Best of MLB: Nationals Blast White Sox to Spoil Shields' Chicago Debut

CHICAGO -- Ryan Zimmerman hit one of three home runs off James Shields in his miserable White Sox debut, Max Scherzer threw seven scoreless innings and the Washington Nationals routed reeling Chicago 11-4 on Wednesday night.

Zimmerman's two-run shot in a four-run first inning was followed by consecutive shots by Stephen Drew and Danny Espinosa to lead off the second.

Everyone in the Nationals lineup reached base safely at least once in two-plus innings off Shields (2-8), who was booed while giving up seven runs and eight hits three days after being acquired from San Diego.

Instead of jump-starting a club once 23-10, Shields failed to get out of the third inning for the second straight start. The White Sox lost for the 20th time in 26 games to fall under .500.

Scherzer (7-4) allowed five hits for the Nationals, who have scored at least 10 runs in three straight games (see full recap).

Moss, Cardinals power past Reds 
CINCINNATI -- Brandon Moss homered in consecutive at-bats, Matt Adams and Jhonny Peralta added three-run drives and the St. Louis Cardinals rolled over the Cincinnati Reds 12-7 Wednesday night.

Moss broke a 4-4, fifth-inning with a two-run drive into the right-field seats, then liner a solo homer that barely cleared the right-field wall in the seventh for his eighth career multihomer game.

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Every St. Louis starting position player had at least one hit, and Cardinals relievers retired their first 10 batters as St. Louis won for the third time in four games.

Matt Bowman (1-1) got his first major league win by striking out his only batter, Zack Cozart, for the final out of the fifth with the potential tying run on second base.

Cozart and Tucker Barnhart hit solo home runs for the Reds, who have lost two of three after a season-high four-game winning streak (see full recap).

Flores' pinch single gives Mets win
PITTSBURGH -- Pinch-hitter Wilmer Flores' bloop single with the bases loaded in the 10th inning drove in the go-ahead run for the New York Mets in a 6-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night.

Yoenis Cespedes and Neil Walker opened the 10th with consecutive singles off Cory Luebke (0-1), and James Loney sacrificed. Asdrubal Cabrera was intentionally walked, and Flores hit a flare into center field.

Anthony Conforto's two-run homer, an eighth-inning drive off Jared Hughes, tied the score 5-5. The Mets won for the just the fourth time in 11 games and stopped a nine-game losing streak to the Pirates that dated to 2014.

Addison Reed (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings, and Jeurys Familia pitching a shaky ninth to convert his 35th straight save chance, including 19 this season. He walked three batters around Sean Rodriguez's double-play grounder, then threw a called third strike past David Freese to end the game with runners at the corners.

Cespedes had three hits, and Conforto drove in three runs (see full recap).

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