Nolasco dazzles as Marlins thrash Cardinals 7-2

MIAMI: Ricky Nolasco dazzled St. Louis hitters over seven strong innings as the Miami Marlins cruised past the Cardinals, 7-2, in the rubber match of a three-game set at Marlins Park.
Nolasco (4-7) scattered three hits and allowed just on run to earn his first win since May 19. Placido Polanco, Justin Ruggiano and Juan Pierre each drove in a pair of runs for the Marlins, winners in five of their last eight games. Tyler Lyons (2-3) was pegged with the loss after giving up six runs on eight hits over 5 1/3 innings. Jon Jay and Matt Adams drove in one run apiece for the Cardinals, who dropped just their third series of the season.
Cincinnati 5 Milwaukee 1: In Cincinnati, Donald Lutz came through with a two-run single to back six solid innings from Johnny Cueto, as Cincinnati downed Milwaukee, 5-1, in the rubber match of a three-game series. Jay Bruce homered and Brandon Phillips drove in a run for the Reds.
Activated from the 15-day disabled list prior to the contest, Cueto (4-0) scattered five hits and one run while striking out three. He also aided his cause with a second-inning squeeze bunt that plated a run. A first-inning homer from Carlos Gomez was all the offense for the Brewers, who couldn’t maintain momentum from Saturday’s 6-0 whitewash.
Pittsburgh 6 Los Angeles 3: In Pittsburgh, Pedro Alvarez had a three-run home run and the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-3, in the rubber match of a three-game series at PNC Park. Garrett Jones drove in two runs and Alex Presley went 3-for-4 with a solo home run for the Pirates. Pittsburgh starter Gerrit Cole (2-0), making his second career start, allowed three runs on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings. Jason Grilli pitched a scoreless ninth to notch his 25th save. Andre Ethier had two RBI and Tim Federowicz drove in one run for the Dodgers.
San Diego 4 Arizona 1: In San Diego, Kyle Blanks hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth inning as the San Diego Padres swept a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks with a 4-1 win.
With David Hernandez (2-4) pitching for the Diamondbacks, Everth Cabrera singled to right with one out. After a flyout by Alexi Amarista, Chase Headley drew a walk, setting up Blank’s three-run smash.
Huston Street pitched a scoreless ninth to notch his 13th save. Clayton Richard (2-5) pitched eight solid innings, allowing one run on seven hits in his outing for the Padres.
Colorado 5 Philadelphia 2: In Denver, Jhoulys Chacin was incredibly efficient in pitching the Colorado Rockies past the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-2, in the rubber match of a three-game series. Chacin (5-3) retired 14 in a row and one point and was one out away from his second career shutout before giving up run-scoring hits to Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard. The late hiccup did not take away from his outing, as the right-hander gave up just six hits and two runs over 8 2/3 frames to pick up the victory. The Rockies pushed three runs across against Cole Hamels, one coming on Wilin Rosario’s home run in the second inning, and Colorado got some insurance in the eighth on Carlos Gonzalez’s two-run homer.
Atlanta 3 San Francisco 0: In Atlanta, Julio Teheran spun six solid innings and the Braves bullpen kept the shutout in tact by closing a 3-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants in the rubber match of a three-game set at Turner Field.
Freddie Freeman had three hits and an RBI in support of Teheran (5-3), who struck out eight and worked his way out of trouble to cancel out the Giants’ seven hits. B.J. Upton had an RBI double and Atlanta received a perfect inning from three separate relievers, with Craig Kimbrel notching his 19th save to secure a second straight win for the Braves. Tim Lincecum (4-7) walked five and gave up six hits as the Giants dropped their fourth game in six contests.