Ichiro Suzuki drew closer to a cherished major league milestone and the Miami Marlins took the rubber game of a three-game series matching National League wild-card hopefuls.Suzuki’s three hits led Miami’s 13-hit attack Sunday as they knocked off the St. Louis Cardinals 6-3 in Busch Stadium.Suzuki needs only six hits to reach 3,000, and almost had a fourth hit.
Advertisement
PHILADELPHIA – Neil Walker hit a three-run homer and Juan Lagares also went deep to lead NY over Philadelphia. Veteran third baseman Martin Prado has two hits in five career at-bats against the right-hander with no walks and no strikeouts. The team’s longtime ace received a standing ovation in the eighth before striking out for the fourth straight time. He’s lasted four innings or fewer in three of his last four outings, and five innings in the other one. The shutout was the 10th of his career and first since September 17, 2014, against the Brewers. Miami CF Marcell Ozuna also was not in the starting lineup, giving Ichiro Suzuki the nod as he chases 3,000 hits in the majors.
The St. Louis Cardinals began the second half of the season in much the same manner as they finished the first – with yet another defeat at home. Matt Holliday, shaky at first base in the opener, didn’t play.
The highlight for Miami was a pair of diving catches by right fielder Giancarlo Stanton, the first robbing Adams of a two-run double to end the first inning and the second denying Aledmys Diaz a hit in the fourth.
Tom Koehler (6-8) lasted 4 innings, allowing 4 runs and 7 hits. More impressively, in Martinez’s last seven starts, he has a 1.75 ERA. It kept them in a tie for the second wild-card spot, two games ahead of the Cardinals. The Marlins dropped back from a season-best seven games above.500. He got it for real in the sixth when he sliced a double near the line in left and added No. 2,994 on a grounder to the hole at short in the eighth.
Up next, the Marlins’ Adam Conley (6-5, 3.62 ERA), a lefty, faces the Cardinals for the first time.
ATLANTA – Carlos Gonzalez had three hits, Nolan Arenado scored three times and pinch-hitter Ryan Raburn capped a big offensive performance for Colorado with a ninth-inning grand slam against Atlanta.
It has been somewhat of an odd year for the St. Louis Cardinals’ Matt Holliday as while he is on pace for more home runs than he has had since 2012 with his 15 homers so far, before this weekend he was only hitting.241/.317/.452 with a wRC+ of 105.
Stephen Strasburg threw eight masterful innings and bunted in a run and Michael Taylor hit a two-run homer that broke the game open as the Washington Nationals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-1 on Friday night in the.
Francisco Liriano (5-9) yielded three runs and five hits in six-plus innings. Pham was 5 for 8 the first two games of the series with two homers on Friday.
MINNEAPOLIS – Mike Napoli had three hits, including his 19th home run, and Carlos Carrasco pitched into the seventh inning as Cleveland beat Minnesota.
Advertisement
CUBS 3, RANGERS 1 Yu Darvish returned from the disabled list to strike out nine but was inefficient and wild at times, and Anthony Rizzo’s two-run double helped lead host Chicago past Texas.
