Robbie Ray's been out since late April, Taijuan Walker's out for the year after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and Shelby Miller isn't quite back yet.

Justin Turner, Max Muncy and Joc Pederson all went deep, and Cody Bellinger and Enrique Hernandez each homered twice.

Before Sunday's Cardinals-Brewers game turned into something of a drubbing, St. Louis infielder Matt Carpenter came up big in a tight spot:

No, Carp's not much of a hitter for average these days, but his excellent secondary skills -- i.e., his willingness to take a walk plus his extra-base power -- mean he's still a producer.

like it was only a matter of time before the Indians started to put the hurt on the rest of the terrible AL Central and it's now coming to fruition.

Some of that could be blamed on bullpen injuries ( Carl Edwards Jr. and Brandon Morrow ), but overall the Reds just flat outplayed the Cubs all series.

Cubs starter Yu Darvish will make a minor-league rehab start Monday for Class A South Bend (Ind.).