CINCINNATI (AP) - Skip Schumaker hit his first career grand slam during St. Louis Cardinals’ biggest inning of the season, supplying more than enough runs for right-hander Chris Carpenter to beat the Cincinnati Reds for the ninth time in a row, 7-3 on Monday night.
The Cardinals provided a lopsided start to their showdown for first place in the NL Central, trimming Cincinnati’s lead to one game.
St. Louis sent 12 batters to the plate for seven runs in the fourth, giving rookie Mike Leake (7-4) his worst moments in the majors. Schumaker’s grand slam _ only his 19th career homer _ made it 6-0.
Carpenter (13-3) has won his last nine starts against the Reds, a streak that started in 2006. He gave up five hits and a pair of runs in seven innings.
Ramon Hernandez had three of Cincinnati’s seven hits, including an RBI double off Carpenter and a solo homer off Kyle McClellan.
Diamondbacks 7, Brewers 4, 10 innings
MILWAUKEE (AP) _ Stephen Drew hit a two-run single and Ryan Church added a pinch-hit RBI in the 10th inning as Arizona rallied against Trevor Hoffman.
Hoffman (2-5), who earned his first save in three months on Friday, came on to pitch the 10th after the Diamondbacks tied it at 4 in ninth.
Kelly Johnson doubled to left with one out. With two outs, Miguel Montero was walked intentionally to face Mark Reynolds who walked on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases. Drew slapped a 2-2 pitch up the middle for two runs. Church, hitting for Sam Demel (1-0), singled to right to make it 7-4.
The Diamondbacks snapped a seven-game losing streak to Milwaukee. Aaron Heilman pitched the 10th for his sixth save in 11 chances.
Astros 10, Braves 4
HOUSTON (AP) _ Hot-hitting rookie Chris Johnson drove in three runs, including two in Houston’s six-run seventh inning, and the Astros took advantage of sloppy play by Atlanta.
Atlanta committed three errors and had a wild pitch to help the Astros snap a four-game losing streak.
Jason Heyward, who turned 21 on Monday, hit his 12th home run of the season to the bullpen in right center field. He became the fourth player to homer on his 21st birthday, joining Ted Williams (1939), Frank Robinson (1956) and Alex Rodriguez (1996) according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Kyle Farnsworth (3-1) took the loss.
Tim Byrdak (2-1) got one out.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.