Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Chris Colabello (R) is greeted by centre fielder Kevin Pillar after hitting a two run home run in the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports

The Sports Xchange/New York


Stephen Piscotty went 3-for-4 with two home runs and five RBIs to lead the Cardinals to a 10-3 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday as St. Louis successfully avoided being swept in a three-game series for the first time this season.
Right-handed starter Michael Wacha allowed one run on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts in six innings to improve to 15-5 while lowering his earned run average to 2.80.
He is now tied for the National League lead in wins and ranks 10th in ERA.
Right fielder Jason Heyward was 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, a RBI and two runs scored for the Cardinals (78-45), who still have the best record in the majors despite their struggles in San Diego.
Colin Rea allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts while throwing 94 pitches over four innings in his third major league start.
“I wasn’t efficient today,” said Rea. “I have to learn to get early contact to minimize pitches.”
After being guilty of some sloppy play in two losses to open the series, the Cardinals took advantage of several Padres miscues in the first inning to build a quick 4-0 lead.
Center fielder Tommy Pham drew a one-out walk and raced to third when Rea threw wildly on a pick-off attempt.
With Pham at third, Cardinals shortstop Jhonny Peralta hit a soft liner over the bag that Padres third baseman Yangervis Solarte attempted to catch while getting to third for a possible inning-ending double play.
But the ball skipped off the top of Solarte’s glove for an error that allowed Pham to score and Peralta to reach base.
Heyward singled Peralta to third and stole second. Catcher Yadier Molina then singled, scoring Peralta before Piscotty followed with a two-run triple.
“I think the defensive miscues in the first made it tough for him,” Padres manager Pat Murphy said of Rea. “He didn’t have his best stuff. The errors made him vulnerable.”

Castro’s homer gives Houston win over Dodgers
Astros catcher Jason Castro drilled a walk-off home run with one out in the 10th inning to cap the Houston Astros’ come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.
Castro lifted a 2-0 fastball from Dodgers right-hander Chris Hatcher (1-5) into the first row of seats in left field for his 11th home run of the season.
The victory secured the Astros’ first series sweep over the Dodgers since May 9-11, 2008, at Dodger Stadium and kept them in charge of the American League West division.
“It was kind of a special series,” Castro said. “Going in with the pitching we were going to face we knew it was going to be a tough series, and for us to come out of that with a sweep was pretty special.”
Astros closer Luke Gregerson (7-2) earned the win with a scoreless 10th.
The Astros rallied against Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen in the ninth following a leadoff single from shortstop Carlos Correa, who then stole second, and a run-scoring single from left fielder Marwin Gonzalez to tie the game at 2-2.
Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw allowed one run on seven hits and recorded 10 strikeouts over eight innings. But his dominance could not prevent the Dodgers from suffering their season-worst fifth consecutive loss. “I hope we’re panicking a little bit,” Kershaw said.
“I think panic’s a good thing to a certain extent.
“There’s a sense of urgency. Maybe that’s better to say than panic. I feel like we’ve got to start playing like that.
“Not to say we haven’t, but it’s definitely time to start thinking that way.”
The Dodgers (67-56) scraped across both runs off rookie right-hander Lance McCullers, who was making his first start since Aug. 3 following a short stint at Double-A Corpus Christi.
He allowed eight hits and did not issue a walk while striking out eight over seven innings.