Milwaukee Brewers beaten again, New York Yankees blank Baltimore Orioles

St Louis pitcher Adam Wainwright gave up two runs and five hits as the Cardinals eased past the free-falling Brewers at Miller Park in Milwaukee.

Despite the resounding defeat, Milwaukee remain level at the top of the National League (NL) Central division alongside St Louis with both teams boasting identical records of 52-43.

Also in NL's Central division, the Cincinnati Reds were beaten 6-5 by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Reds (50-44) are one-and-a-half games adrift of the Brewers and Cardinals, while the Pirates (49-45) are two-and-a-half games behind.

The New York Yankees shutout the American League's (AL) East-leading Baltimore Orioles for a 3-0 victory.

Derek Jeter had an RBI and two hits as the third-placed Yankees (47-46) moved to within four games of the Orioles (51-42).

The Toronto Blue Jays (49-46) missed the opportunity to make significant inroads in their quest to overhaul the Orioles following their comprehensive 10-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Toronto are three games behind Baltimore.
Elsewhere, Chris Johnson homered twice as the Atlanta Braves toppled the Chicago Cubs 11-6.

The Chicago White Sox ended a three-game losing streak courtesy of Jose Abreu, who hit his 29th homer of the season.

Howie Kendrick had three hits to lift the Los Angeles Angels to a 5-2 win against the out-of-sorts Texas Rangers.

The Angels have won four on the bounce, while the Rangers are without a win in seven games.

Jason Castro was the star of the show, hitting a two-run homer as the Houston Astros edged the Boston Red Sox 3-2.

The Arizona Diamondbacks blanked the San Francisco Giants for a 2-0 win and New York Mets overcame the Miami Marlins 5-4.

A three-run ninth inning sealed a 5-1 triumph for the Detroit Tigers, who were in action against the Kansas City Royals.

The Minnesota Twins blitzed the Colorado Rockies 9-3 and the Washington Nationals were 5-3 winners over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Meanwhile, the Seattle Mariners downed the Oakland Athletics 6-2 and the Los Angeles Dodgers accounted for the San Diego Padres 1-0.