WASHINGTON (AP) — Heading toward a throng of excited Washington Nationals teammates after his first game-ending homer in four years, Yunel Escobar jumped head-first toward the plate.

“He’s got life to him. Teammates love him here,” Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez said afterward. “He’s just a different ballplayer.”

Returning to the lineup after sitting out two games with a groin injury, Escobar drove an 89 mph fastball from former teammate Carlos Villanueva to left with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, lifting the Nationals to a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.

It was the second homer of 2015 for Escobar, acquired this offseason in the deal that sent setup man Tyler Clippard to Oakland. Escobar was supposed to be Washington’s starting second baseman but has been filling in at third while Anthony Rendon is on the disabled list.

“He would play anywhere we ask him to,” manager Matt Williams said.

Escobar went to the plate looking for a fastball from Villanueva (1-1), the seventh pitcher for the Cardinals — and that’s just what he got.

“He ambushed me,” said Villanueva, who was on the Toronto Blue Jays with Escobar in 2011-12.

Villanueva hadn’t pitched since April 12 against Cincinnati.

“I don’t see that being a factor,” he said.

The Nationals have won five of six games to get back to .500 after starting the year 2-6. They ended the Cardinals’ five-game winning streak.

After Gonzalez managed to keep the Cardinals off the scoreboard despite giving up eight hits and four walks in six innings, Aaron Barrett (2-0) earned the win by pitching the 10th. He worked around a leadoff single and stolen base by Pete Kozma — forever associated around these parts with the Cardinals’ 2012 NL Division Series Game 5 comeback.

Thanks to Bryce Harper’s RBI single in the third — when he also wound up getting doubled off base on an appeal — the Nationals led 1-0 heading into the ninth inning, when closer Drew Storen blew the save. Matt Holliday tied the game with an RBI single, making him 4 for 4, extending his hitting streak to 12 games.

In the clubhouse later, Escobar used his phone to snap a photo of a baseball inscribed with “Walk off HR” — the third of his career but first since April 2011.

The Cuban said he never before had employed his unusual head-first celebration, explaining through a translator: “I’m just trying to have fun.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: LHP Jaime Garcia (DL, left shoulder) is scheduled to throw a simulated game Saturday.

Nationals: 3B Rendon (sprained left knee) played three innings at extended spring training and could be headed out on a minor league rehab assignment as soon as Friday.

STATCAST

The MLB Network’s broadcast of Cardinals-Nationals represented the in-game debut of Statcast tracking technology, which uses stereoscopic cameras and radar sensors to monitor elements such as a batter’s exit velocity, a pitcher’s spin rate and perceived velocity, an infielder’s reaction time, and an outfielder’s route efficiency. One example: When CF Jon Jay tracked down Zimmerman’s fly in the third, Statcast showed he ran 27.3 feet, with a top speed of 17 mph. It was one of several outstanding catches by Jay.

NAVAL GRAD

The Cardinals brought up reliever Mitch Harris, a 2008 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, from Triple-A Memphis. The Hall of Fame said it believes the only Naval Academy graduate to appear in a major league game was pitcher Nemo Gaines, who made four relief appearances in 1921 with the Washington Senators. Harris did not get into Tuesday’s game.

UP NEXT

Cardinals RHP John Lackey (1-0, 2.77 ERA) is one strikeout shy of 1,800 for his career heading into Wednesday’s game, his first start against the Nationals since 2008, when he was a member of the Angels. He’ll face Nationals RHP Doug Fister (1-0, 0.69). In 2013, they were opponents in the AL Championship Series, although never pitched against each other, as Lackey’s Red Sox beat Fister’s Tigers in six games.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — After Oakland and Kansas City cleared the benches for the third straight game and five more Royals got ejected, Lorenzo Cain tried to put a positive spin on the day.

“We didn’t get into a fight, so that’s always good,” he said.

Hit by a pitch early, Cain came back to deliver a key blow, a tying double during a three-run rally in the eighth inning that sent the Royals over Oakland 4-2 on a tense Sunday.

Cain stole third after his hit and later scored on Kendrys Morales’ go-ahead double.

The trouble started right away when Kansas City manager Ned Yost and pitching coach Dave Eiland were ejected in the first inning after Cain was hit by a pitch from Scott Kazmir. That prompted plate umpire Greg Gibson to warn both teams.

“I’m not really sure if it was intentional,” Cain said. “I felt like it was intentionally. He (Kazmir) did ask if I was OK.”

“No one likes getting hit. It doesn’t feel good. It was definitely an intense series. A lot of guys got hit by pitches. A lot of bench clearings,” he said.

Cain said that at least the sides avoided a brawl.

“Fighting is not the most important thing. Winning the ballgame, beating those guys is what hurts. The way we beat them tonight is huge,” he said.

In the eighth, Royals reliever Kelvin Herrera was tossed after throwing a 100 mph fastball behind Brett Lawrie. Bench coach Don Wakamatsu, the acting manager after Yost’s ejection, got tossed during an ensuing argument, as did injured Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar.

“I don’t mean to hurt anybody,” Herrera said. “I was just trying to throw inside, but just a bad grip on that fastball. It started raining pretty good. And they just tossed me out of the game.”

Herrera pointed to his head as he went into the dugout, which irritated Lawrie.

“That’s what got me hot. That’s what got me mad. You can’t throw at my head and then say, `Next time I face you, it’s in the head,” Lawrie said. “He needs to play for that. He doesn’t throw 85. He throws 100.”

Lawrie was in the middle of the problems all weekend. His late slide forced Escobar to leave early Friday night — the shortstop called it a “dirty slide” and didn’t play the rest of the weekend.

On Saturday, Royals ace Yordano Ventura was ejected when he Lawrie with a pitch after Josh Reddick homered.

Herrera said he pointed to his head to say “think about it.”

“Do whatever you want to do, I’m out of the game already,” he said.

Said A’s manager Bob Melvin: “What are you going to do?”

“Brett got put in a tough situation. The umpires got it right. The umpires did the right things. It’s hard when they’re throwing at your head. It makes you uncomfortable.”

With Kansas City trailing 2-1 in the eighth, Kazmir walked Paulo Orlando and Cain hit a one-out RBI double off Eric O’Flaherty (0-1). Cain stole third, Eric Hosmer walked and Morales doubled to deep center.

Franklin Morales (1-0) threw two pitches, retiring Lawrie on a popout.

With Greg Holland on the disabled list because of a pectoral strain, Wade Davis struck out two in a perfect ninth for his second save.

Ben Zobrist hit a pair of run-scoring singles against Royals starter Danny Duffy.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Athletics: Zobrist exited in the fifth inning with left knee soreness. “I jammed it pretty hard,” he said. “I didn’t feel I had the range to stay in the game. It didn’t feel right. I iced it. But it’s not swelling up. I’ll have to see how I wake up tomorrow.”

Royals: 2B Omar Infante left with a strained left groin in the fifth. Orlando Calixte ran for Infante, making his major league debut.

YOU SNOOZE, YOU WIN

After being tossed in the first inning, Yost joked he fell asleep on the new comfortable couch in the manager’s office. “By the time I woke up everybody was screaming and yelling in the locker room,” he said.

BUTLER’S STREAK ENDS

A’s DH Billy Butler went 0 for 2 and walked twice, snapping his 12-game hitting streak.

UP NEXT

Athletics: Rookie RHP Kendall Graveman starts Monday at Anaheim in the first game of a four-game series that continues a three-city trip.

Royals: C Salvador Perez has one single in 12 at-bats against Minnesota RHP Kyle Gibson, who is slated to start Monday.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Two on and two out in the eighth inning with the heart of the Cincinnati Reds lineup due in a tie game, Adam Wainwright was at a crossroads.

In a brief mound meeting that matched the brisk pace of the game in a 2-1 victory Sunday night, St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny showed faith in his ace.

“He just said, `You feel good?” Wainwright recalled. “I said `Yes sir.’ He said `All right, this is your game, let’s go.”

Wainwright walked cleanup man Jay Bruce on a full count, giving him nothing to hit, before escaping. Kolten Wong then hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly off Mike Leake in the bottom half to help the Cardinals finish a three-game sweep.

“At that point he’s the guy we want in the game,” Matheny said. “It’s hard taking him out of the game in that situation.”

Matt Carpenter hit his fifth career leadoff homer and singled for his eighth multihit effort this season as the Cardinals won their fifth straight. Jordan Walden worked around a leadoff hit by Brennan Boesch in the ninth to earn his first save on a night off for closer Trevor Rosenthal.

The game lasted just 2 hours, 2 minutes.

“You blink and it’s the next inning,” Walden said. “We’re sitting down there like `It’s already the fifth? Like `Wow, we’d better start stretching.’

“It’s good, though. We don’t have to sit down there and just look at each other.”

Wainwright (2-1) gave up one run and seven hits with four strikeouts and two walks, improving to 3-0 against the Reds the last two seasons. Leake was more economical, throwing 86 pitches with 66 for strikes.

“Coming into the game against Wainwright you know you’ve got to go out and put up low numbers,” Leake said. “It’s fun facing guys like that.”

Leake (0-1) gave up both runs and four hits in eight innings for the Reds, who have totaled four runs during a four-game losing streak. Brandon Phillips had two hits and an RBI and Joey Votto singled in his first two trips.

“I know we’ve got a much better offense than we’ve shown to this point,” manager Bryan Price said. “I don’t think we’re reaching to think that the lineup that we have out there is capable of not just scoring runs, but scoring a lot of runs.”

Zack Cozart grounded into a forceout to end the eighth and is 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position.

Leake got through seven innings on just 76 pitches before Jon Jay doubled to open the eighth, advanced on a fly out and scored without a play on Wong’s sacrifice fly to left.

Leake and Wainwright combined for 25 consecutive outs before Carpenter ended Leake’s run of 15 in a row with a one out-single in the sixth that hiked his average to .400. Carpenter has six consecutive multihit games and nine in the first 11.

Tucker Barnhart’s two-out single in the seventh halted an 0-for-12 stretch against Wainwright with two strikeouts and two balls hit out of the infield.

Carpenter’s fifth career leadoff homer to straightaway center, tied for third-most in franchise history, gave the Cardinals the early lead. It was his first leadoff homer since July 22, 2014 against Tampa Bay.

Three straight Reds reached with two outs in the third and Phillips’ bloop single tied it, ending Wainwright’s run of 19 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings against Cincinnati.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Reds: C Devin Mesoraco may be close to returning to the lineup. He missed his sixth straight start with a left hip injury but was available Sunday to pinch hit. … OF Billy Hamilton was much improved from a groin injury beating out an infield hit Saturday and though he didn’t start also was available.

Cardinals: Matt Holliday started in LF a day after coming out with back tightness after scoring in the first inning. He has an 11-game hitting streak after singling in the first.

RUN TO GLORY

Before the game, Go! St. Louis Marathon women’s winner Andrea Karl ran through finishing tape on the warning track in honor of the victory first granted to an imposter recently.

UP NEXT

Reds: Anthony DeSclafani allowed two hits in seven scoreless innings his last time out at Chicago and faces the Brewers for the second time.

Cardinals: The Cardinals are off Monday before starting a six-game trip. Lance Lynn (1-1, 1.64) gets the call Tuesday at Washington.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jason Heyward wasn’t sure how to react after hitting his first home run as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals in a 5-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday.

The curtain call concept was new to him.

“A couple guys in the dugout said, `They want you to go back out there,”` Heyward said. “So I did. It was a good feeling.”

Heyward’s homer backed a strong six-inning pitching performance by Carlos Martinez as the Cardinals won their fourth in a row.

Matt Carpenter drove in a pair of runs for the NL Central champions.

Zack Cozart homered for the Reds, who have lost three in a row and six of seven.

Cincinnati speedster Billy Hamilton left in the eighth inning after beating out an infield single. He is day-to-day with irritation in his right groin, manager Bryan Price said.

Heyward was acquired from Atlanta in November to replace outfielder Oscar Taveras, who was killed in an automobile accident.

Heyward homered in his 42nd at-bat of the season, connecting in the third inning.

“He’s a big boy with a big swing,” said Carpenter, who had two hits. “Hopefully he’s got a lot more homers left in there for us.”

St. Louis manager Mike Matheny has final approval on all curtain calls.

“They usually look down towards my end of the dugout to see if it is appropriate or not,” Matheny said.

Matheny gave the thumbs-up and the celebration was on.

Martinez (1-0) allowed one run and three hits, striking out four and walking two.

Trevor Rosenthal picked up his fourth save in as many opportunities. He struck out Joey Votto with two on to end the game.

Homer Bailey (0-1) surrendered five runs and nine hits over 5 2/3 innings. He made his first start after beginning the season on the disabled list while recovering from surgery on a torn flexor tendon.

“Early on, I felt I made some pretty good pitches that got hit,” Bailey said. “They put some pretty good swings on them. But it does feel good to get back out there.”

Martinez picked up his first win of the season and need just 86 pitches. He retired 10 of the last 11 batters he faced.

“I tried to limit my pitches so I could last longer,” Martinez said. “It worked.”

Carpenter, who has six successive multihit games, improved to 17 for 29 (.586) lifetime against Bailey. His two-run double in the sixth pushed the lead to 5-1 and chased Bailey.

Matt Adams put St. Louis in front with an RBI single in the first. He drove in Matt Holliday, who doubled with two out.

Holliday left the game after scoring with stiffness in his back. Holliday, who has hit safely in all 10 games this season, is day-to-day.

Yadier Molina made it 3-0 with a run-scoring double in the fourth. Molina has eight hits in his last 15 at-bats.

Cozart, who had three hits, pushed his hitting streak to seven games.

“We kept coming at them, we hit some balls hard,” Price said. “But we weren’t able to string together the big inning that we needed.”

Jhonny Peralta of the Cardinals had a nine-game hitting streak snapped.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Reds: Bailey came off the disabled list for the start. RHP Pedro Villarreal was optioned to Triple-A Louisville.

Cardinals: Announced after the game that OF Randal Grichuck will be put on the 15-day disabled list Sunday with a back strain. They will recall Dean Anna from Triple-A Memphis, who is expected to be ready for the game. … LHP Jaime Garcia threw to hitters on Friday at extended spring training. General manager John Mozeliak indicated that Garcia is still about six weeks away from returning to the roster.

UP NEXT

Reds: RHP Mike Leake (0-0, 4.97) will make his 150th career appearance in the final game of the three-game series Sunday night. He has four career home runs and led NL pitchers in batting average in 2010 (.356) and 2012 (.305).

Cardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright (1-1, 2.08) will make his third start of the season. He has not allowed an earned run in his last 17 innings against the Reds.

— Associated Press —