St. Louis Cardinals' shortstop Jhonny Peralta's bat breaks during the ninth inning in game two of their baseball doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field Tuesday. — Reuters
NEW YORK — First baseman Anthony Rizzo went 2-for-3 with his team-leading 16th home run to help lead the Chicago Cubs to a victory over the St Louis Cardinals in the opener of a day-night National League doubleheader Tuesday. Dexter Fowler, Chris Denorfia and starting pitcher Jake Arrieta had two hits apiece as the Cubs snapped a four-game losing streak against the Cardinals. The right-handed Arrieta (9-5) won his fifth game in his last seven starts, allowing two runs and seven hits, striking out four and walking two. Cubs 5, Cardinals 3 (2nd game): The Cubs took advantage of a Cardinals error for a go-ahead run as they scored three times in the seventh inning en route to a victory and a doubleheader sweep With the game tied 2-2 in the seventh, relief pitcher Kevin Siegrist fielded a grounder and threw the ball into center field to allow the go-ahead run to score. St Louis fell to 54-30 while Chicago improved to 46-37. Reds 5, Nationals 0: Johnny Cueto threw a two-hit shutout, Joey Votto finished a triple shy of hitting for the cycle and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Washington Nationals. Cueto (6-5), one of five Final Vote candidates for the National League All-Star team, certainly helped his cause as he struck out a season-high 11 batters Washington (46-38) starter Max Scherzer (9-7) endured his shortest outing of the season — allowing five runs on seven hits in 4-2/3 innings — one day after being named to the All-Star team. Elsewhere it was: Braves 4, Brewers 3; Pirates 3, Padres 2; Giants 3, Mets 0. American League Royals 9, Rays 5 (1st game): Rookie right fielder Paulo Orlando hit a walk-off grand slam in the ninth inning and the Kansas City Royals beat the Tampa Bay Rays in the first game of a day-night doubleheader. Tampa Bay had tied the game in the top of the seventh before the Royals delivered the final blow. Royals 7, Rays 1 (2nd game): Alcides Escobar hit a bases-clearing double to break a sixth-inning tie, and Alex Gordon went 4-for-5 and drove in four runs, lifting the Royals (48-33) to victory over the Rays (43-43) and a doubleheader sweep. Indians 2, Astros 0: Michael Brantley had three hits, including a home run, and Corey Kluber pitched into the seventh inning to earn his first win in more than a month as the Cleveland Indians beat the Houston Astros. Athletics 4, Yankees 3 (10 innings): Third baseman Brett Lawrie led off the top of the 10th inning with a home run, lifting the Oakland Athletics to a victory over the New York Yankees. Twins 8, Orioles 3: Miguel Sano had two hits, including his first Major League home run, and reached base three times as the Minnesota Twins won over the Baltimore Orioles. Blue Jays 2, White Sox 1: Felix Doubront made the most of his tryout as a starting pitcher, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Chicago White Sox. Mariners 7, Tigers 6 (11 innings): Robinson Cano ended a night of homers by singling in the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning, giving the Seattle Mariners a win over the Detroit Tigers. Inter-League Red Sox 4, Marlins 3: Xander Bogaerts, one of the five players eligible to be the last addition to the American League All-Star team via fan voting, delivered a three-run single in the seventh inning to lead Boston past Miami. The win was the third straight, the seventh in the last nine games and eighth in the last 11 for the last-place Red Sox (40-45). In other games it was: Angels 10, Rockies 2; Arizona 4, Texas 2. — Reuters
