Around the Bases: Cardinals stand alone atop the NL Central

Cardinals 11, Rockies 4: Thanks to the Pirates losing, the Cardinals now sit alone at the top of the NL Central. Matt Holliday fell a triple short of a cycle while St. Louis certainly did not lack for runs. Including Holliday, the Cardinals' first three hitters in the lineup reached base a total of 12 times.

Padres 5, Pirates 2: After two good starts following a brief minor-league demotion, Pirates starter Jeff Locke was not at his best on Tuesday. Locke gave up four runs on seven hits and three walks over five innings. Four of Pittsburgh's seven hits came in the third inning, when the team scored both their runs.

Nationals 6, Braves 5 (Game 1): This was a make-up of Monday's game that was cancelled due to the tragedy in Washington. The Nationals scored exactly zero runs in the second through the eighth innings, but bookended the game with a three-run inning in each of the first and ninth innings to fight off a late-charging Atlanta team.

Nationals 4, Braves 0 (Game 2): Tanner Roark was exactly what the Nationals needed as he pitched seven innings of two-hit ball to keep the Braves off the board. Freddy Garcia pitched a nice game himself, but allowed one run to take the loss. Washington put up another three-spot in the eighth for good measure as they make a push for a wild card spot.

Reds 10, Astros 0: With Cincinnati already up 5-0, Jay Bruce put the final nails in the coffin when he launched a grand slam in the fourth inning. Mike Leake threw eight innings of five-hit ball for the Reds, who are embroiled in a tight race with the Pirates and Cardinals for NL Central supremacy.

Indians 5, Royals 3: Making his first start since being called up by the Royals, top prospect Yordano Ventura did about as well as anyone could hope, allowing just one run while pitching into the sixth inning. Unfortunately for Kansas City, their bullpen couldn't maintain what was once a 3-0 lead as the Indians put up all five of their runs in the final four innings.

Blue Jays 2, Yankees 0: Both Andy Pettitte and R.A. Dickey were phenomenal Tuesday, but Dickey was just a bit better. Colby Rasmus and Rajai Davis each hit a solo home run for Toronto as the team dealt a blow to the Yankees' playoff hopes.

Rangers 7, Rays 1: With both teams clinging to a potential playoff berth, Texas took the win to give them a half-game lead over the Rays for the number one wild card spot. Ian Kinsler hit the first pitch of the game out of the park and the Rangers never slowed down from there. The Rays managed just four hits over the course of the game.

Dodgers 9, Diamondbacks 3: Matt Kemp went 4-for-4 in his first start since July 21 and Hanley Ramirez reached base four times in his first game in five days as the Dodgers lowered their magic number to clinch the National League West to two.

Orioles 3, Red Sox 2: Tied 2-2 after eight innings, this game looked destined to go into extras. However, Danny Valencia led off the top of the ninth with a triple for the Orioles and Matt Wieters immediately followed that up with a sacrifice fly to bring home the go-ahead run. Despite a single in the bottom half of the frame, the Red Sox could not come back.

Tigers 6, Mariners 2: Anibal Sanchez continued a dark horse run for the AL Cy Young, striking out ten batters while allowing just two runs in over six innings. The Tigers offense put up three runs in the eighth inning to expand a 3-2 lead and secure a victory.

Brewers 4, Cubs 3: Marco Estrada was phenomenal for six innings, allowing just two hits while striking out six batters. He gave up all three Chicago runs in the seventh. Fortunately for the Brewers, the offense came back to tie it up in the bottom of the eighth, then walked-off in the ninth on a squeeze.

Giants 8, Mets 5: If you like pitchers with oodles of control, this game was not for you. The two teams gave up a combined fifteen walks with the Giants drawing 10 of them. Tuesday was the first time a team has drawn ten walks in a nine-inning game since the Diamondbacks did so on Sept. 24, 2011. Angel Pagan fell just a double shy of a cycle as he went 3-3 with two walks.

Athletics 2, Angels 1: Josh Donaldson hit a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the ninth inning against Michael Kohn, giving Oakland the walk-off win.

Phillies 6, Marlins 4: September call-up Brian Flynn continued his struggles, allowing six runs over six innings, including a three-run homer to Chase Utley. Flynn's Marlins left two runners on base in the ninth as a late rally fell short.

Arquimedes Euclides Caminero is in the game for the #marlins. Validates my decision to come here tonight.

— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) September 18, 2013

White Sox 4, Twins 3: Addison Reed picked up his 38th save for Chicago in the win.

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