CHICAGO -- Both the Chicago Cubs and Colorado Rockies ran out of relief pitchers in a marathon game. The Rockies then turned to a starter. The Cubs used a catcher -- and won.
John Baker scored the winning run in the bottom of the 16th inning after pitching a scoreless top half, and the Cubs overcame a three-run deficit to beat Colorado 4-3 on Tuesday night.
Baker scored on Starlin Castro's fly to end a game that lasted 6 hours, 27 minutes, a record for longest game by time for both teams.
"It's really cool to get a chance to do this," Baker said. "I was having trouble not smiling on the mound. You never get opportunities to do things like this."
The 33-year-old Baker joked that might not have pitched since he was college-aged.
"It was the Cape Cod League," he said. "I believe I had like a 27.00 ERA, but I was getting squeezed from what I remember."
Chicago used seven relievers before Baker (1-0) became the first Cubs position player to take the mound since Aug. 27, 2012, when Joe Mather faced Milwaukee.
The Rockies also used all seven relievers in their bullpen, then turned to Tyler Matzek, a starter in the 16th.
Matzek (2-5) walked Baker to lead off the inning. Baker advanced to second on a sacrifice, then third on Anthony Rizzo's bloop single before scoring.
"I've thrown in the pen before and had a routine down," Matzek said. "So it wasn't anything crazy. I just didn't execute."
Chicago's Emilio Bonifacio had game-tying two-run homer in the fourth inning and a double among four hits. He is 14 for 35 since returning from the disabled list (strained right oblique) on July 22.
Rockies first baseman Justin Morneau returned from the disabled list and drove in two runs with a double. Corey Dickerson added two hits and an RBI
Morneau, who had been out since July 13 with a strained neck, entered hitting .312, third best in the National League. He leads Colorado with 62 RBI.
Padres 3, Cardinals 1
SAN DIEGO -- Jedd Gyorko singled in Yangervis Solarte with the go-ahead run with two outs in the sixth inning, and Tyson Ross and the San Diego Padres beat the St. Louis Cardinals Tuesday night.
Ross, a first-time All-Star, won his third-straight start by holding St. Louis to one run and four hits in six innings. He struck out seven, including fanning the side in his last inning. It was the eighth time Ross (10-10) went six-plus innings and allowed two or fewer runs, the second-longest such streak in the majors.
Gyorko returned Monday from a 44-game stay on the disabled list with plantar fasciitis. His run-scoring single to left off Lance Lynn came just as it seemed the Padres would strand two runners.
After Solarte and Seth Smith walked, Will Venable popped a bunt to catcher A.J. Pierzynski -- the Padres' second botched bunt in as many innings -- and Yonder Alonso flied out to left.
Solarte, obtained from the New York Yankees in the Chase Headley trade, homered into the short porch in right with two outs in the seventh. It was his second with the Padres and eighth overall.
Joaquin Benoit pitched the ninth for his third save in as many opportunities and second since Huston Street was traded to the Angels on July 18.
Yankees 12, Rangers 11
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Brett Gardner had four hits to go with a tremendous sliding catch and the New York Yankees held on for a victory at Texas in spite of J.P. Arencibia's seven RBI.
Arencibia homered twice, including a grand slam in the seventh, for Texas. He also had two doubles to be the first Rangers player with four extra-base hits since Josh Hamilton's four-homer game at Baltimore on May 8, 2012.
The last player with at least seven RBI in a loss was Jonathan Lucroy in 2012, when Milwaukee fell to the Cubs, STATS said.
Gardner had a leadoff homer and two doubles, and he reached base twice in a seven-run sixth that put the Yankees ahead to stay.
Brandon McCarthy (3-0) went six innings for the Yankees, who have won all four of his starts since getting the big right-hander in a trade from Arizona on July 6.
David Robertson, the fifth New York pitcher, got his 27th save in 29 chances even after walking three and allowed two hits in the ninth. Elvis Andrus had a two-run single before Adrian Beltre's game-ending flyball to Gardner in deep left with the bases loaded.
Sports on 07/31/2014