Mikolas 1 strike short of no-hitter; Cards sweep Pirates

ST. LOUIS (AP) – Miles Mikolas was one strike from a no-hitter when he gave up a double to Cal Mitchell with two outs in the ninth inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals routed the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-1 to sweep a doubleheader Tuesday night. Mitchell drove a 2-2 curveball over the head of Gold Glove center fielder Harrison Bader and just beyond his outstretched glove as he tried to make a running catch with his back to home plate. The ball bounced on the warning track 383 feet from the plate and over the wall in straightaway center for a ground-rule double. The hit came on the 129th pitch from Mikolas (5-4), a career high. He was lifted right after that for Packy Naughton, who got the final out to hand the Pirates their ninth straight loss. Paul Goldschmidt homered twice and drove in five runs for the Cardinals, who have won five of six. Tommy Edman also went deep and Brendan Donovan had his first career four-hit game. Bryse Wilson (0-4) gave up seven runs in five innings for the Pirates. CARDINALS 3, PIRATES 1, GAME 1 ST. LOUIS (AP) – Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs, leading St. Louis over Pittsburgh 3-1 in a doubleheader opener. Goldschmidt hit a go-ahead, two-run drive in the third inning off JT Brubaker (0-7), and boosted the lead to 3-0 with an RBI grounder in the fourth. Yadier Molina had 11 putouts on 10 strikeouts and a foul popup, and with 14,870 passed Iván Rodríguez (14,864) for most among catchers in major league history. Matthew Liberatore (2-1) allowed three hits in five scoreless innings, striking out five and walking two in his fourth big league start. Giovanny Gallegos pitched a one-hit ninth for his ninth save in 12 chances, finishing a seven-hitter. METS 4, BREWERS 0 NEW YORK (AP) – Chris Bassitt pitched eight sharp innings of three-hit ball, Pete Alonso drove in two runs and New York beat struggling Milwaukee. Bassitt (5-4) allowed just three singles and one walk with seven strikeouts. He got the Brewers to hit into double plays right after each of their hits. Drew Smith worked a perfect ninth to complete the Mets’ 10th shutout of the season. Milwaukee has dropped nine of 10, getting shut out four times during that span. Adrian Houser (3-7) allowed four runs on eight hits and one walk with three strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings. YANKEES 2, RAYS 0 NEW YORK (AP) – Gerrit Cole put a career-worst pummeling behind him with six sharp innings, and New York capitalized on shaky defense by Tampa Bay. The AL East-leading Yankees won their fifth straight. New York had just five hits but improved to 45-16, the best 61-game start across baseball since Seattle in 2001. Cole (6-1) struck out seven, walked one and allowed five hits, all singles. Ex-Yankee Corey Kluber (3-3) countered Cole with six innings, allowing two unearned runs, four hits and a walk with three strikeouts. Clay Holmes pitched a scoreless ninth for his 10th save, completing the Yankees’ six-hitter and their 10th shutout. BRAVES 10, NATIONALS 4 WASHINGTON (AP) – Michael Harris II and Travis d’Arnaud each had three hits and homered for the second straight game, and Atlanta connected five times to beat Washington for its 13th straight win. Atlanta hit back-to-back homers for the third straight game, this time doing it twice. D’Arnaud and Marcell Ozuna went deep in the third inning, and Orlando Arcia and Harris followed in the sixth. Dansby Swanson also homered for the Braves, who have clubbed 32 home runs during the winning streak, the longest in the majors this season. Max Fried (7-2) went 5 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on six hits while striking out six and walking one. Jackson Stephens pitched the final three innings for his second save.