>>Cardinals Outslug Washington

The usually reserved Jason Heyward celebrated in grand fashion after his two-run, tie-breaking double in the seventh inning keyed a five-run rally that helped the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals 8-5 on Monday night.

Heyward screamed loudly and gave an emphatic double fist-pump upon reaching second base.

St. Louis won for the eighth time in nine games and moved five games ahead of the idle Pittsburgh Pirates in the NL Central.

Washington, which had won six of its previous eight, fell 6 1/2 games behind the New York Mets in the NL East. New York beat Philadelphia 3-1 on Monday.

The Cardinals sent 10 batters to the plate in the seventh and erased a 5-3 deficit with five two-out runs. They followed with one big hit after another as six successive hitters reached base.

Kolten Wong followed Heyward's hit with a run-scoring single to push the lead to 8-5.

Stephen Piscotty and Jhonny Peralta had RBI hits off Casey Janssen (1-3) to tie the game. Felipe Rivero gave up the double to Heyward.

Mark Reynolds started the outburst with a single. Brandon Moss reached on a broken-bat infield hit. Following a double play, Matt Carpenter drew a walk to start the line moving.

Kevin Siegrist (6-1) picked up the win despite allowing three runs in the seventh.

St. Louis closer Trevor Rosenthal recorded his 42nd save in 44 opportunities. He had missed the previous three games due to the birth of his daughter.

Ryan Zimmerman hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs for the Nationals. Zimmerman, who went 3 for 5 and was a triple shy of the cycle, has 15 RBIs in his last eight games.

St. Louis starter John Lackey gave up two runs, one earned, in six innings. He struck out eight and walked four.

Washington starter Gio Gonzalez surrendered three runs in six innings. He had given up 14 earned runs over his last three starts totaling 12 1-3 innings.

The loss was costly for the Nationals, who realize they have a tall order in chasing down the Mets.

>>Reds Pound Cubs

Adam Duvall's first swing with the Cincinnati Reds wasn't one to remember. He made up for it, though, with the rest of his inaugural at-bat.

Duvall and Eugenio Suarez hit two-run homers in a four-run sixth inning and the Reds took advantage of two late Chicago errors for a 13-6 victory over the Cubs on Monday night.

Duvall, who was called up from Triple-A earlier Monday, snapped a 5-5 tie with his pinch-hit homer off Cubs reliever Justin Grimm (2-4), who surrendered all four runs in one-third of an inning.

Grimm started the inning by walking Ivan DeJesus Jr. and then gave up the home run to Suarez that tied it.

The Reds, who entered Monday having lost five of their last six, used the rally to erase a two-run deficit. Duvall, who came to the Reds from San Francisco in a deadline deal in July, had 30 minor league homers this season.

Cincinnati tackled on six unearned runs in the ninth off Chicago relievers Travis Wood and James Russell after second baseman Starlin Castro committed two of his three errors in the inning.

The big inning also included Reds closer Aroldis Chapman reaching on an error by Castro before scoring all the way from first on a two-run double by Jason Bourgeois.

Ryan Mattheus (2-4) picked up the win in relief while Chapman pitched 1 2-3 innings to earn his 26th save in 28 chances.

Fresh off Jake Arrieta's nationally televised no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday night, the Cubs, who have lost five of six, took a 5-3 lead during a four-run fifth.

Addison Russell doubled in two runs before Kyle Schwarber followed with an RBI single and Kris Bryant delivered a two-out RBI single past two diving Cincinnati infielders. Russell had a solo home run in the ninth.

The rally chased Cincinnati starter Michael Lorenzen, who was also called up from Triple-A on Monday. Lorenzen allowed five runs and six hits in 4 2-3 innings while walking one and striking out five.

The Reds built a 3-1 lead in the fifth when Brandon Phillips drove a two-out, two-run single past diving third baseman Tommy LaStella.

The go-ahead single came after Kyle Hendricks intentionally walked Joey Votto to get to Phillips.

Hendricks gave up three earned runs in five innings, scattering five hits while walking three and striking out four.

The Cubs took a 1-0 lead in the third on Dexter Fowler's solo homer into the basket in the corner in left field. The Reds tied it in the fourth on DeJesus' two-out RBI single, scoring Votto, who singled earlier in the inning.

Reds RHP Anthony DeSclafani (7-10, 3.84) will be trying to end a four-game skid that dates to Aug. 4, while Cubs RHP Dan Haren (8-9, 3.90) will be looking for his first win since Aug. 11, after losing two out of his last three starts.