UNDATED (AP) — Matt Adams was the hero for the St. Louis Cardinals last night after beginning the game on the bench.

Adams belted a pair of extra-inning homers as the Cardinals outlasted the Cincinnati Reds 5-4 in 16 innings. He went deep in the 14th inning to give the Redbirds their first lead of the night, but the Reds extended the game on Zach Cozart's single. Adams' second drive of the game allowed the Cardinals to avoid a sweep and move within one game of Pittsburgh for the NL Central lead.

Adams entered the game after first baseman Allen Craig sprained his foot rounding the bag in the fourth inning.

Brandon Phillips hit a solo homer for the Reds, who remain 3 ½ games behind the division-leading Pirates.

The Bucs were unable to clinch their first winning season in 21 years. The Brewers reached Francisco Liriano for seven runs in just three innings of a 9-3 win over the Pirates in Milwaukee. Khris Davis hit a two-run homer and Aramis Ramirez went 2-for-3 with a two-run double and three runs scored to highlight Milwaukee's 13-hit attack.

The Oakland Athletics and Texas Rangers share first place in the American League West once again after the A's took the rubber match of their three-game series.

Brandon Moss, Daric Barton and Coco Crisp each hit two-run homers and Josh Donaldson added a three-run drive as the A's ripped the Rangers 11-4. Two of those home runs came off Yu Darvish, who's lost consecutive starts for the first time all season after yielding five runs in as many innings.

Jarrod Parker extended his unbeaten streak to 18 straight starts, eclipsing Catfish Hunter's Oakland mark set from June 2-Sept. 3, 1973. Jarrod has a nine-game winning streak and is 11-6 overall after limiting the Rangers to two runs in six innings.

Boston destroyed the Detroit Tigers, crushing eight home runs in a 20-4 rout at Fenway Park. David Ortiz went 3-for-5 with two homers, four RBIs and three runs scored, while Will Middlebrooks was 3-for-5 with a homer and four ribbies.

The Red Sox turned it into a rout by scoring 15 runs from the sixth inning through the eighth.

Prince Fielder hit a two-run homer for the Tigers, who held a brief 3-2 lead before their lead in the AL Central was trimmed to 6 ½ games over Cleveland.

Boston's lead in the AL East remains 5 ½ games after second-place Tampa Bay beat the Angels 3-1. Rookie Wil Myers homered twice, including a two-run shot that put the Rays ahead 3-0 in the seventh inning. Jeremy Hellickson held Los Angeles to four hits over 5 1/3 shutout innings to outpitch Jered Weaver.

Also in the majors, Atlanta's magic number for clinching the NL East remains 10 after Dillon Gee allowed a run and four hits in seven innings to pitch the New York Mets past the Braves 5-2. Andrew Brown put the Mets ahead to stay with a two-run blast in the first inning, and Lucas Duda (DOO'-duh) went 3-for-5 with a solo shot to help New York avoid a three-game sweep.

The Dodgers' magic number for winning the NL West is stuck at 12 following a 7-5 loss at Colorado. Todd Helton hit a solo shot and Michael Cuddyer (kuh-DY'-ur) drove in two runs before the Rockies scored three times in the seventh to take a 7-2 lead. Newly-acquired infielder Michael Young was 3-for-4 with two RBIs for the Dodgers, who ended a six-game winning streak and saw their division lead cut to 12 ½ games over Arizona.

The Diamondbacks gave their fading postseason hopes a slight boost by rallying from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 in 10 innings. Willie Bloomquist ended the game with his third hit of the day, an RBI single that allowed the Diamondbacks to avoid a three-game sweep and pull within seven games of the Reds for the final NL wild-card berth.

Robinson Cano (kuh-NOH') was 3-for-4 with a solo homer and two RBIs as the New York Yankees won for the fifth time in six games, beating the Chicago White Sox 6-5 to complete a three-game sweep. Brett Gardner added a two-run triple to back CC Sabathia (suh-BATH'-ee-uh), who allowed three runs over 7 1/3 innings. The Yanks remain 2 ½ games behind the Rays for the final AL wild-card berth.

Ryan Raburn lined a two-run double while Cleveland was scoring four times in the first inning of a 6-4 triumph against Baltimore. The Indians' bullpen tossed 4 1/3 shutout innings of one-hit relief after Manny Machado ripped a three-run homer off starter Zach McAllister. The outcome keeps the Indians within 3 ½ games of Tampa Bay for the last AL wild-card berth and drops the Orioles four games back.

Seattle dealt the Royals a blow to their postseason chances as Kendrys Morales hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the ninth inning to lift the Mariners past Kansas City 6-4. The Royals remain 8 ½ games behind the AL Central-leading Tigers and are 5 ½ games out of a postseason berth.

Jordan Zimmermann has become the National League's first 16-game winner, improving to 16-8 by yielding two runs in seven innings of Washington's 3-2 comeback win at Philadelphia. Ryan Zimmerman tied it with a solo homer in the seventh, one inning before pinch-runner Jeff Kobernus stole third and scored the go-ahead run on an infield grounder.

Houston beat Minnesota 6-5 on Trevor Crowe's RBI single in the bottom of the ninth. Crowe and Brandon Barnes each had two RBIs in the Astros' first win in six tries against the Twins.

Pablo Sandoval belted three homers while going 4-for-6 with six RBIs in San Francisco's 13-5 laugher against San Diego. Brandon Crawford began the Giants' assault with a solo homer in the third inning before Hunter Pence and Hector Sanchez added two-run shots in the fourth.

Donnie Murphy's two-run blast capped a four-run seventh as the Chicago Cubs outscored Miami 8-7. Starlin Castro, Dioner Navarro and Ryan Sweeney each added solo home runs for the Cubbies, who avoided a three-game sweep and prevented the Marlins from snaring their season-high fourth straight win.

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