LOS ANGELES (AP) — Even when the Cardinals run into each other
Troy Tulowitzki Jersey , they can’t lose.Yadier Molina and Marcell Ozuna slugged two-run homers and St. Louis overcame a lack of communication in the
outfield to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-2 on Tuesday night.The Cardinals
improved to a major league-best 16-4 in August and moved atop the NL wild-card
standings by a half-game over Milwaukee.They also climbed to 2 ½ games back of
the NL Central-leading Cubs.“We’re cooking on all cylinders right now,” winning
pitcher Luke Weaver (7-11) said. “We feel very confident about where we’re at.
We’re kind of riding the wave right now and just bouncing off each other,
keeping that positivity going.”The Cardinals have homered in 14 straight games.
They won the opener 5-3 on consecutive ninth-inning homers by Jedd Gyorko and
Matt Carpenter. This victory clinched their eighth consecutive series, equaling
their longest streak since April 10-May 7, 2015.Jose Martinez tied it with an
RBI single in the third. Molina followed with a two-run shot to right center to
make it 3-1, snapping an 0-for-17 skid and leaving him one hit shy of his 11th
straight season with 100 or more.With two outs in the seventh, Daniel Hudson hit
Tyler O’Neill, setting the stage for Ozuna’s two-run homer that extended the
Cardinals’ lead to 5-1.The Dodgers’ runs came in the second when Daniel
Poncedeleon hit Yasiel Puig with the bases loaded and in the seventh on Manny
Machado’s 29th homer.The Dodgers have stranded 25 runners in the first two games
of the series.“We should definitely be playing better baseball,” Machado said.
“Eventually things will turn around. Once we turn that corner, I don’t think
anyone is going to hold us back.”For now, though, the Dodgers dropped 3 1/2
games behind the NL West-leading Diamondbacks, the farthest Los Angeles has been
out of first place since July 1. The Dodgers fell to 32-32 at home.“I’m as
frustrated as the guys in there are,” manager Dave Roberts said. “It doesn’t
feel good right now.”In his second major league start, Poncedeleon allowed one
run and five hits in four innings. He struck out a career-high eight and walked
one pitching not far from his hometown of Anaheim. Cardinals reliever Carlos
Martinez got hit in the chest by a comebacker from Joc Pederson in the eighth.
Martinez was knocked down and writhed on the ground as his teammates and a
trainer ran to him. He soon got up and walked off under his own power as the
inning ended.Martinez later said he had trouble breathing.“He was alert, aware,”
Shildt said. “It was more of his sternum area which made it super
scary.”Defensively, the Cardinals had a series of outfield miscues, all of them
involving right fielder O’Neill.He collided with second baseman Kolten Wong as
they chased Yasmani Grandal’s single in the second. On the next play
Marcus Stroman Jersey , O’Neill dived and badly missed a single by Chris Taylor that loaded the bases for the Dodgers.“It’s a loud stadium but the
reality is we need to be able to communicate better and not have issues where
we’re running into each other,” Shildt said.Also in the second, center fielder
Harrison Bader clearly called for a high fly ball hit by Pederson, but O’Neill
came charging in with his glove in the air. Bader still managed to make the
catch.In the fifth, Bader caught Justin Turner’s long fly to right center but
came dangerously close to colliding with O’Neill, who had his hands on his hips
looking at Bader.“They’re hungry and aggressive going after the ball. Definitely
want that,” Shildt said. “They’ll iron it out.”Weaver allowed one run and three
hits in 2 1/3 innings of relief.Bud Norris pitched the ninth for his 26th
save.Hyun-Jin Ryu (3-1) gave up three runs and four hits in four innings, struck
out four and walked one.TRAINER’S ROOMCardinals: Activated RHP Carlos Martinez
(right shoulder strain) from DL and optioned INF Patrick Wisdom to Triple-A
Memphis. … Transferred OF Dexter Fowler to 60-day DL.Dodgers: RHP JT Chargois
went on the DL with nerve irritation. He experienced tingling in his fingers
while tossing six pitches in the fifth inning a night earlier. … RHP Ross
Stripling will throw a simulated game Friday.KOLTEN LOOKS GOLDEN Wong made a
stellar play for the first out of the ninth inning. The second baseman laid out
in shallow center field for Turner’s grounder, then pushed his upper body off
the ground just long enough to wing the ball to first base before falling back
to the outfield grass.“That’s Gold Glove-caliber,” Shildt said.END OF
STREAKTurner was hitless in five at-bats, ending his major league-leading
14-game hitting streak. During the run, he hit .464 with eight RBIs and three
homers.UP NEXTLHP Jack Flaherty (7-6, 3.05 ERA) starts the series finale for the
Cardinals. Rookie RHP Walker Buehler (6-4, 3.19) goes for the Dodgers.____
HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Astros were in a celebratory mood after helping
Charlie Morton get a milestone win.George Springer had four hits and scored
three runs to back Morton in his career-high 15th victory as the Astros beat the
Arizona Diamondbacks 10-4 Saturday night.“I think our guys were genuinely happy
for me,” said the 34-year-old Morton, who made his fist All-Star appearance
earlier this summer. “The wins — I guess it means a lot to me because of this
group. We’ve been through a lot and it means a lot to me. It was fun.”Morton
(15-3) limited Arizona to two runs and three hits while striking out seven in
six innings. He was perfect through three innings before the Diamondbacks scored
on a sacrifice fly from David Peralta in the fourth to pull to 2-1.“He’s already
entered uncharted waters and he continues to tack onto his career,” Houston
manager A.J. Hinch said. “These last two seasons, he’s been pushed, he’s been
challenged
http://www.bluejaysfanproshop.com/authentic-devon-travis-jersey , he’s had to endure a few things, and he’s done his part by continuing to post
and do his routine and be incredibly effective. The back of the baseball card
matters.”After struggling to get hits in a 4-2 loss to the Diamondbacks the
previous night, the Astros managed 12 hits — including 10 singles — and drew
seven walks in the bounce-back win. Coupled with Oakland’s 7-5 loss at Tampa
Bay, the Astros extended their lead in the AL West to 3 1/2 games over the
Athletics with 14 games remaining.Springer, who finished 4 for 5, said he didn’t
have any lingering shoulder discomfort after exiting Friday’s loss early as a
precaution following a diving attempt in the field. Instead, the Astros’ leadoff
hitter had his first four-hit game since May.The Astros put together a three-run
rally in the fourth inning with a string of singles from Springer, Jose Altuve,
Marwin Gonzalez and Yuli Gurriel. Gonzalez’s hit drove in two, and he advanced
to third on Gurriel’s dribbler into right field and came around to score when
the ball went under the glove of right fielder Steven Souza.That chased Zack
Godley (14-10), who gave up five runs and seven hits, while matching a
season-high with six walks in 3 2/3 innings. He lost his third straight start,
failing to make it to the sixth inning for the fifth time in his last six
outings — going 1-4 in that stretch.“I’m at a point where it’s one outing after
another where it’s kind of a snowball effect,” Godley said. “I’ve got to figure
out a way to put a stop to it and put up a clean outing.”Ketel Marte homered off
Morton in the fifth to cut Houston’s lead to 5-2.The Astros answered with
another three-run inning in the sixth, again using exclusively singles from
Springer, Alex Bregman and Gurriel to push the lead to 8-2. Altuve had a two-run
double in the seventh.Eduardo Escobar hit his 22nd homer of the year in the
eighth inning into the right-field upper deck off Chris Devenski to make it
10-3. Marte’s RBI double in the ninth capped the scoring.“We played sloppy
baseball today in a couple of situations,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said.
“We can’t do that, especially in this environment, this time of the year against
this team. We’ve got to figure that out.”Jose Reddick homered
http://www.bluejaysfanproshop.com/authentic-roy-halladay-jersey , his 14th, off Godley in the second inning to get the Astros on the scoreboard
first, and Gurriel made it 2-0 with run-scoring grounder in the third.The Astros
left the bases loaded in the first and third innings and stranded 10 runners in
the game.TRAINER’S ROOMDiamondbacks: Arizona placed RHP Clay Buchholz (right
elbow flexor strain) on the 60-day disabled list. Buchholz, 34, was 7-2 with a
2.01 ERA in 16 starts for Arizona this season and was a late scratch from his
last scheduled start Thursday in Colorado. RHP Randall Delgado was recalled from
Triple-A Reno.Astros: RHP Lance McCullers Jr. (forearm strain) pitched a bullpen
session on Saturday at the Astros’ spring training facility in Florida, facing
one hitter and mixing in all of his pitches, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said.
McCullers, who has been out since Aug. 4, will have a similar session on
Tuesday.BREGMAN’S STREAKBregman went 1 for 2 with a run and two walks, extending
his on-base streak to 41 games, the longest active streak in the majors and tied
for the fourth-longest streak in franchise history.ASTROS ADD SPEEDOF Myles
Straw made his major league debut as a pinch runner in the seventh after being
called up from Triple-A Fresno on Saturday. Straw, 24, batted .291 with 70
stolen bases across Double-A and Triple-A this season. The Astros are hopeful
that the speedy Straw can be a baserunning threat in the playoffs. To make room
on the 40-man roster, the Astros transferred RHP Jandel Gustave to the 60-day
disabled list.UP NEXTDiamondbacks: RHP Zack Greinke (14-9, 3.11 ERA) is 7-3 with
a 2.75 ERA in his last 11 road starts. In 10 career starts against Houston,
Greinke is 6-2 with a 2.24 ERA.Astros: RHP Justin Verlander (15-9, 2.72 ERA)
will close out Houston’s three-game series against Arizona on Sunday. Verlander
is two strikeouts behind teammate Gerrit Cole (260) for the American League
lead, and just 11 shy of his career high of 269 in 2009.
