KANSAS CITY, Mo.-Just about everybody in the Cardinals lineup drove in a run, Michael Wacha was good enough on the mound and St. Louis held off the Kansas City Royals 8-4 on Tuesday night to even their four-game, two-city series.
Wacha (4-7) allowed four runs over six innings but, considering he served up nine hits and three walks, it could have been worse. It was his second straight win after dropping seven consecutive decisions.
His bullpen nearly gave it away: Seung Hwan Oh loaded the bases with one out in the ninth before getting pinch-hitter Alex Gordon to pop out and inducing Eric Hosmer into a routine fielder's choice.
Yordano Ventura (6-5) allowed seven runs on seven hits, three walks and a hit batter in 5 1/3 innings for the Royals. Ventura had only allowed one run over his last two starts, both of which came before an eight-game suspension for his role in a benches-clearing brawl during a game June 7 in Baltimore.
As if things weren't bad enough for Kansas City, outfielder Lorenzo Cain grabbed his left hamstring while trying to beat out an infield hit in the seventh. He left the game and the extent of the injury was unclear.
The cross-state series shifts to St. Louis for two more games beginning Wednesday night.
Indians 5, Braves 3
ATLANTA-A slow start was too much for Matt Wisler to overcome against Corey Kluber and the streaking Cleveland Indians.
Wisler gave up two first-inning runs and the Braves' last-gasp comeback attempt in the ninth inning fell short in their 5-3 loss to Cleveland on Tuesday night.
The Indians have won 11 straight, including the first two games of the series. It is the majors' longest streak of the season.
Tigers 7, Marlins 5
DETROIT-Miguel Cabrera's three-run homer highlighted a seven-run fifth inning for Detroit, and the Tigers went on to beat Miami Marlins.
Jose Iglesias and Nick Castellanos also homered during Detroit's big inning, which came after Adam Conley (4-5) had been dominant through four. Mike Pelfrey (2-7) allowed four runs and 12 hits in 5 1/3 innings, and that was enough for the win.
Twins 4, White Sox 0
CHICAGO-Brian Dozier homered twice and drove in four runs, Kyle Gibson pitched seven innings of five-hit ball for his first victory of the season, and Minnesota blanked the Chicago White Sox..
Dozier homered in his third straight game and extended his hitting streak to 10 games as the last-place Twins beat the White Sox for first time in seven tries. Gibson (1-5) struck out seven and walked one in his best performance since coming off the disabled list this month.
Ryan Pressly and Brandon Kintzler each got three outs to finish the six-hitter for Minnesota's first shutout of the season.
Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer for Miami.
Red Sox 8, Rays 2. Updates
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.-Rick Porcello pitched six strong innings, Travis Shaw homered and drove in five runs for the third time this season and the Boston Red Sox beat Tampa Bay to end a three-game losing streak.
Porcello (9-2) retired the last nine batters he faced after giving up a bases-loaded walk to Nick Franklin in the fourth. That was the only run the right-hander allowed while also yielding five hits.
Shaw had a solo homer, a two-run double and a two-run single for the Red Sox, who broke a close game open with a three-run seventh. David Ortiz continued to climb the career RBI list with a third-inning double, and Jackie Bradley Jr. and Hanley Ramirez also drove in runs for Boston.
Ortiz's hit gave the Red Sox a 2-0 lead against Chris Archer (4-11), who's gone from being an All-Star a year ago to leading the major leagues in losses this season. One night after moving ahead of Reggie Jackson for sole possession of 24th on the career RBI list, the slugger pulled even with another Hall of Famer, Frank Thomas, for 23rd with 1,704.