ST. LOUIS (AP) — Paul DeJong had no guarantees when he was recalled by the St. Louis Cardinals on June 15.
He’s certainly making a strong case for an extended stay in the big leagues.
DeJong homered as part of a four-hit game and Adam Wainwright won his third consecutive start as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the New York Mets 4-1 on Saturday.
DeJong notched his first career four-hit game with three doubles to go along with the homer. He became the first Cardinals shortstop and No. 8 hitter in the modern era to have four extra-base hits in one game.
“It was just one of those days when you’re in the zone and seeing it really well and not thinking too much,” DeJong said. “Just going up there trying to see the ball down the middle and hit it really. That’s as simple as it can be.”
DeJong drove in two and scored twice. He is hitting .625 (10 for 16) during a five-game hitting streak.
“I’m just controlling my emotions in the (batter’s) box, not trying to create anything,” DeJong said. “At times I can get out of my zone and swing at pitches that I shouldn’t be, swinging when I’m trying to do too much.”
Wainwright (10-5) pitched 6 2/3 innings, lasting into the seventh for the third time in his last four starts.
Three of the five hits he allowed came in the seventh and he struck out seven, including the side in the sixth inning.
“I thought his cutter slider was his best all season and then he didn’t try to overthrow his fastball,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “I thought he just did a real nice job of executing pitches all day.”
Seung Hwan Oh earned his 18th save in 21 chances. Matt Bowman got Wainwright out of his seventh-inning jam and Brett Cecil pitched a scoreless eighth.
DeJong’s leadoff homer in the third, his second in as many games, gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead. It is the third time in DeJong’s 34-game career that he has hit home runs in back-to-back days.
“Not surprising to me at all that Paul’s having such a great start,” Wainwright said. “He’s hit in every league he’s been in.”
Yadier Molina’s double in the sixth made it 2-0 Cardinals. It was Molina’s first RBI in five games.
Jay Bruce’s 23rd home run of the season cut the Cardinals’ lead to 2-1 in the seventh. It is a career high for Bruce in the first half of the season and it is the most homers by a Mets before the All-Star break since Carlos Beltran hit 25 in 2006.
Zack Wheeler (3-6) struck out five in six innings in his second start since returning from the disabled list with biceps tendinitis. It was his longest outing since going seven innings on June 7.
“I think the fastball command was there, better than it has been so I’m happy with that,” Wheeler said. “But I made a couple of mistakes to DeJong and Molina and it cost me a couple of runs.”
Braves 13, Nationals 0
WASHINGTON — Julio Teheran pitched seven strong innings to keep up his road dominance and added a career-high three RBIs, Nick Markakis and Johnan Camargo each had three hits, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Washington Nationals.
Teheran (7-6) gave up four hits while walking two and striking out five to improve to 6-0 in nine road starts this season. He singled twice against Stephen Strasburg to improve to 4 for 7 in his career against him.
Strasburg (9-3) was hit on his hip by a line drive from Markakis in the third and left after the inning. He gave up seven hits and six runs — three earned — in his shortest outing of season.
Markakis hit his fourth home run of the season for Atlanta while Matt Adams added his 14th.
The Braves have taken two out of three to pull 8 1/2 games behind Washington in the NL East.
Padres 2, Phillies 1
PHILADELPHIA — Austin Hedges drove in the winning run for the second straight game and Jhoulys Chacin pitched 6 1/3 strong innings to lead the San Diego Padres to a victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Carlos Asuaje added an RBI triple for the Padres, who have won five of six.
Maikel Franco homered and Tommy Joseph had two hits with a double for Philadelphia, which has lost five straight and seven of nine.
Chacin (8-7) allowed one run and three hits with six strikeouts and two walks.
Aaron Nola (6-6) tied career-highs by going eight innings and striking out nine, but he was the hard-luck loser. Nola gave up four hits and walked two.
Brandon Maurer pitched a scoreless ninth for his 19th save.
Pirates 4, Cubs 2
CHICAGO — Gregory Polanco hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning and Ivan Nova pitched three-hit ball into the seventh, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to a victory over the Chicago Cubs.
Josh Bell had three hits and two runs scored, while Francisco Cervelli and Jordy Mercer each drove in a run for the Pirates.
Ian Happ and Kyle Schwarber had back-to-back home runs for Chicago, which has not won consecutive games since a three-game streak June 18-20.
Nova (9-6) struck out six and walked one in 6 2/3 innings. Besides the homers, the only other hit he allowed was a second-inning single to Schwarber.
Felipe Rivero, who reached 102 on the radar gun, got the final four outs for his sixth save.
Cubs starter Jake Arrieta (8-7) allowed four runs (three earned) and six hits in 5 2/3 innings. He had allowed an unearned run through five innings before being knocked out in the sixth.
The Pirates took a 1-0 lead in the fourth. Bell led off with a double, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on a groundout by Cervelli.
Nova retired 11 of the first 12 batters he faced before giving up back-to-back bombs with two outs in the fourth. Happ hit a 3-1 pitch into the left-field bleachers, while Schwarber’s high drive landed about six rows deep into the bleachers in left-center.
Arrieta worked a 1-2-3 fifth after getting the lead, but ran into trouble in the sixth. Bell led off — again — with a double and one out later Polanco homered to put Pittsburgh back on top 3-2. Cervelli followed with a single and scored all the way from first on a double by Mercer to make it 4-2.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Rays 1, Red Sox 0
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Alex Cobb pitched two-hit ball into the eighth inning and the Tampa Bay Rays beat Rick Porcello and the Boston Red Sox with some help from a replay reversal.
Cobb (7-6) retired 11 straight over one stretch. Alex Colome got the final four outs for his 24th save, finishing Tampa Bay’s three-hitter.
The Red Sox put runners on second and third with one out in the ninth. Hanley Ramirez then struck out swinging. After rookie Andrew Benintendi was walked intentionally, Chris Young popped out to end the game.
Porcello (4-11) became the majors’ first 11-game loser despite pitching a gem. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner allowed six hits, struck out seven and walked none in his first complete game of the season.
Jesus Sucre drove in the game’s only run with a sacrifice fly in the second after singles by Steven Souza Jr., and Brad Miller.
The inning was kept alive by a replay reversal of a double-play call. A 94-second review determined Adeiny Hechavarria had beaten Dustin Pedroia’s throw to first base.
Porcello then hit Shane Peterson with a pitch before Sucre hit a fly ball to center, driving in Souza.
Xander Bogaerts beat out an infield chopper in the first, Mookie Betts singled to center in the third and Mitch Moreland doubled in the ninth for Boston’s only hits.
Mallex Smith had two of Tampa Bay’s six hits, including a two-out triple in the seventh.
Blue Jays 7, Astros 2
TORONTO — Josh Donaldson and Troy Tulowitzki homered, helping the Blue Jays to the win.
Donaldson hit a three-run shot in the fifth inning for his first homer since June 11 at Seattle and No. 150 for his career. Tulowitzki connected for the second straight game as Toronto bounced back from Friday’s 12-2 loss.
Marcus Stroman (9-5) pitched seven effective innings as the Blue Jays beat the Astros for the 10th time in their last 13 meetings. The right-hander, who was removed from his previous start because of a blister on his pitching hand, allowed one run and six hits.
Marwin Gonzalez homered in the ninth for Houston, which hit into four double plays over the first five innings. Mike Fiers (5-4) yielded three runs and five hits in six innings.
Orioles 5, Twins 1
MINNEAPOLIS — Jonathan Schoop and Mark Trumbo homered, Wade Miley produced his best start in more than five weeks and Baltimore stopped a five-game losing streak.
Manny Machado added an RBI double to help the Orioles beat the Twins for the first time in six meetings this season. This was just their third win in 11 games.
After Miley (4-7) allowed Miguel Sano’s 21st home run, the most by a Twins player before the break since Justin Morneau with 21 in 2009, Schoop trumped his American League All-Star teammate with a towering two-run shot in the fourth inning off Adalberto Mejia (4-4). The ball reached the third deck above left field, estimated by Major League Baseball’s Statcast system at 462 feet.
Indians 4, Tigers 0
CLEVELAND — Mike Clevinger held Detroit to three hits in six innings and outpitched Justin Verlander, All-Star Michael Brantley broke a scoreless tie with an RBI double, and the Cleveland Indians defeated the Tigers.
Clevinger (5-3) allowed only one runner to reach second base and won his third straight decision.
Verlander (5-6) gave up one run in 6 2/3 innings and lost to Cleveland for the second time this week. The right-hander struck out six after the Indians snapped his streak of 331 consecutive games with at least one strikeout last Sunday.
