WADE LEBLANC

The Cardinals bullpen was pressed into duty after starter Wade LeBlanc exited with left elbow pain. A pair of homers turned a two-run deficit into a two-run lead for St. Louis in the fourth. St. Louis has won five of six overall and 10 straight games at Pittsburgh. St. Louis closer Alex Reyes gave up a two-run homer to Bryan Reynolds with one out in the ninth following an error by right fielder Tommy Edman. He has not pitched in the majors since experiencing right forearm tightness during a start on May 22, which was his first for St. Louis since the 2019 NLCS.

Six St. Louis relievers combined to allow three runs in seven innings, Paul DeJong and Lars Nootbaar homered, and the Cardinals hung on to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-6 on Thursday, completing a three-game sweep.

Jed Lowrie hit a three-run homer and the Oakland Athletics won their 13th straight game, building a big lead early and beating the Baltimore Orioles 7-2 on a rainy night.

Starter Zach Eflin pitched four shutout innings, allowing two hits and striking out four without a walk. ROCKIES 2, MARINERS 1Kyle Freeland allowed three hits in four shutout innings in his second start for Colorado, striking out four. Seattle's Marco Gonzales threw four shutout innings in his second start, allowing two hits while striking out four. Martín Pérez made his second start, allowing two hits and a walk in four scoreless innings. ATHLETICS 5, REDS 2 (7)Oakland lefty Sean Manaea struck out four in three innings, allowing one run and three hits.

I look forward to getting back to work in the next several days.”LESTER SURGERYWashington Nationals left-hander Jon Lester is leaving spring training camp to have surgery for the removal of his thyroid gland. He underwent chemotherapy treatments and returned to the Red Sox at spring training before the following season. Soto’s spring training start was delayed because he fouled a ball off his right foot in live batting practice Sunday. Martinez had two hits for a second straight game, driving in his first two runs of spring training. Jarred Kelenic, Seattle’s top prospect, hit a two-run homer and Taylor Trammell hit a solo homer.

Baltimore Orioles' Alex Cobb pitches against the Boston Red Sox during the first inning of a baseball game, Saturday, July 25, 2020, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)BOSTON Anthony Santander and Renato Nez each drove in two runs and the Baltimore Orioles held off the Boston Red Sox 7-2 on Saturday to even their season-opening series. Prez (0-1) lasted just five innings in his Red Sox debut, giving up five runs on six hits and walking two. The Red Sox were just 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position, stranding 10 runners on base. Red Sox: Right-hander Ryan Weber made his first opening day roster this season after beginning the last four in Triple-A.