the associated press
WASHINGTON — Going up against the 2016 NL Cy Young winner and facing the prospect of stumbling to their worst start in 20 years, the St. Louis Cardinals played their best game of the young season.
Mike Leake outpitched Max Scherzer, Stephen Piscotty homered and had five RBIs, and the Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals 6-1 on Wednesday to avoid a three-game sweep.
After yielding 22 runs in the first two games of the series, St. Louis dodged its first 2-7 start since 1997.
“Leake did a tremendous job on the mound and we played good defense,” Piscotty said. “It was a good win, and we needed it.”
Leake (1-1) gave up four hits, struck out seven and walked none over seven shutout innings. The right-hander allowed hits to the first two batters, then picked off a runner before getting 19 straight outs. The streak ended when Daniel Murphy singled with two outs in the seventh.
By that time, St. Louis had taken a 3-0 lead against Scherzer, who yielded only one earned run. He did, however, throw three wild pitches — two in the third inning — after tossing only two all last year while going 20-7.
Scherzer (1-1) allowed three runs, four hits and two walks in six innings. He struck out 10, the 50th time in his career he reached double figures in strikeouts.
WHITE SOX 2, INDIANS 1
CLEVELAND Derek Holland held Cleveland hitless until the sixth inning and late fill-in Matt Davidson had a two-run single for Chicago.
Holland (1-1) gave up a leadoff double to Francisco Lindor in the sixth. The White Sox lefty struck out four, walked four and threw 101 pitches in six innings.
YANKEES 8, RAYS 4
NEW YORK Jordan Montgomery showed power and poise in his major league debut after allowing Rickie Weeks’ two-run homer in the first inning, and New York rallied past sloppy Tampa Bay to get back to .500.
TIGERS 5, TWINS 3
DETROIT Andrew Romine hit his first career grand slam and Detroit rallied from an early three-run deficit to beat Minnesota.
PADRES 6, ROCKIES 0
DENVER Zach Lee and four relievers combined on a three-hitter, Ryan Schimpf homered as part of a four-run first inning and San Diego blanked Colorado.
Lee (1-0) earned his first major league win in his second career start. The other one came on July 25, 2015, with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
REDS 9, PIRATES 2
PITTSBURGH Reds rookie Amir Garrett threw another gem, taking a shutout into the seventh inning and leading Cincinnati over Pittsburgh for a three-game sweep.
Garrett (2-0), the former St. John’s basketball player, blanked the Pirates until David Freese hit a two-run homer.
METS 5, PHILLIES 4
PHILADELPHIA Zack Wheeler earned his first win in 2 1/2 years, Michael Conforto hit a solo homer and New York held off Philadelphia to complete a three-game sweep.
BREWERS 2, BLUE JAYS 0
TORONTO Chase Anderson and two relievers combined on a four-hitter, Jonathan Villar homered and Milwaukee handed Toronto its fifth straight loss.
BRAVES 5, MARLINS 4
MIAMI Ender Inciarte hit two home runs and Tyler Flowers had a go-ahead single in the ninth inning to help Atlanta break a five-game losing streak by rallying past Miami.
DODGERS 2, CUBS 0
CHICAGO Brandon McCarthy pitched four-hit ball over six innings, Andrew Toles hit his first leadoff homer and Los Angeles blanked Chicago after the Cubs received their championship rings.
ORIOLES 12, RED SOX 5
BOSTON Trey Mancini hit two of Baltimore’s five home runs, all in the first three innings against Boston.
ATHLETICS 8, ROYALS 3
KANSAS CITY, Mo. Andrew Triggs pitched six shutout innings, Jed Lowrie drove in three runs and Oakland defeated Kansas City.
RANGERS 8, ANGELS 3
ANAHEIM, Calif. Joey Gallo hit a go-ahead, two-run triple in the fifth, and Texas prevented a third straight late-inning comeback by Los Angeles.
ASTROS 10, MARINERS 5
SEATTLE Jose Altuve hit three singles and drew two walks, helping Houston overcome an early five-run deficit against Seattle.
GIANTS 6, DIAMONDBACKS 2
SAN FRANCISCO Matt Cain allowed one run over five-plus innings for his first win since last August in San Francisco’s victory against Arizona.