CHICAGO (AP) β Thanks to Jhonny (JAH’-nee) Peralta’s dramatic two-run, two-out homer in the top of the ninth, the St. Louis Cardinals pulled out their major league-leading 26th come-from-behind victory, 6-5 over the Chicago Cubs. That sends the Cardinals off to Pittsburgh for a four-game midsummer showdown series starting tonight with a four-and-a-half-game lead over the Pirates in the NL Central.
PITTSBURGH (AP) β The Pittsburgh Pirates completed a sweep of the San Diego Padres with a 5-2 win. That’s the Pirates’ 10th series sweep of the season to tie a club record. Gregory Polanco, Andrew McCutchen and Jung Ho Kang had RBI singles in a three-run eighth.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) β All-Star outfielder Alex Gordon left Kansas City’s 9-7 win over Tampa Bay last night with a strained left groin after taking an awkward step near the wall. The four-time Gold Glove winner was voted to his third straight All-Star Game last weekend, but his availability is up in the air.
NEW YORK (AP) β The NBA salary cap has been set for next season at $70 million, a higher-than-expected number that paves the way for free agent contracts to be signed. With the cap set, the league’s moratorium was lifted today at midnight (Eastern time), and deals and trades that were agreed to since free agency opened on July 1 can become official.
BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) β Keith Olbermann’s show on ESPN will end sometime this month, about two years after he returned to the network. ESPN called the 56-year-old Olbermann “a tremendous talent” but said it made a “business decision to move in another direction.”
