MILWAUKEE (AP) ― Adam Wainwright pitched seven strong innings and the St. Louis Cardinals sent Milwaukee to its seventh straight loss, 10-2 on Saturday as the Brewers mourned the death of shortstop Jean Segura’s young son.
Segura left the team and traveled home to the Dominican Republic, a day after his 9-month-old son died. The Brewers observed a moment of silence for Janniel Segura, and the clubhouse was closed before the game.
The 24-year-old shortstop was put on the bereavement list when he learned after the Brewers’ 7-6 loss to St. Louis on Friday night that his son had died. Manager Ron Roenicke said the boy had been ill.
Tony Cruz drove in a career-high three runs and Kolten Wong homered as the Cardinals pulled into a first-place tie with Milwaukee in the NL Central. St. Louis trailed by 6 1/2 games on July 1.
The Brewers have lost 11 of 12. They had held sole possession of first place since April 9.
Frustrated Brewers star Carlos Gomez struck out swinging in the fifth inning and tried three times without success to break the bat over his leg. He slammed his helmet and tore up his batting gloves.
Wainwright (12-4) helped himself with an RBI single and tied Cincinnati’s Alfredo Simon and the Yankees’ Masahiro Tanaka for the most wins in the majors.
Wainwright gave up two runs and five hits. He has allowed just four earned runs in his last six starts. Jimmy Nelson (1-1) went 4 1/3 innings, giving up eight runs and eight hits. He was recalled from Triple-A Nashville on Thursday to make his first start since replacing ineffective Marco Estrada in the rotation.
Angels roll past reeling Rangers
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) ― Angels ace Jered Weaver noticed that there was no signal to the bullpen when manager Mike Scioscia was walking toward him in the seventh inning.
“Usually, he kind of makes the call about halfway out to the mound, and didn’t do it this time, and I felt like he wanted to see how I was feeling,” Weaver said. “It was nice to be able to get those last two outs.”
Weaver pitched seven strong innings for his 10th win, five days after going only two innings his previous start because of tightness in his lower back, and the Angels sent the Texas Rangers to their seventh straight loss, 5-2 on Saturday night.
Howie Kendrick celebrated his 31st birthday with three hits, including an RBI single during a four-run sixth inning as the Angels won for the ninth time in 10 games.
Weaver (10-6) limited the Rangers to two runs and four hits. The right-hander struck out three and walked three. There was a runner on first with an out in the seventh when Scioscia popped out of the dugout.
“I just wanted to see how Weave felt, and Weave was adamant he felt good and talked me into having him stay in the game,” Scioscia said.
Angels left fielder Collin Cowgill left the game with blood gushing from the bridge of his nose after he was struck in the face by a pitch when he squared to bunt in the eighth. He immediately put his hand over his face and started walking toward the dugout.
The Angels said he was alert and got stitches before being taken to a hospital for further evaluation.
Ellis’ sac fly in 9th lifts Dodgers
LOS ANGELES (AP) ― A.J. Ellis hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the ninth inning, lifting the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 1-0 victory over the San Diego Padres on Saturday night.
Adrian Gonzalez greeted Kevin Quackenbush (1-2) with a leadoff double before Matt Kemp struck out and Andre Ethier was intentionally walked. Juan Uribe then worked out a seven-pitch walk that included two checked swings that were upheld on appeal by first base umpire Jim Wolf. Padres manager Bud Black then employed a drawn-in five-man infield, but Ellis was able to lift a 1-2 pitch to right field.
Kenley Jansen (1-3) pitched a scoreless ninth for the victory, striking out cleanup hitter Yasmani Grandal with runners at first and second. The Dodgers’ victory, coupled with San Francisco’s loss, put the Dodgers back in front of the Giants by a full game in the NL West.
