>>White Sox Beat Rangers, Latos Brilliant Again
Mat Latos pitched six solid innings for his fourth consecutive win, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Texas Rangers 4-1 on Sunday.
Latos (4-0), who signed a $3 million, one-year deal with Chicago in February, was charged with one run and seven hits. The 6-foot-6 right-hander has allowed two earned runs in 24 1/3 innings while matching his win total from all of last season.
David Robertson, who blew a save opportunity on Saturday for this first time this season, struck out the side in the ninth for his seventh save.
>>Cubs Blast Reds
Anthony Rizzo drove in four runs with his 10th career two-homer game, Jason Hammel pitched six scoreless innings and the Chicago Cubs routed the Cincinnati Reds 9-0 on Sunday to improve to 14-5 for the first time in 47 years.
Tommy La Stella hit two doubles and his first homer of the season and Jason Heyward had four hits and 3 RBIs as the Cubs rebounded from their worst loss of the season, 13-5, on Saturday.
Despite that loss, Chicago outscored Cincinnati 38-14 in the four-game series, which started Thursday with Jake Arrieta's 16-0 no-hitter.
The Cubs have won six of their seven games against the Reds this season and nine of their last 10 over the last two seasons. Chicago's record over 19 games is its best since the 1969 team started 14-5.
Hammel (3-0) allowed three hits with two walks and a season-high seven strikeouts.
Cincinnati's Alfredo Simon (0-2) allowed nine hits and eight runs with one walk and three strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings.
>>Cardinals Bats Come Alive Again For Series Finale Win
Jedd Gyorko homered, tripled and singled, and rookie Aledmys Diaz had a homer among his three hits as the Cardinals rallied to beat the Padres 8-5 on Sunday to take two of three.
Gyorko had two chances to complete the cycle but flied out to left and grounded out to third in his final at-bats. Randal Grichuk had three hits and three RBIs for St. Louis.
In the last two games, San Diego's bullpen allowed 15 runs, all earned, on 18 hits in eight innings, with four homers, four walks and five strikeouts. The Cardinals won 11-2 Saturday night, scoring 10 runs in the final three innings.
Kevin Siegrest (3-0) pitched the seventh for the win. Trevor Rosenthal pitched the ninth for his fifth save in as many chances.
Diaz had his first five-hit game Saturday night while Gyorko had a three-run homer.
Cardinals starter Mike Leake, who went to high school in northern San Diego County, helped his own cause and gave the Cardinals a 3-2 lead when he singled in Gyorko with one out in the fourth. Gyorko was aboard on a leadoff triple to right.
Leake allowed five runs, three earned, on seven hits in five innings. He struck out four and walked two.
St. Louis continues its seven-game trip through the NL West when it opens a four-game series Monday night at Arizona.
>>White Sox Avila To DL
The White Sox have placed catcher Alex Avila on the 15-day disabled list because of an injured right hamstring. Chicago recalled Kevan Smith from Triple-A Charlotte on Sunday before the series finale against the Texas Rangers.
Avila is batting .214 in 10 games. He was injured running the bases in the sixth inning Saturday.
Dioner Navarro replaced Avila in Saturday's game and will become the No. 1 catcher, with Smith the backup. Smith was batting .345 with two homers and six RBIs for Charlotte in eight games. He has thrown out five of 11 base stealers.
White Sox manager Robin Ventura calls this a "good opportunity" for Smith. He says Smith won't play as much as Navarro, "but he will play."
