ST. LOUIS — When Braves second baseman Tyler Pastornicky backpedaled into shallow right field to catch the popup and Jason Heyward didn’t arrive fast enough to take charge, Kolten Wong got the green light.
ST. LOUIS — When Braves second baseman Tyler Pastornicky backpedaled into shallow right field to catch the popup and Jason Heyward didn’t arrive fast enough to take charge, Kolten Wong got the green light.
The rookie raced home with the tying run on surely the shortest sacrifice fly of Yadier Molina’s career, one of many big plays the St. Louis Cardinals made with their legs in a 4-1 victory over the slumping Atlanta Braves on Saturday.
“By the time I realized I could get there, it would have been tough to call him off,” Heyward said. “Heads up play on their part by sending the runner.”
Wong and Peter Bourjos each had a pair of bunt singles, three of them fueling rallies. Bourjos got picked off after beating out a bunt leading off the third, but squeezed home an insurance run in the seventh.
“I think today was probably one of the best representations of what speed can do for us,” manager Mike Matheny said. “A lot of guys made things happen, getting on base and creating havoc.”
Wong set up the tying run by beating out a bunt to lead off the fourth. He squared around for another hit in the sixth and drew a wild throw from catcher Evan Gattis while stealing second, producing the go-ahead run.
The Cardinals matched their season high with their fourth straight win.
Miller (6-2) allowed a run and five hits in seven innings, one inning longer than his previous high this season. He matched his season best with seven strikeouts, fanning B.J. Upton three times, and called it his best outing of the year “for sure.”
“I felt like we did a really good job of keeping the hitters off-balance and getting ahead in the count,” Miller said. “Just an all-around good day, but at the same time there’s still room for improvement.”
Trevor Rosenthal fanned two in the ninth inning, with Upton striking out a fourth time, to earn his 13th save in 14 chances. He has a save in three straight games for the second time in his career.
Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez was ejected in the fifth inning for arguing a call that led to a bunt double play. He could face a fine for charging out of the dugout a second time and thought the ball was “maybe 5, 6 inches foul.”
“That’s what I kept asking: Can we get some help from one of the guys on the line?” Gonzalez said. “What are you going to do? We still scored one run.
“But that would have been a nice opportunity to try again to advance a runner,” he added.
Andrelton Simmons had three hits for Atlanta, which lost its third in a row and scored fewer than three runs for the 19th time in 41 games this season.
Miller has won six straight decisions in seven starts after losing his first two of the season. The last three St. Louis starters have worked seven innings.
In the fifth, Harang stayed in the batter’s box after his attempt to sacrifice Simmons to third didn’t go far. Molina pounced on the ball and threw to third, with shortstop Jhonny Peralta covering, for a tag play. Peralta had an easy relay to first to finish with second baseman Wong covering for an unusual 2-6-4 double play.
“What stinks is sometimes it’s those little plays that change the tempo of the game,” Harang said. “If it’s called four, then I can get another one down. It’s tough, you know.”
The Braves capitalized on shoddy defense to take the early lead.
Simmons scored from first on Harang’s two-out single — the pitcher’s first hit of the year. Harang took third after left fielder Matt Holliday threw behind him, then trotted home after Wong’s wild throw from second.
YANKEES 7, PIRATES 1
NEW YORK — Mark Teixeira has provided consistent power for weeks. The rest of the New York Yankees joined in Saturday.
Teixeira hit a two-run homer, Zoilo Almonte connected in his first start of the season and New York went deep five times for a 7-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
It was the second time since 2011 that five Yankees players homered in one game.
Brett Gardner and Alfonso Soriano also homered off a struggling Edinson Volquez to back five scoreless innings from David Phelps (1-0). Brian McCann added a two-run drive in the eighth against reliever Vin Mazzaro as New York won for only the second time in eight home games.
Coming off consecutive road shutouts against the crosstown rival Mets, the Yankees took their third straight following a four-game slide.
Starling Marte homered and had three hits in his return to the starting lineup for the Pirates, winless at Yankee Stadium since Harvey Haddix pitched them to a 5-2 victory in Game 5 of the 1960 World Series.
Volquez (1-4) gave up six hits — four homers — and no walks in 6 1-3 innings, dropping to 0-4 in his last five starts.
Teixeira connected on a 1-2 pitch following Derek Jeter’s single in the first for his eighth home run in his last 17 games. It was the 350th of his career, tying Chili Davis for sixth place among switch-hitters.
Almonte sent Volquez’s first pitch of the third into the raised bleachers in right-center for his second major league homer. Called up from the minors Tuesday, Almonte was a late addition to the lineup when center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury was scratched with flu-like symptoms.
Gardner homered leading off the sixth and Soriano did the same in the seventh.
METS 5, NATIONALS 2
WASHINGTON — Juan Lagares drove in three runs with a homer and a single, and Bartolo Colon allowed five hits in eight innings and the New York Mets defeated the Washington Nationals 5-2.
Lagares came in 5 for 27 in his past 11 games, but he provided a jolt for the struggling Mets.
He singled in a run during a three-run first and homered with one on and one out in the third to give New York a 5-0 lead.
The Mets’ outfielder added a defensive gem, robbing Jayson Werth of a home run with a leaping catch against the wall in center.
Colon (3-5) allowed both runs as New York snapped a three-game losing streak and won for the first time in 10 tries against Washington.
Gio Gonzalez (3-4) took the loss.
Jenrry Mejia pitched the ninth for his first save.
Ian Desmond had two hits, including a two-run homer, for Washington.
Rookie Eric Campbell drove in two runs and had his first two-hit game, and Daniel Murphy added two hits as well for New York.
CUBS 3, BREWERS 0
CHICAGO — Edwin Jackson wanted to leave the mound on his own terms.
Jackson struck out 11 in seven innings and Welington Castillo hit a two-run double to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 3-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday.
Jackson (3-3) had his best outing for the Cubs since signing a four-year, $52 million deal before the 2013 season. The right-hander allowed four hits and walked one. He struck out the side in the first and struck out Elian Herrera to end the fifth for his 10th strikeout. He finished his outing by striking out Jeff Bianchi on 95 mph fastball.
Jackson received a visit from manager Rick Renteria after giving up an 0-2 single to Jean Segura with one out in the seventh, but Jackson persuaded Renteria to let him finish the inning.
Hector Rondon pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save in four opportunities.
Starlin Castro had an RBI double for the last-place Cubs, who won just for the third time in 13 games.
Milwaukee starter Matt Garza (2-4) was tagged for three runs on four hits. The former Cub had his second straight start that he allowed three runs in the first inning.
The right-hander did rebound by not allowing a hit until a leadoff single by Anthony Rizzo in the sixth inning. He struck out seven and walked one.
ASTROS 6, WHITE SOX 5
HOUSTON— Jason Castro hit a three-run homer and Dexter Fowler homered and drove in two runs to help the Houston Astros outlast the Chicago White Sox for a 6-5 win.
Castro’s home run came in Houston’s four-run first inning. The White Sox scored two in the second and one in the third to cut the lead to one before Fowler’s solo shot in the fifth inning. His RBI single in the seventh inning pushed the lead to 6-3.
Houston starter Jarred Cosart (3-3) allowed seven hits and three runs in five innings.
Kyle Farnsworth had a tough debut with the Astros after being signed Saturday. Alejandro De Aza and Gordon Beckham each had an RBI off of the veteran reliever in the eighth inning to cut the lead to 6-5.
He was replaced by Darin Downs with two outs. Downs retired Conor Gillaspie to end the inning and Chad Qualls pitched a perfect ninth for his third save.
Chicago’s Hector Noesi (0-4) gave up eight hits and six runs — five earned — in six innings to remain winless in four starts and 10 appearances this season.
Alexei Ramirez had two hits and an RBI, and rookie Jose Abreu drove in his AL-leading 42nd RBI with a sacrifice in the third.
Abreu played designated hitter for the second straight game to rest his sore left ankle. He is 0 for 7 in this series and was replaced by pinch hitter Paul Konerko with one out in the seventh inning.
Fowler finished with three hits and rookie George Springer had two hits, including his first career triple, and an RBI.
Jose Altuve hit a leadoff single before Springer’s hit sailed just over the head of center fielder De Aza for a triple to put Houston up 1-0.
A’s 6, INDIANS 2
CLEVELAND — Brandon Moss hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs and Josh Donaldson also had three RBIs, helping the Oakland Athletics overcome starter Scott Kazmir’s ejection in the second inning to beat the Cleveland Indians 6-2.
Dan Otero (4-0) relieved Kazmir and pitched 3 2-3 scoreless innings to help seal Oakland’s eighth win in nine games
Kazmir was ejected by plate umpire Jerry Layne after the left-hander walked Jesus Aguilar on a borderline full-count pitch with one out in the second. The walk was the third Kazmir allowed and he was clearly unhappy with Layne’s strike zone. Kazmir yelled at the umpire, who quickly ejected the pitcher.
The Indians have lost three straight and five of seven. Cleveland committed three errors and has made a major league-high 43 errors in 43 games.
TIGERS 6, RED SOX 1
BOSTON — Miguel Cabrera hit a solo homer and RBI single, Rick Porcello pitched eight solid innings to win his sixth straight start and the red-hot Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox 6-1.
It was the 10th consecutive road win for the Tigers, who are a majors’ best 26-12. Detroit won for the 14th time in 17 games.
Porcello (7-1) gave up one run, six hits, striking out four and walking one. It was the fifth time in six starts he’s allowed two or fewer runs.
Cabrera also had one of Detroit’s six doubles, and Victor Martinez added a pair of singles.
Xander Bogaerts had a solo homer and Mike Napoli three singles for the slumping Red Sox, who have scored just one run in the first two games of the three-game series. Boston lost the opener 1-0 Friday.
John Lackey (5-3) gave up more than two runs for the first time in five starts, allowing six — five earned — on nine hits in 5 1-3 innings.
It was a much better start for Porcello than his last one in Fenway Park. The right-hander was tagged for nine runs and seven hits — three homers — in five innings during a 20-4 loss to the Red Sox on Sept. 4.
Boston’s David Ortiz had a single to extend his hitting streak to 10 games, going 19 for 40 with five homers and eight RBIs during that stretch.
With Detroit leading 1-0 in the third, Cabrera hit a fly ball down the right field line, hooking it around the Pesky Pole about 10-15 beyond the pole and a couple of rows into the seats.
In the fourth, Torii Hunter had an RBI double and scored on Cabrera’s single to make it 4-0.