UNDATED (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals have tied the longest winning streak in team history by sweeping a pair from the Chicago Cubs on Friday.
The Redbirds were 8-5 winners in the opener on two-run homers by Paul Goldschmidt, Tyler O’Neill and pinch-hitter José Rondón. Tommy Edman had three hits and Goldschmidt had three RBIs to help the Cardinals take a 8-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth.
The Cardinals made it 14 wins by blowing out the Cubs, 12-4 in the nightcap. Tyler O’Neill provided a three-run homer and pair Lars Nootbaar smacked a pair of solo shots. Harrison Bader added a solo drive, double and single as St. Louis batters went deep five times in the nightcap and eight times on the day.
The Cards reeled off 14 straight wins in 1935 behind Hall of Famers Dizzy Dean, Ducky Medwick and Frankie Frisch.
The Redbirds were three games out of a playoff berth when the streak began. They now lead the second NL wild card by five games over the Phillies and have a magic number of four to wrap up a postseason berth.
The Phillies currently are 1 1/2 games behind the NL East-leading Braves after Didi Gregorius hit a go-ahead, three-run home run in the seventh inning to send the Phils past the Pirates, 8-6.
Brad Miller also went deep as Philadelphia won its fourth in a row and eighth in the last 10. Hector Neris wriggled out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth by getting Ke’Bryan Hayes to ground out, avoiding the Phillies’ major league-leading 35th save.
Fernando Tatis Jr. homered leading off the top of the seventh inning to send the Padres to a 6-5 win over the Braves in the resumption of a game that was suspended due to rain in Atlanta on July 21. Tatis’ homer regained the lead for the Padres after Braves pinch-hitter Adam Duvall tied it with a solo homer with one out in the bottom of the sixth.
The Braves captured the scheduled game as Max Fried retired his last 18 batters and finished with a three-hitter for his second career shutout, leading a 4-0 win at San Diego. Dansby Swanson hit a two-run homer for the Braves in the nightcap.
Checking out Friday’s other MLB action:
— The Giants continue to hold a one-game lead over the Dodgers in the NL West after Mike Yastrzemski hit a three-run homer in San Francisco’s 100th victory, 7-2 at Colorado. Tommy La Stella, Crawford and Brandon Belt had solo home runs to give San Francisco a 3-2 lead after six. Kervin Castro tossed two innings for his first major league victory.
— Chris Taylor robbed a pair of potential extra-base hits on defense in the ninth inning to secure the Dodgers’ 4-2 victory at Arizona. AJ Pollock hit a two-run homer and also stole an extra-base hit from Josh Rojas in the first inning. Winning pitcher Tony Gonsolin limited the Diamondbacks to two runs over five innings.
— Christian Yelich hit one of Milwaukee’s three home runs and Eric Lauer turned in a much-needed strong start for the Brewers in a 5-1 win over the Mets. Kolten Wong and Willy Adames also went deep as Milwaukee ended a five-game skid and trimmed its magic number for winning its first NL Central title since 2018 to two. The Brewers have won 12 of their last 13 against the Mets in Milwaukee, including seven in a row.
— The Rays clobbered the Marlins, 8-0 as Ryan Yarbrough allowed two hits over six innings of relief to help the AL East leaders reduce their magic number to two. The Rays got three RBIs each from Randy Arozarena and Kevin Kiermaier, who came within a homer of hitting for the cycle. Tampa Bay rookie shortstop Wander Franco returned after missing two weeks with a right hamstring injury and extended his on-base streak to 40 games with a sixth-inning walk.
— The Red Sox’s seven-game winning streak is over following an 8-3 pounding by the Yankees. Giancarlo Stanton slammed a three-run homer and Gerrit Cole took a shutout into the sixth as New York climbed within one game of Boston for the first AL wild card. Boston didn’t score until Rafael Devers’ three-run homer.
— Byron Buxton’s two-run homer was the difference as the Twins dumped the Blue Jays, 3-1. The blast was part of a three-run third against Jose Berrios, who was back in Minnesota for the first time since being dealt to Toronto at the trade deadline. Marcus Semien homered for the Blue Jays, who are two games behind the Yankees for the second AL wild card.
— Like the Jays, the Mariners are two games out of a playoff spot following a 6-5 win over the Angels. Ty France homered and Jake Fraley scored the go-ahead run on a throwing error to help Seattle pick up its season-high sixth straight win. Paul Sewald worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth by fanning Jack Mayfield and getting Jose Rojas on a grounder to first for his 11th save.
— Frankie Montas pitched two-hit ball over seven innings of the Athletics’ 14-2 thrashing of the Astros. Montas also became the first Athletics pitcher in 20 years to reach 200 strikeouts in a season. Starling Marte had four hits and four RBIs as the A’s kept Houston’s magic number to clinch the AL West at three.
— Luis Robert hit a leadoff home run in the fifth inning of the White Sox’s 1-0 win over the Indians. Chicago starter Dylan Cease left after being struck on the right arm by a comebacker in the sixth inning, but X-rays were negative. Shane Bieber retired all nine hitters he faced in his first start for the Indians since suffering a shoulder injury in June.
— The Reds blew a 7-4 lead in the ninth before Aristides Aquino singled home the winning run in the 11th to give Cincinnati n 8-7 victory over the Nationals. Nick Castellanos, Eugenio Suárez, Max Schrock and pinch-hitter Delino DeShields homered for the Reds.
— The Royals knocked off the Tigers, 3-1 as Carlos Hernandez pitched five shutout innings and Whit Merrifield drove in a pair of runs. Hernandez allowed two hits, walked three and hit a batter, one start after allowing seven runs in four innings.
— Adolis García hit a go-ahead two-run double in a five-run ninth that gave the Rangers an 8-5 verdict over the Orioles. Cedric Mullins belted a three-run shot to become the first player in Orioles history to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in a season.
