It sure looks like the battle for the National League Central will be going down to the wire this season.
Pirates left-hander Jeff Locke decided to get most of his regressing out of the way in one start, yielding eight runs on 10 hits over just two innings Saturday night in a 15-5 blowout loss to the Diamondbacks. The Cardinals, a bit earlier in the day, took care of business at Wrigley Field, blanking the rival Cubs 4-0 with Yadier Molina homering for the first time since his knee sprain. The Reds couldn’t muster any offense at Milwaukee’s Miller Park, falling 2-0.
Pittsburgh is 72-50 with a two-game division lead over the 70-52 Redbirds. Cincy (69-54) is 3 1/2 back.
Your Saturday box scores and recaps:
Nationals 8, Braves 7 (15 innings)
Astros 5, Angels 6 (10 innings)