CHAD KUHL

Cardinals Pirates Baseball St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Yadier Molina reacts to giving up a two-run home run to Pittsburgh Pirates' Jack Suwinski during the ninth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, May 22, 2022. Anyone else want to pitch for St. Louis this season? Exactly a week after the slugging Pujols made his first pitching appearance in the majors, Molina got his turn Sunday, closing out an 18-4 romp at Pittsburgh. I didn’t give up a double like he did,” Pujols told St. Louis media. Retorted Molina: “I didn’t walk anybody.”But it was not all fun and games for St. Louis.

First, Albert Pujols.

Cardinals Pirates Baseball St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Yadier Molina reacts to giving up a two-run home run to Pittsburgh Pirates' Jack Suwinski during the ninth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, May 22, 2022. Anyone else want to pitch for St. Louis this season? Exactly a week after the slugging Pujols made his first pitching appearance in the majors, Molina got his turn Sunday, closing out an 18-4 romp at Pittsburgh. I didn’t give up a double like he did,” Pujols told St. Louis media. Retorted Molina: “I didn’t walk anybody.”But it was not all fun and games for St. Louis.

Cincinnati has dropped seven straight and owns the worst record in the majors at 3-20. New York (18-6) tops the majors with 34 home runs this season, including 23 in the past 11 games. The Yankees won 13 straight games in August last year. WINDY CITY WATCHINGThe second game of the season between the White Sox and Cubs features a pair of accomplished right-handers in Lucas Giolito and Kyle Hendricks at Wrigley Field. A victory would give the Mets eight straight series wins to begin the season — their previous record was five.

A rough year for Joey Votto and the Reds got worse when the slumping first baseman was put on the COVID-19 injured list.

Reds Rockies Baseball Cincinnati Reds' Joey Votto strikes out against Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Chad Kuhl in the fourth inning of a baseball game Saturday, April 30, 2022, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) (David Zalubowski)A look at what's happening around the majors on Wednesday:VOTTO OUTA rough year for Joey Votto and the Reds got worse when the slumping first baseman was put on the COVID-19 injured list. Manager David Bell said Votto hadn't tested positive for the virus, but had shown symptoms. On Monday, Votto linked to a blog post on Fangraphs.com that carried this headline: “Is This the End for Joey Votto?” On his Twitter account, he posted: “Five months to go. WINDY CITY WATCHINGThe second game of the season between the White Sox and Cubs features a pair of accomplished right-handers in Lucas Giolito and Kyle Hendricks at Wrigley Field.

A rough year for Joey Votto and the Reds got worse when the slumping first baseman was put on the COVID-19 injured list.

Guardians newcomer Steven Kwan has quickly become the biggest story in baseball after a sensational start in a season-opening series at Kansas City.

LaMonte Wade Jr. broke a ninth-inning tie with a two-run single and the San Francisco Giants rallied against closer Kenley Jansen again for a 5-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Charlie Blackmon got three extra-base hits and keyed a two-run rally in the ninth inning that sent the Colorado Rockies past the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3.

Austin Riley drove in five runs while hitting two of Atlanta three homers and the Braves capped their impressive power display in the series by beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-1.

Phillip Evans kept Akil Baddoo’s drive to left field in the park in the seventh inning to help Pittsburgh escape a jam, and the Pirates scored twice in the eighth to beat the Detroit Tigers 4-2.

Tyler Naquin hit another leadoff home run and the high-scoring Cincinnati Reds kept rolling, backing Luis Castillo to rout the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-4 for their fifth straight win.

Both winless teams in the majors are defending division champions.

Now that Fernando Tatis Jr. has been placed on the injured list, the San Diego Padres hope their electrifying shortstop won’t be sidelined too long.

“We’re just talking.”The Mets obtained Lindor from Cleveland in January, and he's signed for this season at $22.3 million. Canning now has 13 strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings. The two-time Cy Young Award winner has permitted three hits in 8 2/3 innings with 16 strikeouts and a walk. Nola has given up 15 hits in 8 2/3 innings, seeing his ERA rise to 10.38. Kyle Wright made his fourth start, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks in 2 2/3 innings.

The 2018 AL Rookie of the Year is off to a strong start this spring on both sides. PHILLIES 3, PIRATES 0Bryce Harper homered on his first swing of spring training, launching a opposite-field drive to left. Chad Kuhl made his second start for Pittsburgh, allowing two runs on three hits. Brad Keller worked three innings in the start for the Royals and allowed a run on four hits and two walks. BRAVES 4, TWINS 0 (7)Kyle Wright fared much better in his second start for Atlanta, allowing one hit in three shutout innings with two strikeouts.

AdJazz Chisholm of the Marlins and Adam Haseley of the Phillies did even better — they led off games with home runs. Mancini took off his helmet to acknowledge a standing ovation that included the fans, the Orioles and the Pirates. Marco Gonzales made his first spring start for Seattle, allowing two hits and an unearned run in two innings. Center fielder Trent Grisham, coming off his first Gold Glove last season, doubled and scored a run for San Diego. Top prospect Jeter Downs had a two-run home run and RBI single, while Michael Chavis hit a solo shot.

(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)PITTSBURGH – Chad Kuhl pitched seven sharp innings and Colin Moran and Bryan Reynolds each homered in three-hit games in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 7-0 victory over the slumping Chicago Cubs on Thursday. Chicago’s magic number for clinching the NL Central remained two with three days left in the regular season. Chicago concludes its regular season this weekend with a three-game series at the crosstown White Sox, which begins Friday night. UP NEXTCubs: Visit the crosstown White Sox on Friday night to open a three-game series to end the regular season. Pirates: Start a three-game series against the Indians at Cleveland.

Players, coaches and other organization members were retested for the coronavirus Saturday and Sunday after one player was sidelined because of a positive result. The Reds made travel plans for Kansas City and expected to start Luis Castillo (0-2) in the series opener, assuming its played. TIGER TRYOUTSDetroit is unleashing a few of its top prospects this week, including left-hander Tarik Skubal. The Braves hope that formula works again with Tomlin, used mostly as a reliever during his two seasons in Atlanta. But, for now, the team has decided not to turn to a pair of top prospects, Ian Anderson and Tucker Davidson.