ST. LOUIS – Ryan Howard’s latest happy homecoming linked him with Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt in the Philadelphia Phillies’ record book.
Howard hit his seventh career grand slam, tying Schmidt for the franchise record in a 6-1 victory over St. Louis on a Monday night that included a frightening injury to the Cardinals’ Rick Ankiel.
Born in St. Louis, Howard is a .383 career hitter there with seven homers and 28 RBIs in 60 at-bats.
“Here is where it all kind of began,” he said. “I just play well. I’m not going to knock it, I’m going to take it.”
Ankiel crashed headfirst into the outfield fence after chasing down a line drive to the gap in the eighth inning. He flashed a thumbs-up sign as he was carted off the field strapped to a gurney and wearing a neck brace.
The outfielder was taken to a hospital for X-rays and a CT scan. Cardinals physician Dr. George Paletta told manager Tony La Russa that Ankiel showed signs of whiplash and puffiness in his face. Paletta told the team that Ankiel never lost consciousness on the field.
“It’s a scary thing to see, there’s no doubt about it,” Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said.
Joe Blanton (1-2) allowed a run in six innings for his first win since Sept. 26 while giving Philadelphia’s rotation only its fifth win this year.
NL games
Mets 6, Braves 4: At Atlanta, Carlos Beltran hit a pair of two-run homers, David Wright added a two-run shot of his own and the Mets won.
Brewers 7, Pirates 4: At Pittsburgh, Rickie Weeks hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the ninth after a supposedly unavailable Ryan Braun, who flew in after an MRI in Milwaukee, tied it an inning earlier with a two-run double as the Brewers rallied.
Nationals 9, Astros 4: At Washington, Adam Dunn delivered a two-run single during a five-run sixth inning, Ryan Zimmerman matched a career high with four hits and Washington rallied to win.
Cubs 4, Giants 2: At Chicago, Ryan Theriot hit another home run, Ryan Dempster pitched seven strong innings and the Cubs beat the Giants.
Marlins 3, Reds 2, 14 innings: At Miami, a throwing error by shortstop Paul Janish sent home the winning run in the 14th inning, and Florida retained the NL East lead by beating Cincinnati.
Rockies 9, Padres 6: At San Diego, Chris Iannetta hit a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning.
AL: Royals’ Greinke wins again
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Zack Greinke struck out 10 in a six-hitter and became the majors’ first six-game winner with his second shutout in four starts, leading the Kansas City Royals to a 3-0 win over the Chicago White Sox on Monday night.
More than 6,500 fans bought walk-up tickets – pushing the attendance over 21,000 – to watch Greinke pitch. He didn’t disappoint them.
The right-hander baffled the White Sox all night, working inside and out, up and down, slow and fast. Greinke (6-0) didn’t walk a batter, dropped his ERA to 0.40 and pushed his majors-leading strikeout total to 54 during his third complete game of the season.
Orioles 8, Rays 4: At St. Petersburg, Fla., Nick Markakis hit a three-run homer for Baltimore.
Twins 7, Tigers 2: At Detroit, Francisco Liriano had a season-high nine strikeouts and Michael Cuddyer hit a two-run triple in a five-run seventh.
Red Sox 6, Yankees 4: At New York, Jon Lester matched a career high with 10 strikeouts, Mike Lowell and Jason Bay homered as the Red Sox won.
Indians 9, Blue Jays 7, 12 innings: At Toronto, Josh Barfield singled home the go-ahead run in the 12th and the Indians beat the Blue Jays.
Angels 5, Athletics 2: At Oakland, Calif., Torii Hunter drove in three runs, and Joe Saunders pitched six-hit ball into the seventh inning.
Rangers 6, Mariners 5: At Seattle, Chris Davis hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the sixth inning.