>>Cardinals Deal For John Lackey
(St. Louis, MO) -- The St. Louis Cardinals are further bolstering their starting rotation for the stretch run. The Cards have acquired right-hander John Lackey, minor league pitcher Corey Littrell and cash from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for pitcher Joe Kelly and first baseman/outfielder Allen Craig. Lackey is 11-and-7 with a 3.60 ERA this season. The 26-year-old Kelly is 2-and-2 with a 4.37 ERA in seven starts this year. Craig is batting .237 with seven homers and 44 RBI. St. Louis acquired right-handed starter Justin Masterson from the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday.
>>Braves Get Russell, Bonifacio From Cubs
(Atlanta, GA) -- The Atlanta Braves are adding pitcher James Russell and utilityman Emilio Bonifacio [[ bon-ih-FAH-see-oh ]]. They have acquired the duo from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for catching prospect Victor Caratini. The left-handed Russell is 0-and-2 with a 3.51 ERA this season. Bonifacio is batting .279 with two home runs and 18 RBI. Caratini was an All-Star this season in the Single-A South Atlantic League, batting .279 with five homers and 42 RBI.
>>Arrieta Helps Cubs Cruise Past Rockies
(Chicago, IL) -- Jake Arrieta struck out seven in seven innings as the Cubs beat the Rockies 3-1 at Wrigley Field. Arrieta improved to 6-and-2 after allowing just one run on three hits. Hector Rondon [[ ron-DOAN ]] notched his 14th save. Starlin Castro, Justin Ruggiano and Luis Valbuena all drove in runs. The Cubs are at the Dodgers tonight.
>>Cardinals Rebound, Avoid Sweep By Padres
(San Diego, CA) -- Shelby Miller and three relievers combined on a three-hitter as the Cardinals beat the Padres 6-2 to avoid a three-game sweep from Petco Park. Miller improved to 8-and-8 after throwing six innings of two-run ball. Oscar Taveras hit a two-run homer, and Matt Holiday drove in pair of runs in the victory. St. Louis roughed up rookie Odrisamer Despaigne for six runs on nine hits in five-and-two-thirds innings. Jedd Gyorko and Will Venable both connected for long balls in the loss.
>>White Sox Down Tigers For Series Victory
(Detroit, MI) -- Moises Sierra had four hits and Jose Abreu and Adam Eaton added three each to lift the White Sox to a 7-4 win over the Tigers at Comerica Park. Abreu extended his hitting streak to 20 games. Ronald Belisario improved to 4-and-7 in relief of John Danks. Jake Petricka earned his sixth save as the Sox took the rubber match of the three-game series. Drew Smyly [[ SMY-lee ]], who was traded during the game, was knocked around for 11 hits and four runs in five innings of work. Reliever Joakim [[ WAH-keem ]] Soria took the loss. Torii Hunter and J.D. Martinez each went 2-for-3 with a home run for Detroit.
>>Lackey Won't Cost Cardinals Much In 2015
(St. Louis, MO) -- Due to a clause in his contract, the St. Louis Cardinals are getting newly-acquired starting pitcher John Lackey for relatively cheap. When Lackey signed his five-year deal with the Red Sox in December of 2009, there was a clause for a club option for the league-minimum salary in 2015 if he underwent elbow surgery between 2010-and-2014. The clause was triggered when Lackey underwent Tommy John surgery in 2011. St. Louis can now pick up the club option on Lackey for 500-thousand-dollars this offseason for next year. The Cardinals acquired Lackey, minor league pitcher Corey Littrell and cash for righty Joe Kelly and outfielder Allen Craig.
