>>Cardinals Hold Off Cubs
The Cardinals hit four home runs and were able to withstand a late Cubs' rally for an 8-7 victory.
Tommy Pham and Randal Grichuk homered and drove in two runs each and Matt Carpenter and Jedd Gyorko also homered for St. Louis, which remains 2 1/2 games behind the second Wild Card spot.
Zach Duke (1-1) got the win with 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Juan Nicasio earned his fifth save.
The Cardinals scored five runs in the first two innings off Cubs ace Jake Arrieta, a scoring burst started by Carpenter's lead-off home run, his 23rd, and capped by Pham's two-run homer, his 23rd.
The Cubs were seeking to clinch the Central Division with either a win or a Milwaukee loss against Cincinnati, but the Brewers beat the Reds 7-6.
Cardinals right-hander Carlos Martinez allowed three runs (two earned) and four hits in 4 1/3 innings. Arrieta (14-10) allowed five runs (three earned) and six hits in three innings, his second shortest outing this season.
Gyorko and Grichuk both hit solo home runs in the seventh, extending the Cardinals' lead to 8-3. Gyorko's home run was his 20th. Grichuk's his 21st.
Jason Heyward hit a three-run home run, his 11th, off reliever John Brebbia in the eighth to cut the deficit to 8-6. Ben Zobrist hit a solo homer off Brebbia, his 12th, to make it 8-7.
The Cubs had the tying run on second base with two outs in the ninth but Nicassio struck out Javier Baez to secure the victory.
John Lackey (11-11, 4.67) is 6-2 with a 3.88 ERA in 12 starts since the All-Star break. The Cubs are 11-2 in Lackey's last 13 starts.
Cardinals Michael Wacha (12-8, 4.00) is 4-6 with a 6.32 ERA in 15 career games, including 13 starts, against the Cubs.
>>Pujols Leads Angels Past White Sox
Mike Trout hit his 31st homer, Albert Pujols joined Alex Rodriguez as the only players with 100 RBIs in 14 seasons, and Los Angeles pounded the Chicago White Sox 9-3 on Tuesday night.
The Angels remained five games behind Minnesota for the final AL wild card with five to play. The Twins beat AL Central-leading Cleveland 8-6.
Trout, Brandon Phillips and Luis Valbuena homered off Chris Volstad (1-1) during a six-run second inning. Pujols hit the 100-RBI mark with his two-run single in the seventh, and the Angels came away with an easy win after dropping seven of eight.
Bridwell (9-3) improved to 5-0 in nine road starts. The 26-year-old right-hander gave up three runs and five hits over 6 2/3 innings.
Chicago's Jose Abreu had three hits - including his 32nd and 33rd homers - to give him a career-high 185.
Volstad went five innings in his first start since 2012, allowing six runs and six hits. He retired the side in order four times. But the one inning where he didn't was a big one.
After Abreu gave the White Sox a 1-0 lead in the first with a towering drive down the left-field line, the Angels answered in a big way in the second.
Pujols led off with a single, and Phillips followed with a two-run drive for his second home run since the Angels acquired him from Atlanta on Aug. 31.
Valbuena added a solo shot , and Trout made it 6-1 with a long three-run drive to center with two out. The home run was his second in two games.
The Angels send RHP Garrett Richards (0-2, 1.50 ERA) to the mound while the White Sox go with RHP Reynaldo Lopez (3-3, 4.54). Richards threw six scoreless innings at Houston last week, but did not figure in the decision in a 3-0 loss to Justin Verlander and the Astros.
