>>Nats Clobber Cubs

(Washington, DC)  --  Kurt Suzuki smacked a three-run homer and Adam LaRoche added a two-run shot, his fifth homer in the series, as the Nationals clobbered the Cubs, 9-2, to sweep the four-game set.  Ryan Zimmerman drove in three runs for the Nats, who have won five straight and eight-of-nine overall.  Jordan Zimmermann struck out nine over seven innings of two-run ball as he improved to 10-and-8.  Anthony Rizzo homered and Darwin Barney tripled in the other run for the Northsiders, who have dropped six in-a-row and nine of their last 11.  Justin Germano was rocked for seven runs, six earned, in four frames as he fell to 2-and-6.

MLB NL
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Atlanta Braves 1, Colorado Rockies 0
Miami Marlins 6, Milwaukee Brewers 2

MLB AL
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Baltimore Orioles 10, New York Yankees 6
Texas Rangers 5, Kansas City Royals 4 (10 inn)

>> Cubs/Nats Scuffle

Cubs catcher Steve Clevenger was among four people ejected when benches cleared twice in two innings of the game between Chicago and the Washington Nationals.

Clevenger, Cubs right-hander Manuel Corpas and Nationals lefty Michael Gonzalez - both pitchers not in the game - were ejected in the bottom of the sixth Thursday night after Chicago righty Lendy Castillo brushed back Bryce Harper with his first pitch of the inning. Clevenger stepped in front of Harper and players and coaches streamed onto the field.

At one point Clevenger could be seen taking an open-handed swipe at Washington short stop Ian Desmond, who accidentally knocked down first base umpire Bill Miller while backing away.

Chicago's bench coach Jamie Quirk was tossed after his testy exchange with Nationals third base coach Bo Porter caused a scrum in the fifth. Quirk could be seen shouting from the dugout and Porter approached the Cubs' bench.

>>White Sox Host Royals

(Chicago, IL)  --  The Chicago White Sox open up a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals this evening at The Cell.  Francisco Liriano is expected to be on the bump against Luis Mendoza in the opener.  The Southsiders took two-of-three from the Minnesota Twins in their last series to improve to 74-and-62 on the season.

>>Cards Host Crew

(St. Louis, MO)  --  The Cardinals open up a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers tonight at Busch Stadium.  Kyle Lohse [[ Loash ]] is slated to toe the rubber opposite Yovani Gallardo [[ guy-ARE-doh ]] in the opener.  The Cards took two-of-three against the Mets in their last series, but dropped Wednesday's finale to fall to 74-and-63 on the season.