning to stretch the lead back to 5-3.
Seattle's Mike Leake (9-8) went seven innings, allowing three runs and nine hits. He struck out seven and didn't walk a batter.
Royals 2, Braves 0
Brad Keller threw seven shutout innings, and Kansas City beat host Atlanta to sweep a two-game interleague series.
Keller, who grew up a Braves fan in nearby Flowery Branch, Ga., was making his first career start against Atlanta. He allowed only four hits and one walk while striking out three, throwing an economical 88 pitches, 62 for strikes.
It was the fourth straight solid start, and fourth straight win, for the big right-hander, who has allowed four earned runs over his past 27 innings. Keller (7-9) also singled to right-center for his first career RBI.
Phillies 4, Tigers 0
J.T. Realmuto and Nick Williams (NYSE:WMB) hit solo homers, Vince Velasquez pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings, and Philadelphia silenced host Detroit.
Realmuto hit his 12th homer of the season while Williams notched his second. Cesar Hernandez had two hits, a run and an RBI, and Rhys Hoskins singled and tripled while driving in a run.
Velasquez (3-5) scattered four hits and two walks while striking out nine. He recorded his first victory since May 24.
Brewers 5, Reds 4
Yasmani Grandal hit a go-ahead, two-run, bases-loaded single in the fifth inning, and host Milwaukee averted a three-game sweep with a win over Cincinnati.
Milwaukee snapped a five-game losing streak to the Reds after allowing 20 runs in the first two games of the series.
The Brewers loaded the bases for Grandal when Christian Yelich worked a walk against Amir Garrett. Grandal then gave Milwaukee a 5-4 lead when he hit a full-count fastball just out of shortstop Jose Iglesias' range into left field, allowing Orlando Arcia and Lorenzo Cain to score.
Diamondbacks 5, Orioles 2
Taylor Clarke pitched six strong innings, Carson Kelly hit a three-run homer, and Arizona held on to win the rubber match of a three-game series against Baltimore in Phoenix.
With a 5-2 lead entering the ninth, Arizona closer Greg Holland walked the first two batters on nine pitches before manager Torey Lovullo pulled him for Yoan Lopez. Lopez, who twice gave up three runs against the Milwaukee Brewers in the previous series, earned his first career save by retiring the next three batters on four pitches.
Clarke (3-3) gave up a pair of solo home runs -- to Anthony Santander (MC:SAN) in the fourth and Trey Mancini in the sixth -- but got through six innings for the first time in nine starts and for only the third time in his 12 outings.
Padres 7, Mets 2
Craig Stammen struck out Michael Conforto to escape a bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning, and San Diego pulled away to defeat host New York.
With the Padres leading 4-2, Stammen created the jam by allowing a double to Amed Rosario ahead of walks to pinch hitter J.D. Davis and Jeff McNeil. Following a mound visit from pitching coach Darren Balsley, Stammen regrouped and struck out Conforto swinging at a 1-2 sinker that appeared out of the strike zone.
The Padres then added two runs in the eighth on an RBI double by Austin Hedges against Jeurys Familia and an RBI single by Fernando Tatis Jr. against Tyler Bashlor.
Marlins 2, White Sox 0
Cesar Puello snapped a scoreless tie with a two-run home run in the eighth inning, and rookie Zac Gallen pitched seven shutout innings to earn his first career victory as Miami shut out Chicago.
With one out in the eighth, Puello drilled Reynaldo Lopez's first pitch into the left field seats to provide all the offense Miami needed to secure an interleague series win. Until that point, Lopez had matched Gallen, a right-hander making his sixth major league start, nearly pitch for pitch.
Gallen limited Chicago to two hits while walking one and striking out nine. He threw 68 of his 95 pitches for strikes. Lopez yielded two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out 10 in eight innings.
--Field Level Media