Cardinals win 7-1 vs. Dodgers in start of big series

LOS ANGELES: St. Louis’ Michael Wacha pitched seven effective innings to guide the Cardinals to a 7-1 win at the Los Angeles Dodgers in Thursday’s opener of a four-game series between the top two teams in the National League.
Elsewhere in the National League, there was a change at the top of the East division, with the New York Mets going top with a win against Arizona while Washington lost a tight contest against the Chicago Cubs.
In the American League, Baltimore won narrowly at Houston and Cleveland beat Kansas City in a game ended after eight innings due to rain.
St. Louis, which knocked the Dodgers out of the playoffs in each of the previous two seasons, increased its Central Division lead to 6 1-2 games over idle Pittsburgh while Los Angeles’ West Division advantage shrunk to 1 1-2 games over the idle San Francisco Giants.
Wacha (8-1) allowed one run without walking a batter and had five strikeouts, five days after the Dodgers beat him 5-1 at St. Louis. This was Wacha’s first road start against the Dodgers, whom he defeated twice in the 2013 NL championship series without conceding a run.
Jason Heyward and Kolten Wong drove in two runs each for the Cardinals.
The Mets returned to the NL East summit with a rare road win, beating Arizona 6-2.
New York starter Matt Harvey (6-3) struck out nine in seven strong innings to record his first win in six starts. It was the fifth time this season he has struck out nine or more.
John Mayberry Jr. had a two-run homer among his career-high four hits for the Mets, who banged out 14 hits to win for the second time in 11 road games.
The win moved New York back above Washington, which gave up two runs in the first inning against the Cubs and could not catch up, losing 2-1.
Chicago starter Jake Arrieta (5-4) rebounded from a pair of subpar outings, pitching six innings and giving up one run.
Washington’s Anthony Rendon, who missed 53 games due to injuries, had two hits in his season debut. He was up at the plate with runners on first and second and two outs in the ninth when Cubs catcher David Ross picked off Clint Robinson at first to end it.
Baltimore’s Adam Jones had three hits, including a solo homer that lifted the Orioles over Houston 3-2.
With the score 2-2 in the eighth inning and two outs, Jones drove a pitch from Chad Qualls (1-3) over the left-field wall. Jones has five hits in his past two games following an 0-for-12 slump.
Baltimore starter Wei-Yin Chen yielded two runs in 6 1-3 innings with a season-high nine strikeouts.
Orioles manager Buck Showalter was ejected in the second for arguing balls and strikes with the plate umpire, but still saw his team end a five-game losing skid.
Cleveland’s Brandon Moss hit a two-run homer to help the Indians win 6-2 at Kansas City.
After struggling to score the previous night, the Indians pounded away against Chris Young (4-2) over the first five innings. They sent eight batters to the plate during a four-run third inning, and Moss added his second homer of the series with no outs in the fifth.
The game was delayed with one out in the bottom of the eighth as lightning and heavy rain rolled into the area. The umpires waited 44 minutes before ending the game.
Boston’s third baseman Pablo Sandoval mishandled a throw on Joe Mauer’s bunt in the ninth inning, allowing the Twins to break clear for an 8-4 win against the Red Sox, splitting the four-game series.
Tampa Bay pitcher Erasmo Ramirez beat his former team, combining with four relievers to give the Rays a 2-1 win against Seattle.
Texas’ Shin-Soo Choo hit a single past a defensive shift in the 11th inning to give the Rangers a 2-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
Oakland completed a three-game sweep of Detroit with a 7-5 result that sent the Tigers spiraling to their seventh straight loss, with — Jesse Hahn allowing just one run in seven innings.
Cincinnati’s Anthony DeSclafani also threw seven effective innings to steer the Reds to a 6-4 win against Philadelphia, avoiding a three-game sweep.