Pirates 5, Cardinals 0

Nick Kingham waited a long, long time to make it to a major league mound. When he finally got there, the moment was nearly perfect.

Kingham started out better than any pitcher in more than a half-century, taking a perfect game into the seventh inning of his big league debut and leading Pittsburgh over St. Louis on Sunday.

Kingham retired the first 20 batters before Paul DeJong singled down the left-field line with two outs in the seventh.

"That's how you plan it up, not to let anybody on," Kingham said. "It's incredible how it happened. Just kind of starting from the get-go, it went well. ... It's corny, but it took everybody. I'm really fortunate and really happy about it."

The Elias Sports Bureau said no pitcher in the Expansion Era — since 1961 — had taken a perfect game bid so far in his debut. Wayne Simpson of the Reds in 1970 and Ken Cloude of the Mariners in 1997 each set down their first 16 batters.

"I was like, 'You know what, it was a good run, man. It was fun while it lasted,'" Kingham said.

Once a top Pirates prospect, Kingham's path to the majors was interrupted by Tommy John surgery. The 26-year-old was 43-41 during nine seasons in the minors before getting called up from Triple-A Indianapolis before the game for a spot start.

Kingham joined Johnny Cueto in 2008 as the only pitchers in the last 100 years to give up one hit, strike out at least nine and walk none in his debut. Cueto started out his career with five perfect innings.

The crowd at PNC Park gave Kingham a big ovation after DeJong's hit. Kingham then retired Marcell Ozuna on a grounder, and the fans stood and cheered while the rookie walked off the field and waved.

Kingham was taken out after seven innings. He fanned nine and threw 98 pitches, 72 for strikes.

More than the numbers, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle was pleased with Kingham's poise.

"It was his next start. Watching him, it was just his next start," Hurdle said. "It had to be more than that. He compartmentalized very well."

Elias Diaz had three hits and drove in two runs as the Pirates won their fifth straight and completed a three-game sweep of the Cardinals.

Luke Weaver (2-2) allowed in 5 1/3 innings. Naturally, he noticed Kingham's performance.

"He's obviously having a good game, so you have to stay with him and put up the zeros just like you normally would," Weaver said. "You just try to put that to the side and let him do what he's doing, and focus on the task at hand. . It was just a well-pitched ballgame from him."

Weaver pitched five scoreless inning before walking the bases loaded with one out in the sixth.

Diaz hit a two-run single that finished Weaver, and Colin Moran had an RBI single off Jordan Hicks.

Pittsburgh selected Kingham in the fourth round of the 2010 draft out of Sierra Vista High School in Las Vegas. He underwent Tommy John surgery in May 2015, causing him to miss most of the 2015 and 2016 seasons.

In four starts with Indianapolis this season, Kingham was 2-1 with a 1.59 ERA.

Cubs 2, Brewers 0

Tyler Chatwood pitched seven sparkling innings and helped himself with an RBI single, leading the Cubs to a sweep of the four-game series between NL Central rivals.

Chatwood (2-3) allowed two hits, struck out four and walked three in his second straight win. Carl Edwards Jr. worked the eighth and Brandon Morrow got three outs for his seventh save in seven chances, finishing Chicago's second straight shutout and its fifth just this month against Milwaukee.

Zach Davies (2-3) kept Milwaukee in the game for most of the day, but Chicago got to the right-hander for a run in the fifth and sixth.

Orioles 5, Tigers 3

Substitute starter Pedro Alvarez hit two home runs, Trey Mancini had a solo shot and the Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers for their first home series win of the season.

Kevin Gausman (2-2) allowed one run and five hits over 5 2/3 innings for the Orioles, who took two of three from Detroit following a five-game skid.

Mancini hit his first career leadoff homer on the third pitch from Daniel Norris (0-2) and Alvarez connected with a man on in the second inning for a 3-0 lead.

After the Tigers closed to 4-3, Alvarez hit a pitch from Joe Jimenez over the right-field scoreboard in the eighth. Alvarez was inserted into the lineup at third base just before the game after Danny Valencia was scratched.

Blue Jays 7, Rangers 2

Kevin Pillar homered for the third time in two games, J.A. Happ (4-1) pitched seven innings to win his fourth straight decision and the Blue Jays beat the Texas Rangers to avoid a three-game sweep.

Teoscar Hernandez and Yangervis Solarte added solo homers off Martin Perez (2-3) as the Blue Jays snapped a four-game home losing streak and won for the third time in their past 10.

Blue Jays outfielder Randal Grichuk made the defensive play of the game, an inning-ending double play in the first. A diving Grichuk managed to cradle Isiah Kiner-Falefa's sinking liner between his forearm and his chest, then threw to second base to double off Delino DeShields.

Mariners 10, Indians 4

Ryon Healy hit two home runs and had four RBIs, Robinson Cano and Mitch Haniger also homered, and the Seattle Mariners defeated the Indians.

Healy had an RBI double in the second inning, hit a solo homer in the sixth and added a two-run shot in the eighth. Cano hit a two-run homer during Seattle's five-run second. Haniger's solo shot in the ninth was his 10th, tied for the major league lead.

Cano's drive to right off Josh Tomlin (0-4), his third homer this year, finished off the big inning for the Mariners, who had four straight two-out RBI hits. Marco Gonzales (3-2) allowed two runs in six innings before four relievers finished up.

Marlins 3, Rockies 0

Caleb Smith allowed two hits in seven innings for his first career victory, and the Marlins took the rubber game of their low-scoring series against Colorado.

Smith (1-3), who entered the game with an ERA of 5.82, struck out nine and walked one in the longest outing of his career. The breakthrough victory came in his 15th career appearance, including eight starts. Drew Steckenrider struck out the side in the eighth, and Brad Ziegler pitched the ninth for his third save.

Chad Bettis (3-1) went seven innings and allowed two runs, including Miguel Rojas' solo homer.

The Marlins outscored Colorado 7-2 in the series, including Miami's 1-0 loss Friday. The Rockies had 15 hits in the series.

Braves 10, Phillies 1

Ronald Acuna Jr. doubled twice and reached base four times to cap a successful first week in the majors, and the Atlanta Braves cruised with a new lineup to a victory over the Phillies.

Acuna, at 20 the youngest player in the big leagues, hit second behind 21-year-old Ozzie Albies, the second-youngest major leaguer. Albies drilled the game's first pitch for a homer, added a two-run double and scored three runs. Acuna had an RBI double in the eighth, walked twice and stole his first base.

Johan Camargo hit a three-run homer and Ender Inciarte, dropped from first to ninth in the order, tripled in a five-run third inning off Vince Velasquez (1-4) in the Braves' fourth win in five games. Brandon McCarthy (4-0) allowed one run and five hits while striking out six in 5 1/3 innings for his third win over Philadelphia this season.

Nationals 3, Diamondbacks 1

Gio Gonzalez struck out eight over seven strong innings, Matt Wieters and Michael A. Taylor homered, and the Nationals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Diamondbacks lost starter Robbie Ray to a strained oblique muscle in the second inning. He was replaced by T.J. McFarland, who surrendered a home run to Wieters to give the Nationals a 1-0 lead. McFarland (1-1) then loaded the bases and bobbled a grounder to allow another run to score. Taylor homered off McFarland with one out in the third.

Arizona didn't score off Gonzalez (3-2) until the seventh inning, when it put the first two men on base and pushed a run across on Daniel Descalso's one-out sacrifice fly. Sean Doolittle pitched the ninth for his fifth save.

Astros 8, Athletics 4

Gerrit Cole struck out 12 while working into the seventh inning, George Springer and Jose Altuve each drove in two runs and the Astros beat the Oakland Athletics.

After Cole allowed the tying run on his 99th and final pitch, the Astros took advantage of two errors in the bottom of the seventh — among Oakland's four on the afternoon — to pull away. Cole gave up three runs and six hits and walked none in 6 2/3 innings. Will Harris (1-1) recorded the final out in the seventh to pick up the win.

Houston scored the go-ahead run when Brian McCann hit a popup to shallow right field that bounced off shortstop Marcus Semien's glove, allowing Alex Bregman to score.

Oakland starter Trevor Cahill (1-1) allowed four runs and four hits, struck out five and walked one in six innings.

Reds 8, Twins 2

Tyler Mahle pitched into the seventh inning in another impressive start, Jose Peraza had three hits and Adam Duvall homered, leading the Cincinnati Reds past the Twins.

Mahle (2-3) cruised through the Twins' lineup in his second straight solid outing. After striking out 11 against Atlanta in his most recent start, Mahle gave up one run in 6 1/3 innings, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out seven.

Twins starter Jose Berrios (2-3) struggled with his command and the Reds made him pay. The 23-year-old right-hander walked three and allowed five hits in three innings, his shortest start of the season. He also didn't strike out a batter for the first time in 15 starts.

Royals 5, White Sox 4

Cheslor Cuthbert homered twice and drove in four runs as the Royals won consecutive games for the first time this season.

Whit Merrifield singled home Alcides Escobar, who was hit by a pitch to lead off the eighth inning, with the go-ahead run off Bruce Rondon (1-1). Escobar left in the ninth with a left hand contusion.

Cuthbert, who had not homered since August 20 — a span on 109 at-bats — drove Hector Santiago's pitch into the White Sox bullpen in the fourth. He homered in the fifth with Salvador Perez and Jorge Soler aboard off Chris Volstad.

Brandon McCarthy (2-0) picked up the victory, while Blaine Boyer logged his fifth career save — and his first since May 29, 2016, while with Milwaukee.

Giants 4, Dodgers 2

Dodgers first baseman Cody Bellinger was benched by manager Dave Roberts in the middle of the loss to San Francisco. Roberts said he felt Bellinger, the NL Rookie of the Year, should've tried for third base instead of settling for a double.

Evan Longoria hit a three-run homer in the first inning and Ty Blach made the early lead stand up for the Giants.

Blach (2-3) pitched into the seventh inning and allowed two runs. Hunter Strickland pitched the ninth for his seventh save. Buster Posey doubled and scored twice, and Brandon Belt added an RBI double as the Giants took three of four in the series.

Kenta Maeda (2-2) took the loss for Los Angeles, which put right fielder Yasiel Puig on the disabled list before the game with a left hip pointer and bruised foot. He was hurt a day earlier when he ran into a padded wall tracking down a foul ball — he also fouled a ball off his foot.