PITTSBURGH — Gregory Polanco doubled twice, drove in two runs and threw out a potential go-ahead run at the plate to lead the surging Pittsburgh Pirates to a 4-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night.
Brewers catcher Stephen Vogt left the game in the fifth inning after a collision with Pirates pitcher Chad Kuhl at the plate. Vogt caught an incidental elbow to the head from Kuhl, and both players were down for several minutes. Kuhl remained in the game, but Vogt had to be helped to his feet and left to be evaluated for a neck strain and left knee strain. Vogt held onto the ball and Kuhl was called out.
Polanco finished 4 for 4 and is hitting .446 this month. Francisco Cervelli added two hits for the Pirates, who pulled within six games of the first-place Brewers.
NATIONALS 6, REDS 1: Ryan Zimmerman set the Nationals’ career home run record with a solo shot, and Bryce Harper connected again as Washington powered its way to a win in Cincinnati.
Zimmerman’s 235th career homer moved him ahead of Vladimir Guerrero for most in Expos/Nationals history. Guerrero quickly tweeted congratulations, saying he doesn’t mind being second.
The NL East leaders emerged from the All-Star break with an emphatically successful series – 13 homers, including three by Harper, and 35 runs overall by the league’s top offense. It was the Nationals’ first four-game sweep of the Reds and left them 6-1 against Cincinnati this season.
CARDINALS 6, METS 3: Paul DeJong homered against the Mets for the fourth straight game and Adam Wainwright hit an RBI double while winning his fourth consecutive start, sending St. Louis to a win in New York.
With runners at the corners in the bottom of the ninth inning, slugger Yoenis Cespedes grounded into a game-ending double play on a 3-0 pitch from Brett Cecil.
Tommy Pham capped a six-run sixth with a three-run homer on Hansel Robles’ second pitch since returning from the minors.
Four relievers combined on 31/3 spotless innings for St. Louis, which took the opener of a four-game series between losing teams that expected much better this season.
Michael Conforto and Lucas Duda homered off Wainwright (11-5).
MARLINS 6, PHILLIES 5: Dee Gordon hit an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning as Miami walked off with a win at home.
Giancarlo Stanton homered in the first and the fifth for Miami. He has 28 home runs this season.
Philadelphia tied it in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Cesar Hernandez.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
ORIOLES 3, RANGERS 1: Seth Smith hit a tie-breaking homer in the seventh inning and host Baltimore used a strong performance by its struggling pitching staff to beat Texas.
Smith connected off Andrew Cashner (4-8) to make it 2-1, Baltimore’s first lead since the All-Star break following a three-game sweep by the Chicago Cubs. Baltimore yielded 27 runs in that series, including 21 by the starters over 111/3 innings.
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