Albert Pujols of the Cardinals tips his cap after hitting a grand slam Thursday against the Colorado Rockies in St. Louis. Jeff Roberson/Associated Press
ST. LOUIS — Albert Pujols launched a pinch-hit grand slam and drove in five runs, Adam Wainwright pitched seven sharp innings and the St. Louis Cardinals routed the Colorado Rockies 13-0 Thursday for a three-game sweep.
The Rockies lost starting pitcher Antonio Senzatela and right fielder Charlie Blackmon in the second inning to leg injuries. Senzatela crumpled to the ground after attempting to cover first base, and Blackmon was removed an inning later after beating out an infield single.
The NL Central-leading Cardinals won their fourth in a row and sent Colorado to its fifth straight loss. St. Louis has won 12 of its last 13 home games and has taken 12 straight from the Rockies at Busch Stadium.
Pujols hit his 690th career home run, connecting off Austin Gomber and capping a five-run third that made it 10-0. It was Pujols’ 16th grand slam – his first as a pinch hitter – and it moved him into a tie with Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Dave Kingman for 10th-most grand slams.
Pujols added an RBI single.
Wainwright (10-9) gave up three hits, two of them infield singles. He struck out seven, walked none and retired his final 13 batters.
Génesis Cabrera and Chris Stratton each pitched a scoreless inning of relief to complete the four-hitter.
Lars Nootbaar hit a two-run homer. Paul Goldschmidt added two doubles and a single.
BRAVES 3, METS 2: Max Fried outpitched Jacob deGrom, ever so slightly, in a matchup of aces and rookie Michael Harris II bounced a go-ahead double in the seventh inning that sent Atlanta to a win at home.
Braves rookie Vaughn Grissom hustled all the way from first base to score on Harris’ grounder to shallow center field.
The Braves won three of four in the series and moved within 3 1/2 games of the NL East-leading Mets. Atlanta has won nine of 10.
BREWERS 5, DODGERS 3: Andrew McCutchen homered twice, Hunter Renfroe also went deep and Milwaukee won at home to split the four-game series.
McCutchen went 3 for 4 with three RBI. It was his 19th career multi-homer game and first since June 1, 2021, when he hit a pair for the Philadelphia Phillies in a 17-3 blowout of the Cincinnati Reds. His homers were a solo shot in the first inning and a two-run blast in the third.
Renfroe, who went 3 for 3, added a two-run homer in the fifth to help the Brewers build a 5-0 lead. Renfroe also singled in the third and doubled off the center-field wall in the eighth.
Dodgers starter Andrew Heaney (1-1) gave up all three homers. He struck out 10 but allowed five runs, five hits and one walk in 4 2/3 innings.
Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes (9-5) held the Dodgers scoreless for five innings before running into trouble in the sixth. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner struck out six and allowed three runs, six hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings.
Devin Williams struck out the side in the ninth for his eighth save in as many opportunities.
DIAMONDBACKS 5, GIANTS 0: Zac Gallen struck out a career-high 12 in 7 1/3 innings, extending his shutout streak and pitching Arizona to a win at San Francisco.
Gallen (9-2) limited the Giants to four hits and has now thrown 21 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings. The right-hander has won five straight decisions since his last loss on June 10 at Philadelphia.
Daulton Varsho, Josh Rojas, Sergio Alcantara, Jake McCarthy and Carson Kelly drove in runs for the D-backs, who chased Logan Webb (11-6) early and earned a split of the four-game series.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
ASTROS 21, WHITE SOX 5: Alex Bregman hit two homers and two doubles, driving in a career-high six runs and powering Houston to a rout in Chicago.
Houston’s run total tied for the second most in team history – the Astros scored 23 against Baltimore in 2019. They wound up with 25 hits, as Bregman, Kyle Tucker and Christian Vazquez tied career highs with four each.
Chas McCormick, who had five RBI, and Trey Mancini also homered the AL West leaders.
BLUE JAYS 9, YANKEES 2: George Springer went 5 for 5, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a three-run homer to cap a five-run second inning off Frankie Montas, and visiting Toronto routed slumping New York.
José Berríos (9-5) bounced back from a pair of rough outings to pitch 6 2/3 effective innings. The right-hander allowed two runs on six hits, struck out nine and walked one.
RAYS 7, ROYALS 1: Luis Patino pitched strongly into the sixth inning, Yandy Diaz drove in three runs, and Tampa Bay won at home.
Tampa Bay is tied with Toronto for the second AL wild card, has won five of six.
Patino (1-1), recalled from Triple-A Durham to make his first big league appearance since July 23, gave up four hits in 5 2/3 scoreless innings.
RANGERS 10, ATHLETICS 3: Nathaniel Lowe hit a three-run homer, Jonah Heim drove in two runs against his former team and Texas won at home.
Rangers’ right-hander Dane Dunning (3-6) earned his second consecutive win after going three months without a victory.
Lowe blasted a 2-1 curveball into the right-field seats in the fifth inning, one inning after taking a pitch to his upper back. He has 17 homers this season, one short of the career high he set last year.
Adolis Garcia hit a single leading off the second inning to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 15 games. It’s the longest active streak in the majors and Texas’ longest since Elvis Andrus’ 19-game streak in 2018. Heim’s triple brought Garcia home.
Dunning (3-6) allowed two runs on four hits with four strikeouts and three walks. Before his Aug. 6 win over the Chicago White Sox, he set a franchise record by going 15 starts without a win.
INTERLEAGUE
CUBS 3, ORIOLES 2: Willson Contreras hit a pair of homers, Adrian Sampson pitched scoreless ball into the sixth inning and Chicago won at Baltimore.
Contreras had his 10th multi-homer game, which ranks second among Cubs catchers behind Gabby Hartnett (14).
Sampson (1-3) allowed four hits with six strikeouts and two walks over 5 2/3 innings, earning his first win since last Sept. 14 at Philadelphia.
Rafael Ortega also homered for the Cubs, who have won five of seven.
NOTES
TWINS: The MRI exam on Tyler Mahle’s shoulder showed no damage, and the Minnesota right-hander avoided landing on the injured list.
The Twins announced that Mahle will be listed as day to day because of general soreness and fatigue, after their newest starting pitcher was pulled from his outing Wednesday in the third inning. His next turn in the rotation is unclear.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.