Pittsburgh Pirates’ John Ryan Murphy scores one of three runs on a single by Ke’Bryan Hayes off St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Carlos Martinez during the fourth inning of the first baseball game of a doubleheader in Pittsburgh, Friday, Sept. 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Cardinals rookie Dylan Carlson’s three-run homer capped a six-run outburst in the sixth inning against mistake-prone Pittsburgh, helping St. Louis to a doubleheader sweep with scores of 6-5 and 7-2.

The Cardinals took the opener behind home runs from Kolten Wong and Tyler O’Neill and just enough pitching to overcome four errors.

St. Louis, playing its third doubleheader in five days, moved to .500 (24-24) with the win to remain in the mix for a playoff spot.

Andrew Miller (1-1) struck out the side in the top of the sixth to earn the win.

Chad Kuhl (1-3) cruised through five innings.

All six runs in the inning were unearned as the Pirates lost for the 10th time in 11 games. Bryan Reynolds hit a long home run off St. Louis starter Daniel Ponce de Leon that ended up in the Allegheny River but otherwise the Pirates mustered little offense.

Wong started Game 1 with his second career leadoff home run. O’Neill added a two-run shot in the third off Trevor Williams (1-8) and St. Louis escaped when the Pirates left the bases loaded in the seventh.

REDS 7

WHITE SOX 1

CINCINNATI (AP) — Slumping Jesse Winker hit a three-run homer — one of four off White Sox starter Jonathan Stiever — and the Cincinnati Reds extended their surge into playoff contention with a win night for their season-high sixth victory in a row.

The Reds moved to .500 (26-26) for the first time since Aug. 3. Their winning streak has them in playoff position, in second place in the NL Central behind the Cubs.

PHILLIES 7, BLUE JAYS 0, 1st game

PHILLIES 8, BLUE JAYS 7, 2nd game

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bryce Harper hit a tying, two-run double and scored the go-ahead run on an error following Alec Bohm’s infield single, helping Philadelphia rally to beat Toronto and earn their first doubleheader sweep in eight years.

NATIONALS 5,

MARLINS 0, 1st game

MARLINS 14

NATIONALS 3

2nd game

MIAMI (AP) — Brian Anderson tied a franchise record with three homers and drove in seven runs to help Miami earn a doubleheader split with Washington.

RAYS 2, ORIOLES 1

BALTIMORE (AP) — Tyler Glasnow struck out 10 over five innings to help Tampa Bay beat Alex Cobb and Baltimore.

Glasnow (4-1) allowed one run, four hits and a pair of walks.

INDIANS 1, TIGERS 0

DETROIT (AP) — Zach Plesac pitched impressively into the eighth inning, and Brad Hand worked out of a jam in the ninth to send Cleveland past Detroit.

Francisco Lindor drove in the game’s only run with a fifth-inning sacrifice fly, and Plesac (4-2) yielded five hits in 7 2/3 innings, lowering his ERA to 1.85. He struck out 11 with one walk.

James Karinchak struck out Miguel Cabrera with two on to end the eighth. Hand allowed a one-out triple by Daz Cameron but struck out Jorge Bonifacio and Niko Goodrum to end it. It was Hand’s 13th save in 13 chances.

Cleveland has won two in a row after an eight-game losing streak.

BRAVES 15, METS 2

NEW YORK (AP) — Freddie Freeman added three more hits to his burgeoning MVP campaign, Ozzie Albies hit two of Atlanta’s six homers and the Braves battered Mets pitching in a rout that thrust them closer to a third consecutive NL East title.

CUBS 1, TWINS 0

CHICAGO (AP) — Kyle Hendricks tossed eight innings of three-hit, shutout ball to outduel Rich Hill, and the Cubs edged Minnesota for their fifth straight win.

Hendricks stuck out 10 and walked one before Jeremy Jeffress worked around two walks in the ninth for his eighth save.

Willson Contreras’ sharp RBI single in the first accounted for the only run off the 40-year-old Hill, who walked the first two Cubs batters and then settled in.

Hendricks (6-4) retired 12 Twins hitters in a row during a stretch from the second until Josh Donaldson’s bloop single with two outs in the sixth.

The first-place Cubs’ lead in the NL Central is five games over St. Louis, which swept a doubleheader from Pittsburgh.

The Twins remained three games behind the first-place White Sox in the AL Central.

Hill (2-2) allowed one run and three hits while walking two and striking out five in seven innings.