Cardinals, Reds and Braves win, Cubs Lose

>>Cardinals Hold Off Dodgers

(St. Louis, MO)  —  The Cardinals held off a late rally from the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 7-6 win at Busch Stadium.  Giovanny Gallegos stranded the Dodgers’ potential game-tying run at first in the ninth after giving up a solo home run earlier in the inning to pick up his tenth save of the season.  Johan Oviedo earned his second win out of the bullpen.  Albert Pujols hit the 685th home run of his career in the victory, and Nolan Gorman launched the eighth of his rookie campaign.  The Cardinals improve to 48-and-42, and they send Adam Wainwright to the mound against Los Angeles tonight.

>>Molina To Return Next Month

(St. Louis, MO)  —  The Cardinals will be getting their All-Star catcher back from injury soon.  The team announced a timetable for Yadier Molina, who has been out since injuring his right knee in a game against the Pirates on June 15th.  Manager Oliver Marmol told reporters that Molina will have a rehab assignment later this month, and he added that the 39-year-old should be back with the team as the full-time catcher at the beginning of July.  Molina is playing in the final season of 19-year career.  He’s hitting .213 with two home runs and 10 RBI in 38 games this season.

>>Reds Fight Back To Beat Yankees 4-3

(New York, NY)  —  The Reds storm back and score four runs in the ninth inning to beat the Yankees 4-3.  Tyler Naquin drove in the first run on a single while Kyler Farmer got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to cut the deficit to one.  Jonathan India hit a single to drive in the next two runs to give Cincy the 4-3 lead and Alexis Diaz shut down Yankees hitters in the bottom half to seal the come-back win.  The Reds continue their series in New York tonight.

>>Cubs Lose Fifth Game In A Row

(Chicago, IL)  —  The Cubs are continuing their struggles after a 4-2 loss to the Orioles at Wrigley Field.  The Cubs took an early 2-0 lead thanks to Ian Happ’s solo home run in the first and RBI single from Alfonso Rivas in the second.  Adrian Sampson was rocky in his first loss of the season, giving up three runs in five-and-a-third innings in the losing effort as the Cubs drop to 34-and-53.  Justin Steele returns from the paternity list to start against Baltimore tonight.

>>Braves Top Mets

(Cumberland, GA)  —  Adam Duvall and Matt Olson homered as the Braves topped the Mets 4-1 in Cumberland.  Spencer Strider only allowed one run and struck out eight over four and two thirds innings.  Tyler Matzek earned the win for Atlanta, which is 53-and-36.