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Wins by the dozen: Mets, Giants, Cards all score 12-run routs

Mike Oz

If you were hoping the NL wild-card race would shake up Tuesday night, that didn’t happen. What did happen was three beatdowns handed out by teams looking to lock down those two playoff spots.

If you like symmetry, you probably like this: The New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants each scored 12 runs in their victories. Nothing too deep. Just the wild-card standings not changing at all.

• The Mets got big homers from Jay Bruce and Yoenis Cespedes plus eight strikeouts from starter Noah Syndergaard to beat the Miami Marlins by the count of 12-1.

The Mets trounced the Marlins on Tuesday night. (AP)
The Mets trounced the Marlins on Tuesday night. (AP)

• In St. Louis, the Cardinals knocked four homers, including Aledmys Diaz’s emotional grand slam (more on that in a bit) and a two-run jack by Jhonny Peralta. Both Diaz and Peralta finished with four RBIs in the Cardinals’ 12-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

• And the Giants, the team that’s suffered the most through the second half, looked like juggernauts. They hung a 12-3 win on the Colorado Rockies, as Matt Moore struck out 11 while Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt had seven hits between them.

As it stands heading into Wednesday’s action: The Mets own the top wild-card spot and a one-game lead over the Giants, who have a one-game lead over the Cardinals. Maybe the shake-up will come Wednesday. Or maybe we’ll just get 36 more runs.

TOP PERFORMERS

Miguel Cabrera: There were actually four teams who scored 12 runs Tuesday night. The Detroit Tigers pounded the Cleveland Indians 12-0 and when things like that happen, you can bet Miguel Cabrera has a hand in it. Sure enough, Miggy had three hits, including a homer, and five RBIs. The Tigers are now one game behind the Orioles for the second AL wild-card spot.

Aaron Sanchez: This man is the reason the Orioles lost a game in the standings. Sanchez, the Toronto Blue Jays starter, had another great outing, throwing six innings, allowing one run and striking out 10. The Jays won 5-1, which gave them a two-game lead for that top wild-card spot.

Hunter Renfroe: How’s this for a night at the ballpark? Renfroe, the rookie San Diego Padres outfielder, two hit homers, including a grand slam and drove in all seven runs in the Padres’ 7-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was only Renfroe’s sixth game in the big leagues. He had one homer and one RBI before Tuesday night.

MUST-SEE PLAY

We mentioned Aledmys Diaz above and there’s no doubt the Cardinals shortstop had the most memorable moment of the night. Diaz, who grew up a few doors down from Jose Fernandez in Cuba, left the Cardinals on Monday to attend a private memorial service with Fernandez’s family. He returned Tuesday and hit the first grand slam of his MLB career, twice pointing toward the sky to honor Fernandez.

REST OF THE SCOREBOARD

Yankees 6, Red Sox 4: The Yanks spoil Boston’s chance to clinch the AL East. Rookie Gary Sanchez hits his 20th homer of the year and Tyler Austin hits a go-ahead two-run blast in the seventh.

Rangers 6, Brewers 4: The Rangers take over the top spot in the AL playoff seedings with their win and Boston’s loss.

Royals 4, Twins 3: The Royals continue to cling to the smallest of playoff hopes with the win.

Astros 8, Mariners 4: In a meeting of two teams with uphill climbs to the postseason, the Astros pull out the win after a six-run sixth. They’re 2.5 out. The M’s are two games out.

Nationals 4, D-backs 2: D-backs starter Matt Koch takes a no-hitter into the sixth, but then the Nats jump all over him. They score four runs in the inning to put this game out of reach. Max Scherzer picks up his 19th win and adds 10 strikeouts to strengthen his Cy Young case.

Cubs 6, Pirates 4: That’s win No. 101 for the Cubs.

Braves 7, Phillies 6: The Braves win, but perhaps most memorably, Ryan Howard’s first inning grand slam could be his last homer in a Phils uniform.

White Sox 13, Rays 6: Chicago score eight runs in the first three innings.

Angels 8, A’s 1: The Halos get seven runs in the fourth and, yep, that’ll do it.

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!