Cards connect vs. Reds
From their first-inning scrum to the final out, the St. Louis Cardinals sent a message: Don't demean the defending champs. Not without expecting a fight.
Yadier Molina jawed with Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips in the first inning Tuesday night, sparking a benches-clearing fight, and the Cardinals followed their catcher's lead to an 8-4 victory that moved visiting St. Louis back into first place in the NL Central.
When it was over, there were cuts and scrapes and a sense that the Cardinals had gotten the better of it all.
"I know our guys," manager Tony La Russa said. "This is not the first time that we've been challenged. You just go up and down our roster - we've got a bunch of guys that are very tough characters. Like I say, there's times that you beat us, we're not good enough. But you're never going to scare us and we're never going to back down. The fight brought out their best.
The Cardinals moved a season-high 14 games over .500 and a few percentage points ahead of the Reds, who had led the division for the last eight days.
Rangers 4, Yankees 3 (10): David Murphy's single with the bases loaded in the 10th inning off Mariano Rivera gave AL West-leading Texas a victory over New York in an early August matchup of division leaders with a playoff-type atmosphere.
Murphy, who had a 2-run homer earlier, was mobbed by his teammates after rounding first base with his game-winning hit.