NEW YORK — Anthony Rizzo's two-run home run, his 30th of the season, started a six-run fifth inning as the Chicago Cubs rallied for a 9-6 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Thursday. The Cubs turned a 4-3 deficit into a 9-4 lead with the fifth-inning outburst that included a two-run double by left-handed reliever Clayton Richard (4-2) and RBI singles by rookie shortstop Addison Russell and second baseman Tommy La Stella. The Cubs (85-61) got within two games of the Pirates (87-59) for the first wild-card berth. Marlins 6, Nationals 4 Martin Prado scored twice and had two hits, including a two-run homer, while Justin Bour crushed a three-run shot as the Miami Marlins beat the Washington Nationals to dampen the post-season hopes of the defending division champs. The Nationals (75-71) are now eight games behind the idle first-place New York Mets in the National League East with 16 games remaining. Cardinals 6, Brewers 3 Matt Carpenter finished a triple short of the cycle while Tommy Pham had three hits as the St. Louis Cardinals moved one step closer to the National League Central crown with a 6-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cardinals (92-54) have a five-game lead over Pittsburgh. The duo provided plenty of support for right-hander John Lackey (12-9), who scattered five hits and two walks while striking out eight over seven scoreless innings. American League Athletics 4, White Sox 2 Billy Butler hit a three-run home run in the top of the ninth inning to lead the Oakland Athletics to a 4-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Butler hit a drive off Chicago closer David Robertson (6-4) and while right fielder Avisail Garcia jumped and got a glove on the ball, the contact with the wall jarred the ball loose and it fell into the visiting bullpen. Sean Doolittle (1-0) pitched the final two innings for the win. Orioles 4, Rays 3 The Baltimore Orioles rallied for four runs in the eighth off Tampa Bay Rays reliever Alex Colome to pull out a 4-3 victory. Rays starter Matt Moore produced his best outing since returning from Tommy John surgery in July with nine strikeouts and giving up just two hits, but Colome could not get out of the eighth, allowing five successive batters to reach base with two outs. Royals 8, Indians 4 Omar Infante recorded a single, double, home run and a career-high seven RBIs to lead the Kansas City Royals to an 8-4 victory over the Cleveland Indians. Infante hit a three-run homer in the second inning, a two-run double in the fifth and a two-run single in the seventh. Right-hander Yordano Ventura (12-8) pitched five innings to get the win. Rangers 8, Astros 2 The Texas Rangers have seized control of the American League West in only four days, completing a pivotal sweep of the Houston Astros with an 8-2 victory. Angels 11, Twins 8 Mike Trout hit two homers, including a second-inning grand slam, as the Los Angeles Angels dug out of an early five-run hole in an 11-8 victory over the Minnesota Twins. Inter-League Blue Jays 5, Braves 0 Marco Estrada scattered three hits over eight shutout innings while the Toronto Blue Jays connected for three home runs in beating the Atlanta Braves. Estrada (13-8) did not allow a runner to reach second base and at one point retired 10 successive batters. The win extended Toronto's lead in the American League East to 3-1/2 games over the New York Yankees, who were idle. — Agencies
