Rockies Drop Close One To Padres – MLB Roundup For Aug. 14th

UNDATED (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals have opened a critical series against the Pittsburgh Pirates by winning a marathon against the National League Central leaders.

The Redbirds are within two games of the Bucs after Patrick Chambers singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 14th to complete the Cards' 4-3 comeback win over the Pirates. Pittsburgh owned a 3-0 lead by the second inning and were ahead 3-2 in the ninth until Starling Marte (mahr-TAY') dropped an easy fly ball with one out, allowing Daniel Descalso to reach second. Allen Craig singled home Descalso before Chambers sent the Cardinals to victory.

Andrew McCutchen and Jordy Mercer homered for the Pirates, who've dropped four in a row.

Pittsburgh's lead over third-place Cincinnati is down to 3 ½ games. Shin-Soo Choo hit a tiebreaking, two-run single in the 11th inning of the Reds' 6-4 verdict over the Cubs in Chicago. J.J. Hoover allowed one hit in 2 1/3 shutout innings, running his scoreless streak to 21 games and 24 2-3 innings.

The Los Angeles Dodgers made it 39 wins in their last 47 games by beating the Mets' ace, scoring four times off Matt Harvey over six innings of a 4-2 win against New York. Harvey had a 1-0 lead until Nick Punto hit a two-run double in the fifth, one inning before A.J. Ellis poked a two-run single. That was enough offense for Hyun-Jim Ryu, who's 12-3 with a 2.91 ERA after limiting the Mets to a run and five hits in seven innings.

The Dodgers have their first seven-game winning streak in more than three years and a 7 ½-game lead over second-place Arizona in the NL West.

The Diamondbacks kept pace by beating Baltimore 4-3 on Paul Goldschmidt's walkoff homer in the bottom of the 11th, one day after Mark Eaton beat Baltimore with a walkoff blast. Goldschmidt also tied the game with a solo shot in the ninth before belting his second walk-off homer of the homestand, keeping the Diamondbacks 5 ½ game behind Cincinnati for the final wild-card berth.

The Orioles are six games behind first-place Boston in the AL East and 1 ½ games behind Oakland for the league's final wild-card berth.

Boston's division lead is back up to four games for the first time since July 12.

Shane Victorino hit a two-run single in the top of the 11th to push the Red Sox past the Blue Jays 4-2 in Toronto. The Bosox withstood two RBIs by J.P. Arencibia (ar-ehn-SEE'-bee-uh), including a game-tying, solo homer in the eighth.

Boston's division lead increased when second-place Tampa Bay lost. Brad Miller hit a pair of solo homers and Justin Smoak added a two-run single as Seattle beat the Rays 5-4. The Mariners blew a 4-2 lead before Miller went deep in the sixth inning, sending Tampa Bay to its sixth straight loss.

The Detroit Tigers continue to sputter since reeling off a 12-game winning streak.

Alejandro De Aza hit a tiebreaking, bases-loaded single in the bottom of the 11th to give the Chicago White Sox a 4-3 win over the Tigers. The White Sox grabbed a 3-1 lead in the fourth on Avasail Garcia's bases-loaded triple, but the Tigers managed to force extra innings on a pair of RBIs by Brayan Pena before losing for the fourth time in five games.

Detroit's lead in the American League Central is down to 6 ½ games over Cleveland and seven over Kansas City after the Indians leapfrogged ahead of the Royals for second in the division.

Zach McAllister gave up just one earned run and four hits while striking out seven in six innings of Cleveland's 5-2 triumph at Minnesota. Ryan Raburn hit a two-run homer to help the Indians win for the second time in three games since a six-game skid.

Miami beat Kansas City 1-0 on Christian Yelich's (YEH'-liks) RBI single in the top of the 10th. Marlins rookie starter Jose Fernandez lowered his ERA to 2.45 but gained a no-decision after limiting the Royals to three hits while striking out six in seven innings.

Texas still tops the AL West by a game over Oakland following the Rangers' 5-1 loss to Milwaukee. Scooter Gennett homered twice and Khris Davis added a solo shot as the Brewers ended the Rangers' eight-game winning streak.

The Athletics had a chance to grab a share of the division lead until Houston jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead and beat the A's 5-4. Brandon Barnes had two of the Astros' 11 hits, including a two-run double that opened the scoring in the second inning.

Checking out the rest of the major league schedule, Kris Medlen won his fourth consecutive start and Chris Johnson belted a two-run homer in Atlanta's 3-1 victory against Philadelphia. Medlen evened his record at 10-10 by holding the Phillies to a run and five hits in seven innings.

Atlanta still owns a 14-game lead in the NL East after second-place Washington doubled up San Francisco 4-2. Adam LaRoche broke a 1-1 tie with a two-run homer in the sixth to send the Nationals to their fourth straight win.

Alfonzo Soriano was 3-for-6 with two homers and six RBIs as the New York Yankees destroyed the Angels 14-7. Eduardo Nunez drove in four runs and Vernon Wells hit a solo homer to support a shaky CC Sabathia, who walked six in six-plus innings.

Nick Hundley homered and Will Venable had three hits in San Diego's 7-5 win at Colorado. Jedd Gyorko (JUR'-koh) homered for the second time in two games for the Padres, who rebounded from a 14-2 loss to the Rockies on Monday.

UNDATED (AP) —Atlanta has placed second baseman Dan Uggla on the 15-day disabled list so he can have corrective eye surgery. Uggla has battled eye problems this season and has experimented with contact lenses. He's hitting .186.

The Braves did not immediately reveal specifics of Uggla's planned surgery or provide an estimate on how long he will be out.

In other baseball news:

— Manny Ramirez is a free agent again after the Texas Rangers released him from his minor league contract, just more than five weeks after he started playing for Triple-A Round Rock. The 41-year-old Ramirez hit .259 with three home runs and 13 RBIs in 30 games for Triple-A Round Rock.

— Texas has added infielder Adam Rosales to the 25-man roster and optioned outfielder Engel Beltre to Triple-A Round Rock. The Rangers reacquired the infielder on a waiver claim from AL West rival Oakland for the second time in 10 days.

— Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Alex Cobb is expected to pitch Thursday night against Seattle for the first time in the majors since getting hit in the head by a ball in June. Cobb is 6-2 with a 3.01 ERA in 13 starts this season.

— The Minnesota Twins have placed first baseman Justin Morneau (mohr-NOH') on revocable waivers. If Morneau is claimed before Wednesday's deadline, the Twins can work out a trade with the claiming team, let that team take his contract or pull him back and keep him in Minnesota. If he is not claimed, the Twins are free to negotiate with any team.