ST. LOUIS: St. Louis’ Matt Adams hit a bases-loaded single with two outs in the 10th inning to give the Cardinals a 2-1 victory over Pittsburgh on Friday, maintaining their leadership of the National League.

The Cardinals stayed two games clear of their nearest rivals, the New York Mets who shut out Washington.

Kansas City, which beat division rival Detroit, and Houston, which extended its winning streak to eight by edging Seattle, share the American League lead, while the New York Yankees beat old rival Boston as Alex Rodriguez climbed the career homers list.

St. Louis’ winning rally started with two outs in the 10th, when John Jay hit a single off Rob Scahill (0-2). Matt Carpenter followed with a double down the left-field line, and Matt Holliday was intentionally walked. Adams then laced a 1-1 pitch to left field to end it.

Pirates starter A.J. Burnett struck out seven to move past Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax into 42nd place on the career strikeout list with 2,397.

The Mets beat Washington 4-0, with Matt Harvey getting the better of Max Scherzer in a showdown of ace pitchers.

Harvey (5-0) became the first five-game winner in the majors this season as he went seven innings and benefited from some impressive fielding.

Scherzer struck out 10 in seven innings. His 1-3 record this season masks a 1.26 ERA.

Kansas City’s Chris Young pitched five no-hit innings to guide the Royals to a 4-1 win against Detroit.

Young (2-0), making his first start of the year after five relief appearances, struck out nine. He walked the bases full with one out in the fourth, but produced two strikeouts to close the inning.

Ryan Madson pitched two perfect innings after Young was pulled.

Houston made it 12 wins in 13 games by edging Seattle 4-3.

Evan Gattis, Jake Marisnick and George Springer all homered for the Astros, who began May in the same fashion as an April which was their best for 29 years.

Gattis hit a two-run homer in the first inning, and Marisnick’s solo shot made it 3-0 in the second. The Mariners scored in the top of the third but Springer regained Houston’s three-run lead with his solo homer in the eighth.

New York’s Alex Rodriguez tied Willie Mays for fourth place in major league history with his 660th home run, breaking an eighth-inning tie with a shot that sent the Yankees to a 3-2 win over Boston.

Rodriguez was left out of the starting lineup but was brought in as a pinch hitter with one out in the eighth.

Rodriguez ran the count to 3-0, then lined a fastball from Junichi Tazawa (0-1) into the left-field seats above the Green Monster — his first career homer as a pinch hitter — and jogged around the bases to boos from the crowd at Fenway Park.

The Yankees’ reaction was a bit subdued for a teammate who was suspended all last season for his involvement in a drug scandal. Players stayed in the dugout, applauding. But when A-Rod arrived, manager Joe Girardi gave him a high-five and teammates shook his hand and patted him on the back.

Los Angeles’ prized rookie Joc Pederson hit his first career grand slam to lead the Dodgers to an 8-0 win against Arizona.

Andre Ethier and Justin Turner added solo shots for the Dodgers.

Tampa Bay had the unique experience of winning a ‘road’ game at home as it won 2-0 against Baltimore, which relocated its allocated home game due to civil disturbances in its home city.

Rays starter Alex Colome (1-0) struck out six over five scoreless innings in his season debut. He was hospitalized during spring training with pneumonia.

San Diego emphatically ended a three-game losing streak by routing Colorado 14-3.

Ian Kennedy (1-1), who was rocked for eight runs in his previous outing, rebounded with a solid six-inning performance, conceding four hits.

San Diego’s Yangervis Solarte had four RBIs and two hits.

Atlanta’s Mike Foltynewicz won his first career start and drove in two runs with his first career hit to help the Braves beat Cincinnati 4-3.

San Francisco’s Joe Panik singled in the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, lifting the Giants past the Los Angeles Angels 3-2.

Cleveland’s Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer and Brett Hayes added a three-run shot, leading the Indians to 9-4 win against Toronto.

Minnesota scored on a wild pitch to beat the Chicago White Sox 1-0, with Kyle Gibson pitching eight strong innings.

Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton scored from first base on Marcell Ozuna’s double in the ninth, giving the Marlins a 4-3 victory against Philadelphia.

Chicago’s Jon Lester pitched seven scoreless innings for his first victory with the Cubs as the hosts beat Milwaukee 1-0.

Oakland’s Mark Canha both started and ended a seven-run rally in the eighth inning which led the Athletics to a 7-5 victory over Texas.