SAN DIEGO — Brendan Donovan hit a grand slam in the seventh inning to lead Albert Pujols and the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-4 victory against the San Diego Padres on Thursday, snapping a three-game losing streak.
Pujols remained at 698 career homers, although he did drive two balls to deep left field, one for a single and one for an out on the warning track. The next stop in his pursuit of the 700-homer club is Dodger Stadium, where the Cardinals open a three-game series on Friday.
Manny Machado hit his 30th homer for the Padres, who had won five in a row.
Pujols, who plans to retire after this season, one-hopped the wall in left for a single in the second. He popped up in the fourth and then hit a drive off Adrian Morejon that Jurickson Profar caught on the track for the final out of the sixth. He flied out to center in the eighth.
GIANTS 3, ROCKIES 0: Mike Yastrzemski homered and John Brebbia pitched an inning in his second start of the series, helping San Francisco beat Colorado in Denver to complete a four-game sweep.
Brebbia was followed by five relievers in the 10-hit shutout. Jharel Cotton (3-2) pitched 2 2/3 innings for the win in his first big league appearance since he was claimed off waivers from Minnesota on Sunday. Camilo Doval got three outs for his 24th save.
Brebbia also worked a scoreless inning when he got the start for Tuesday night’s 6-3 victory.
CUBS 3, PIRATES 2: Rookie Hayden Wesneski had an immaculate inning in his second major league start to lead Chicago to a win at Pittsburgh.
Wesneski (2-1) gave up two runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings, striking out six and walking two in sending Pittsburgh to its seventh straight loss. It was his fourth appearance in the majors.
Wesneski had an immaculate inning in the fifth when he struck out the side on nine pitches.
It was the 111th immaculate inning in major league history and fourth in Cubs history. The last Cubs pitcher to accomplish the feat was LaTroy Hawkins in 2004.
BREWERS 5, REDS 1: Kolten Wong hit a career-high three homers and drove in five runs, helping Brandon Woodruff and Milwaukee win at Cincinnati.
Wong hit a two-run drive in the second inning against Hunter Greene. He hit another two-run shot in the sixth off Dauri Moreta and a solo drive in the eighth against Joel Kuhnel. Wong has 15 homers and 46 RBI on the season.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
MARINERS 9, ATHLETICS 5: Julio Rodríguez doubled and scored before leaving with lower back tightness, and visiting Seattle overcame the loss of the rookie center fielder to beat Oakland and avoid a three-game sweep.
Rodríguez slowly walked off the field with a trainer in the bottom half of the first inning. He recently missed three games in Anaheim with a lower back issue.
Jarred Kelenic moved from left to center field and Sam Haggerty entered the game in left. Kelenic homered and doubled in his first game since being called up from Triple-A Tacoma.
RAYS 10, BLUE JAYS 5: Wander Franco had three RBI, Jonathan Aranda homered and Tampa Bay beat visiting Toronto in the opener of a big four-game series between playoff contenders.
Randy Arozarena had three hits and drove in two runs for the Rays, who were coming off a three-game series in which they were swept by Houston and scored just twice.
Tampa Bay (83-67) pulled within one game of Toronto (84-66) for the top spot in the AL wild-card standings. Seattle (82-67) is in third, four games ahead of Baltimore.
RANGERS 5, ANGELS 3: Corey Seager hit a tie-breaking two-run homer in the eighth inning, helping Texas top visiting Los Angeles,
Seager drove a 1-1 fastball from Jose Quijada (0-5) deep to left for his 32nd homer, extending his career best in his first season with Texas. Quijada came in to pitch the eighth and walked leadoff hitter Marcus Semien before Seager went deep.
Matt Moore (5-2) got three outs for the win, and Jose Leclerc handled the ninth for his seventh save in eight opportunities.
Angels star Shohei Ohtani was held out of the starting lineup, but he pinch hit with one out in the ninth. Ohtani doubled into the right-field corner, but Luis Rengifo and Mike Trout struck out swinging.
ROYALS 4, TWINS 1: Jonathan Heasley pitched six innings of two-hit ball, Edward Oliveras and Drew Waters homered, and won at home to complete a three-game sweep.
Salvador Perez also drove in a run for Kansas City, extending his streak to seven straight games with an RBI, and Brad Keller finished off three innings of no-hit ball by the bullpen for his first career save.
ORIOLES 2, ASTROS 0: Kyle Bradish came within one out of his first career shutout, outpitching Justin Verlander in a stellar performance to lift Baltimore Orioles over visiting Houston.
Bradish (4-7) took a perfect game into the sixth inning before Mauricio Dubon lined a single to left field with two outs. That was the only baserunner Bradish permitted until there were two outs in the ninth, when Jeremy Pena also singled. With the potential tying run at the plate, the Orioles brought in closer Felix Bautista to finish for his 15th save.
NOTES
ATHLETICS: Veteran catcher Stephen Vogt will retire after 10 major league seasons and a long, patient road to break into the big leagues at age 27.
Not to mention a nearly 15-month wait to finally get his first hit.
Vogt endured an 0-for-32 hitless streak to start his career that began in Tampa Bay and ended in San Francisco’s East Bay.
Vogt eventually turned into a two-time All-Star and earned his own signature chant of “I believe in Stephen Vogt!” from fans who appreciated his path and struggles.
The 37-year-old journeyman played for Tampa Bay, Oakland, Milwaukee, San Francisco, Arizona and Atlanta, joining the A’s for a second stint this year.
ROCKIES: Infielder Brendan Rodgers was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain, and the team called up infielder Ezequiel Tovar from Triple-A Albuquerque.
The move with Rodgers was retroactive to Monday. He left Sunday’s game at the Chicago Cubs early due to tightness in the hamstring.
Tovar is one of the Rockies’ top prospects. He batted .318 through 66 games with Double-A Hartford before a groin injury sidelined him for more than two months. He was reinstated from the injured list last week and placed with Albuquerque where he was 7-for-21 with a home run and two RBI in five games before being called up.
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