Washington pitcher Jordan Zimmermann notched up his National League-leading 11th win of the season while St. Louis’ Lance Lynn fell short of the mark during Major League action on Wednesday.
Zimmermann surrendered two first-inning runs to Arizona, but settled in to finish seven innings and help the Nationals beat the Diamondbacks 3-2 in Washington.
He allowed just three hits to improve to 11-3, tying Detroit’s Max Scherzer for the most wins in the Majors.
Lynn had a chance to reach the total as well, but was thwarted in the Cardinals’ 4-3 loss at Houston that dropped his record to 10-2.
Lynn fell victim to the Astros’ four-run fourth inning that put them ahead for good and handed St. Louis their fourth loss in five games.
The Cardinals (48-30) have now fallen into a tie with the streaking Pittsburgh for first place in the National League Central.
The Pirates beat Seattle 4-2 on the road for their sixth straight victory.
Meanwhile, Toronto pitcher R.A. Dickey and Oakland’s A.J. Griffin each hurled two-hitters to lead their respective teams to shutout wins.
Dickey, last season’s NL Cy Young winner, struck out six batters in his complete-game 3-0 triumph against the Tampa Bay Rays.
The performance kept the Blue Jays from being swept in their three-game series finale at Tampa Bay.
Griffin also went the full nine innings as the Athletics beat Cincinnati 5-0 at home in Oakland.
The win kept the A’s (46-34) just percentage points behind Texas for the American League West lead.
The Rangers topped New York 8-5 on the same day the Yankees announced that slugger Mark Teixeira will undergo season-ending surgery on his right wrist.
