PITTSBURGH — Ike Davis hit a two-run homer off a speaker above the seats in right-center field, Jeff Locke outpitched Adam Wainwright and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 Wednesday.
Pittsburgh took two of three from the defending NL champions and has won five of seven overall. St. Louis (71-61) leads the NL wild-card race, with San Francisco (70-62) trailing by a half-game and the Pirates (69-64) 1 1/2 games back of the Giants for the second wild-card berth.
Davis hit his 10th homer in the second after Wainwright hit Russell Martin on the left elbow with a pitch that Martin barely tried to avoid. Davis sent an 88 mph pitch clanking off a speaker raised on a pole about 15 feet above the seats, a drive estimated at about 433 feet. A night earlier, Davis had a pinch-hit, tiebreaking three-run homer in the eighth inning of Pittsburgh’s 5-2 win.
Locke (6-3) allowed one run and six hits in 7 1/3 innings, giving up Matt Holliday’s third-inning homer. Locke also singled in the third and scored on Andrew McCutchen’s sacrifice fly, just the 11th hit for the pitcher in 98 career at-bats.
RANGERS 12, MARINERS 4
SEATTLE — Rougned Odor hit a third-inning grand slam to back Colby Lewis, and the last-place Rangers beat Seattle.
Erasmo Ramirez (1-6), recalled from Triple-A Tacoma for the start, allowed 10 runs and nine hits in three-plus innings. Seattle had been the only major league team not to allow 10 or more runs in a game this season.
Lewis (9-11) allowed seven hits, struck out seven and walked one in his second complete game of the season and second in August. He had been 0-3 since pitching a five-hit shutout at the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 5.
RAYS 3, ORIOLES 1
BALTIMORE — Drew Smyly allowed two hits over seven innings in his second straight overpowering performance.
Evan Longoria had three hits for the Rays, who won for only the fourth time in 11 games. Tampa Bay scored all its runs in the first two innings and Smyly (9-10) made the margin stand.
Smyly gave up a solo homer to Chris Davis in the second inning and a single to Steve Pearce in the seventh. The left-hander struck out six and walked one in his fifth start for the Rays since coming from Detroit in a trade involving David Price.
YANKEES 8, TIGERS 4
DETROIT — The Yankees chased David Price with nine straight hits in the third inning.
The Yankees scored all eight of their runs in the third off Price (12-10), who had pitched a one-hitter in his previous start. Jacoby Ellsbury started the barrage, and New York went all the way through the batting order until the 2012 AL Cy Young Award winner was pulled after the ninth hit of the inning.
Rookie Shane Greene (4-1) allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings, struck out eight and walked one.
ROYALS 6, TWINS 1
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Nori Aoki drove in the go-ahead run during a six-run eighth inning.
Billy Butler and Salvador Perez each drove in a pair of runs during the surge, which came after the Twins’ Phil Hughes (14-9) had stymied the Royals for the first seven innings.
Wade Davis (8-2) pitched a perfect eighth to earn his second straight win, and All-Star closer Greg Holland worked around a single in the ninth to cap a second straight late-game win.
The Royals extended their lead over Detroit to 2 1/2 games in the AL Central with their 11th win in their past 13 games at Kauffman Stadium. They’ve won four straight over the Twins.
BLUE JAYS 5, RED SOX 2
TORONTO — Pinch-hitter Danny Valencia had a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh inning.
Jose Bautista homered for the second straight night, a two-run drive in the first.
With Boston leading 2-1, Edwin Encarnacion doubled off Joe Kelly starting the seventh, and left-hander Tommy Layne (0-1) relieved. Dioner Navarro’s at-bat was prolonged when catcher David Ross dropped his foul popup for an error, and Navarro singled.
Right-hander Junichi Tazawa came in, and Valencia turned on a 2-0 pitch for his first home run since Toronto acquired him from Kansas City on July 28. Eight of 20 home runs off Tazawa in his big league career have been hit by Blue Jays batters.
PHILLIES 8, NATIONALS 4
PHILADELPHIA — Pinch-hitter Grady Sizemore hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the sixth inning, helping the Phillies complete a three-game sweep.
Marlon Byrd hit a two-run homer and Jimmy Rollins hit a solo shot to back Kyle Kendrick (7-11). The right-hander allowed four runs and seven hits in six innings.
The last-place Phillies went 7-2 on their best homestand this season.
Denard Span was 3 for 4 and fell a triple short of the cycle for the Nationals. Doug Fister (12-5) allowed a season-high 10 hits and five runs — four earned — in 5 2/3 innings.
BRAVES 3, METS 2
NEW YORK — Jason Heyward hit a leadoff home run off Zack Wheeler, and Julio Teheran won his third straight start.
Hayward connected on Wheeler’s third pitch of the game for his 11th homer this season. After Wil Flores’ home run tied the score in the second, the Braves went ahead for good in the third. Phil Gosselin reached on a bunt single, Freddie Freeman doubled, Justin Upton hit an RBI groundout and shortstop Ruben Tejada allowed Evan Gattis’ two-out bouncer to pop out of his glove for a run-scoring error.
Teheran (13-9) gave up three hit in 6 1/3 innings, struck out four and walked two.
REDS 7, CUBS 5
CINCINNATI — Skip Schumaker drove in a pair of runs with a double and a single, and the Reds withstood Jorge Soler’s first at-bat homer and his RBI single.
Soler, a 22-year-old prospect from Cuba, was called up Wednesday after getting a nine-year, $30 million deal from the Cubs in 2012. He started in right field and batted fifth.
After Luis Valbuena led off the second inning with a homer off Mat Latos (5-3), Soler hit a 2-1 pitch into the Reds’ bullpen in center field. The last Cub to homer in his first at-bat also did it in Cincinnati: Starlin Castro off Homer Bailey on May 7, 2010.
Soler also had an RBI single off Jonathan Broxton in the eighth, cutting it to 6-5. Latos pitched into the eighth and gave up four runs while fanning a season-high 10 batters.
Pinch-hitter Chris Heisey homered in the bottom of the inning. Aroldis Chapman escaped a two-on threat in the ninth, getting his 28th save in 30 chances.
WHITE SOX 3, INDIANS 2
CHICAGO — Rookie Jose Abreu hit a pair of run-scoring singles against Cleveland ace Corey Kluber, and Chicago stopped a season-high, seven-game losing streak
Abreu put Chicago ahead for good in the seventh with his third hit of the game. Abreu drove in his AL-high 96th run.
Hector Noesi (8-9) allowed two runs and six hits in seven innings, improving to 5-2 in eight starts since the All-Star break.
ATHLETICS 5, ASTROS 4
HOUSTON — Sam Fuld hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the ninth inning to win for Oakland.
The A’s trailed by one entering the ninth before Eric Sogard’s RBI single, and Fuld’s two-out shot off Chad Qualls (1-4) landed in the seats in right field to put Oakland up 5-3.
Fuld, who entered on a 0-for-9 skid, finished with three hits, including a double.
Dan Otero (8-1) pitched 1 1/3 innings for the win. Eric O’Flaherty allowed a solo homer to Chris Carter with two outs in the ninth before retiring Dexter Fowler for his first save since May 2013.
ANGELS 6, MARLINS 1
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Mike Trout tied a career high with his 30th home run, and Gordon Beckham homered for the first time with his new club.
Hector Santiago ended a string of six consecutive no-decisions in a starting role, helping the Angels maintain their one-game lead in the AL West over Oakland and improve the major leagues’ best record to 79-53.
Santiago (4-7) struck out six in 5 2/3 innings and allowed three hits, including Adeiny Hechavarria’s leadoff homer in the third, his sixth in 1,100 career at-bats to that point. The left-hander fanned his next five batters and didn’t allow another hit until Jeff Baker’s two-out single in the sixth.
GIANTS 4, ROCKIES 2
SAN FRANCISCO — Buster Posey hit a game-ending two-run shot for his third homer in two nights, sending the Giants to Bruce Bochy’s 1,600th managerial victory.
Posey sent an 0-1 pitch from Juan Nicasio (5-6) just inside the left-field foul pole for his 18th homer of the year and second career walkoff homer. He also had one on May 3, 2013, against the Dodgers.
Santiago Casilla (2-3), who was ill Tuesday, plunked leadoff hitter Drew Stubbs in the back to start the ninth. Justin Morneau then doubled him home to tie the game at 2. Casilla got a key double play to get out of the inning.
PADRES 3, BREWERS 2
SAN DIEGO — Rene Rivera tied the game with a home run in the ninth inning, then won it with an RBI single in the 10th for San Diego.
Rivera opened the ninth with his shot off Francisco Rodriguez. In the 10th, Seth Smith walked and Yasmani Grandal singled to start the inning against Zach Duke (4-1). Smith was thrown out at third on a fielder’s choice and, one out later, Rivera singled to center to drive in Grandal from second.
Dale Thayer (4-3) pitched the 10th for the victory.
DODGERS 3, DIAMONDBACKS 1
PHOENIX — Clayton Kershaw allowed only an unearned run in eight innings to become the first 16-game winner in the majors.
Kershaw (16-3) allowed six hits, retiring 12 of the final 13 batters he faced, seven by strikeout, to improve to 13-1 in his last 16 starts.
The left-handed ace struck out 10 and walked two.
Scott Van Slyke hit a solo home run off Wade Miley (7-10) before leaving the game with an ankle injury in the fourth inning. Matt Kemp had a two-run double.