BASEBALL GAME RECAPS 8-22-08

Abreu goes 5-for-5, Yankees comeback to top O's

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Bobby Abreu didn't make an out, the New York Yankees hit four home runs and mounted a rare late-inning rally to earn a satisfying victory.

The only drawback was that Mike Mussina failed to make any ground in his bid to become a 20-game winner for the first time during a career that started in 1991.

Abreu went 5-for-5 to tie a career high in hits, and the Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 9-4 Friday night.

Abreu scored the tying run on a wild pitch and Xavier Nady followed with an RBI single in the eighth inning for the Yankees, who improved to 3-50 when trailing after seven innings.

The 39-year-old Mussina again struggled against his former team and remains stuck on 16 victories. The right-hander gave up four runs and nine hits over six innings and left with Baltimore ahead 4-3.

"I kept us in the game. We were never out of it," Mussina said. "We got the at-bats we needed in the end."

Mussina is 0-2 with an 8.49 ERA in three starts against the Orioles this season. He has allowed three home runs in his last 11 starts -- all of them to Baltimore, and two to Ramon Hernandez.

"To hold them to four runs the way I pitched the last two times against them, this was pretty good," Mussina said. "If you can hold them to one run an inning, it's not as demoralizing to your team. We were able to stay in and come back and win it."

Baltimore scored single runs in the first, third, fourth and sixth innings against their one-time ace.

"Moose did a great job of limiting damage tonight," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.

Abreu led off the eighth with his fourth hit, a single off Jamie Walker (1-1). Alex Rodriguez followed with a double, sending Abreu to third, and Jason Giambi popped out. Rookie Kam Mickolio replaced Walker and immediately threw a wild pitch to score Abreu.

"I was trying to be too perfect with it, and I was far from it on that one," Mickolio said.

Nady followed with an opposite-field single to right to make it 5-4.

Cody Ransom hit a three-homer in the ninth off Fernando Cabrera and Nady followed with a solo shot. Earlier, Robinson Cano and Jose Molina hit successive home runs.

Jose Veras (4-2) worked the seventh, Damaso Marte got two outs in the eighth and Mariano Rivera finished for his 29th save in 30 tries.

Abreu's five hits matched a career high, set Aug. 8, 1999, with Philadelphia against Arizona.

"The key to the whole game was we didn't get Abreu out at all," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. "He won't chase bad pitches; that's probably why he is as good of a hitter as he is."

Derek Jeter got his 2,500th career hit, a bloop single in the first inning. He joins Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth as the only players to have 2,500 hits as Yankees.

Hernandez homered and drove in two runs, and Aubrey Huff also had two RBIs for the Orioles.

Baltimore took a 4-3 lead in the sixth. Kevin Millar hit a one-out double, advanced on a single by Luke Scott and scored on a fly to the warning track by Hernandez.

But it wasn't enough to beat Mussina, whose only loss since June 30 was against the Orioles.

"I think we've done our homework on him and faced him enough so that we have a pretty good idea how he pitches," Trembley said. "What you have to do is make him throw it over the plate. You can't chase it."

Recalled from Triple-A Norfolk before the game, Baltimore starter Radhames Liz yielded hits to the first three New York batters. Johnny Damon doubled, took third on Jeter's milestone hit and scored on a single by Abreu.

Baltimore tied it in the bottom half on a two-out RBI single by Huff.

Huff gave the Orioles a 2-1 lead in the third, bouncing an RBI single between the legs of second base umpire Ed Rapuano after Nick Markakis and Melvin Mora singled with one out.

Hernandez made it 3-1 in the fourth with his second home run in two games and 14th of the season. The drive also extended his hitting streak to 12 games, one short of his career high.

Cano and Molina homered off Liz in the fifth to tie it at 3.

"They had 'Hit Me' stamped on them," Trembley said. "The ones Cabrera threw at the end might have had 'Double Hit Me' on them."

Game notes
The Orioles have a steal in four straight games after getting only three in their previous 31 games. ... Markakis got his 14th assist, throwing out Giambi trying to stretch a single to right. ... Cano's homer landed on Eutaw Street beyond the right-field wall, the third by a Yankee this season. Giambi had the other two.






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Bird gets fifth win in six starts as Red Sox roll Blue Jays

TORONTO (AP) -- Paul Byrd learned a lot about survival and improvisation as a Cub Scout leader for Colby, his 10-year-old son. Those skills came in handy Friday night.

Byrd won for the fifth time in six starts and posted his first victory with Boston as Dustin Pedroia and Jason Varitek hit solo homers and Boston beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-4.

Facing Toronto for the third consecutive start, Byrd (8-11) needed all his improvisational ability on a night when he didn't have his best stuff.

"I'm just glad we won the game," Byrd said. "I didn't pitch my greatest. It was six innings of survival. It was like Boy Scouts, just making do with what I had."

The right-hander allowed four runs and six hits in six innings, walked two and struck out four.

Byrd beat the Blue Jays on Aug. 9 while pitching for Cleveland, then lost to Toronto last Saturday in his first start with the Red Sox, a game in which he also gave up a two-run, first-inning homer to Rios.

Byrd will be happy to see a different opponent, likely the Yankees or White Sox, when he pitches next.

"I'm looking forward to facing somebody other than Joe Inglett leading off the game," Byrd said. "I'll be excited that maybe Lyle Overbay won't be in the lineup and recognizes everything that comes out of my hand."

The last pitcher to face the same team in three straight starts was San Diego's Justin Germano, who opposed Colorado three times between May 27 and Sept. 9, 2004.

Acquired Aug. 12 for a player to be named and cash, Byrd was happy to move from the underachieving Indians to a playoff contender.

Byrd and new batterymate Varitek have quickly built a rapport in their two starts together.

"I knew he was a good catcher, but he's a great receiver," Byrd said. "He's really good. He blocks the ball better than I thought he did. What he brings behind the plate, a wealth of knowledge against the hitters is great. I've enjoyed throwing to him. I think we've gelled pretty quickly."

Varitek was more comfortable Friday than he was in Byrd's Boston debut.

"I'm still learning him, to be honest," Varitek said. "The first day there was a little bit of uncertainty early because I wasn't sure how hitters react to him. You use those first three of four innings to get a bit of a read. Today, there was much more rhythm."

Justin Masterson worked the seventh, Hideki Okajima the eighth and Jonathan Papelbon closed it out in the ninth for Boston.

Pedroia went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and has hit safely in 46 of his past 50 games.

Alex Rios and Overbay hit two-run homers for the Blue Jays, who lost for the third time in their past 13 games against the Red Sox.

Boston won for the 10th time in 14 road games and snapped a club-record six-game losing streak in Toronto. They beat the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre for the first time since completing a three-game sweep on May 10, 2007.

"We scored early and we stayed at it," manager Terry Francona said. "We've had nights like this where we've come in here and I'm explaining why we lost or how we lost. We found a way to turn it around tonight and have a good win."

Pedroia's 13th homer gave Boston a 1-0 lead in the first, but Rios hit his 10th in the bottom of the inning for a 2-1 lead.

The Red Sox restored their lead and chased right-hander Shaun Marcum with a four-run fourth. Jason Bay singled and Jed Lowrie and Varitek both walked, loading the bases for Alex Cora, who drove in a run when he was hit by a pitch. Coco Crisp hit an RBI single, Jacoby Ellsbury's grounder scored a run and Pedroia ended Marcum's night with a sacrifice fly.

Overbay's two-run shot, his 10th, cut it to 5-4 in the bottom half, but Varitek opened the sixth with his 11th homer, giving Boston a two-run lead.

Ellsbury and Pedroia capped the scoring with RBI singles off right-hander Shawn Camp in the eighth.

Marcum (8-6) lost for the first time in five starts, allowing five runs and six hits in 3 2-3 innings. He walked two and struck out two.

Game notes
Boston OF J.D. Drew (herniated disk) was scratched from the lineup, but is hoping to avoid a trip to the DL. He underwent an MRI on Friday, but the results have not yet been released. ... Boston recalled RHP Chris Smith from Triple-A Pawtucket and signed C David Ross, assigning him to Pawtucket. ... Toronto put OF Brad Wilkerson (back spasms) on the 15-day DL and added INF/OF Jose Bautista, who was acquired from Pittsburgh Thursday for a player to be named. ... Bay played in his native Canada for the first time since reaching the majors in 2003. ... Boston is 3-13 on artificial turf this season.






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Carmona goes six strong to help Indians evade Rangers

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Fausto Carmona was able to put his last start against the Texas Rangers behind him.

The big right-hander pitched six strong innings and the Indians continued their late-season surge with a 7-5 victory over the stumbling Rangers on Friday night.

Carmona (6-5) allowed one run and six hits, struck out five and walked three as the Indians won for the 11th time in 14 games.

His previous start against the Rangers was on May 23, a 13-9 loss at Cleveland. Carmona lasted a season-low two innings in that game, allowing six runs and five hits before leaving with a hip strain that landed him on the disabled list the following day.

"I never thought about [the start in May]," Carmona said through an interpreter. "I tried to think about this start today and making sure to give the team a chance to win."

Carmona's recovery took more than two months before he returned to the rotation on July 26. He lost three of four decisions entering Friday.

"After the first two games [back], I felt everything would be OK," Carmona said.

Marlon Byrd's three-run homer in the eighth off Rafael Perez got the Rangers within 5-4.

Jensen Lewis allowed a leadoff homer to Brandon Boggs in the ninth to make it 7-5. But Lewis got the final three outs for his fifth save, sending the Rangers to their 12th loss in 15 games.

Lewis' biggest challenge was facing major league RBI leader Josh Hamilton with one out and a runner on first. Lewis got Hamilton on a called third strike, fanned pinch-hitter Frank Catalanotto swinging, and retired Hank Blalock on a line drive.

"That's not exactly the guy [Hamilton] you want to face as the tying run," Lewis said. "We threw him all fastballs, changing them up between two- and four-seamers. We wanted to keep his eye moving. We didn't want him to extend his hands on the 3-2 pitch. If I was going to miss, I would miss in. We didn't want to give him a chance to hit it out of the park."

Ben Francisco had three hits, including an RBI double in a two-run ninth off Eddie Guardado that stretched Cleveland's lead to 7-4.

"It was big for us to tack on runs there," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "In this park, a one-run lead is not enough. It's never over until the last out is made."

Guardado, the Rangers' closer, hadn't pitched in five days. A leadoff walk to Asdrubal Cabrera opened the door for the Indians in the ninth.

"What happened was he got ahead of Cabrera with two strikes, then Cabrera made him throw a ton of pitches," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "They did a good job of working him, fouling off pitches. I just thought they hit some good pitches. He's only human."

Rangers rookie Matt Harrison (5-3) was in trouble from the beginning of his ninth major league start as Ryan Garko's two-run double in the first got the Indians offense rolling.

In the second, Andy Marte's RBI triple, Cabrera's sacrifice fly and Jhonny Peralta's run-scoring single pushed the lead to 5-0. Harrison allowed five runs and seven hits in 3 2/3 innings.

Harrison had been much better in his previous start last Saturday, giving up three hits in eight innings of a 3-0 victory over Tampa Bay.

"Tonight I was leaving the ball up," Harrison said. "I didn't make the adjustment until the third inning and by then I'd given up five runs. I need to start out by keeping the ball down. I just want to be consistent. You don't want one bad, one good. It's very disappointing."

Game notes
LHP C.J. Wilson was back in the Rangers' clubhouse to begin a 6-to-12 week rehab after undergoing season-ending surgery to remove bone chips in his left elbow. ... Rangers RHP Brandon McCarthy will be activated from the 60-day DL for his first big league start of the season Saturday. McCarthy hasn't appeared in a major league game since Sept. 20, 2007. He's been out since March 30 with right forearm inflammation. ... Cleveland C Victor Martinez and 2B Josh Barfield are on minor league rehab assignments, and DH Travis Hafner is likely to begin one soon. All three are expected to be activated in the next few weeks. ... The Rangers activated Blalock from the 15-day DL before the game, with the former All-Star 3B making his major league debut at 1B. Blalock, who went 0-for-4, had been out since July 29 because of inflammation in his right shoulder.





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Cabrera, Verlander help Tigers send Royals to sixth straight loss

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Miguel Cabrera provided the power and Justin Verlander the pitching. Still, the Detroit Tigers needed a lucky break to survive a ninth-inning scare from the Kansas City Royals.

Cabrera hit two homers and Verlander pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings as the Tigers held on for a 4-3 victory Friday night.

The game ended when David DeJesus, who was on third, was thrown out trying to score on a pitch Fernando Rodney threw to the backstop. Ross Gload, who had four hits to match his career high, was batting for the Royals. The ball took a true bounce back to catcher Brandon Inge, who made a perfect throw to Rodney covering home.

"It hit between two signs, but there is a seam, where they have the pads that run down vertically, it hit right in the middle of that," Inge said. "You're talking about an inch or two and it could have hit the seam and kicked to the right or the left. It didn't come back too far anyway. I was in the gravel. That was very fortunate. That's what that was."

Rodney logged his sixth save in 10 opportunities, but not before giving up two runs on RBI hits by Esteban German and Billy Butler.

"You don't see many games end like that," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "That's not how you figure the game is going to end when you bring in your closer with a three-run lead in the ninth. All is well that turned out well."

Said Verlander, "I've never seen that happen like that. I'm glad it did happen that way, just like we wrote it up."

The Royals have lost six straight, nine of 10 and 13 of 15. They have been outscored 105-42 in the 15 games.

"We checked on the tape and saw I didn't get a big enough lead," DeJesus said. "That would have given me a better opportunity. When I saw Rodney with the ball, I tried to avoid him."

Royals catcher John Buck was on deck when the game ended.

"The ball shot back to Inge really quickly," Buck said. "It didn't look like he had to go right or left. It sometimes dies back there. It's my backstop, so I know. But it hit the post. It literally cut down 15, 20 feet, which that is what he got thrown out by."

Cabrera, who has 11 home runs and 42 RBIs in 34 games since the All-Star break, led off the second with a homer off Brian Bannister. He hit a solo shot with two outs in the sixth, also off Bannister. It was Cabrera's third two-homer game this season and the 12th of his career.

"It is pretty impressive the numbers he is putting up, especially after he started out a little slow," Verlander said.

Verlander (10-13) gave up eight hits, all singles, struck out six and walked three. He has not allowed an earned run in his past two starts, covering 13 2/3 innings, to lower his ERA to 4.42.

"That's the key, when you give up hits, give up singles," Verlander said. "Doubles and home runs are what hurt you and they start to score runs."

Bannister (7-13) is 0-7 with an 8.70 ERA in his past 10 starts. He went eight innings, allowing four runs and five hits, all for extra bases.

Verlander worked out of a bases loaded jam with one out in the sixth, striking out Buck and retiring Joey Gathright on a fielder's choice grounder. The Royals stranded 12 runners and were 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

"I got Buck with a curveball, probably one of the better ones I threw, a little up, but had a good break to it," Verlander said. "Gathright, he kept fouling off fastballs and I kept throwing them, finally he put one in play right at the shortstop."

The Tigers scored a run in the second when Carlos Guillen doubled, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a ground out by Matt Joyce.

Curtis Granderson walked in the third and scored on Placido Polanco's double.

Bannister hasn't won since June 23 over Colorado. He gave up a career-high 10 runs in one inning in a loss at New York on Sunday.

"What I felt in Yankee Stadium, I never want to feel that again," Bannister said. "I just went back to the way I pitched last year."

The Royals avoided a shutout when Gload singled and scored on Buck's triple off Gary Glover. It was Buck's first triple since Aug. 31, 2006, at Minnesota.

Game notes
Mark Teahen started at third base for the first time since Sept. 5, 2006 with Royals 3B Alex Gordon out with a leg injury. ... The Royals have been outhomered 23-2 in the past 10 games. ... The Tigers have outscored the Royals 37-9 in their past four games at Kauffman Stadium.





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Baldelli finds long ball swing, helps Rays handle White Sox

CHICAGO (AP) -- With one big swing, Rocco Baldelli gave a big indication that he is finally feeling better.

He hit his first homer in more than a year, Carlos Pena and Ben Zobrist also went deep and the Tampa Bay Rays opened a weekend showdown against the Chicago White Sox with a 9-4 victory on Friday.

"I just want to get back into the swing of things where I feel comfortable and it's not a big deal when I go through a game and do something well," said Baldelli, sidelined most of the past two seasons with injuries and ailments. "I just want to contribute to what's going on here. It's awesome."

Chicago's Nick Swisher homered in his fourth straight game, giving the White Sox a 2-0 lead with a two-run shot in the fourth, but the Rays came back.

Pena tied it at 2 with a leadoff homer in the sixth, and Jason Bartlett doubled in the go-ahead run off John Danks in the seventh, sending Tampa Bay to its 10th win in 13 games.

The Rays maintained a 4 1/2-game lead over Boston in the AL East, and they continued to win even though Troy Percival, Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford are on the disabled list.

They began the day tied with Los Angeles for the AL's best record and, after taking two of three from the Angels, kept the momentum going against one of baseball's hottest teams. The White Sox had won eight of nine and had a 46-9 scoring edge over the previous four games while pounding out 14 homers -- but they were victimized by the long ball this time.

One of the big blows came from Baldelli, who returned from the DL less than two weeks ago.

Sidelined for the first 116 games with a muscular disorder after missing much of last season with hamstring injuries, Baldelli looked just fine against Octavio Dotel in the eighth. He drove an 0-1 pitch over the left-field wall for his first homer since May 3, 2007, against Minnesota.

"Taking some time off isn't always the easiest thing to do, but I feel like I'm able to do it OK and not lose my swing by taking days off," said Baldelli, who did not play in the Los Angeles series. "It did feel pretty good tonight."

After Willy Aybar doubled, Zobrist chased Dotel when he drove a 3-2 pitch out to right to make it 6-2.

Chicago's Alexei Ramirez hit a two-run homer off J.P. Howell in the bottom half, his fourth homer in five games, but the Rays added three more runs in the ninth.

The White Sox had the leadoff man on in seven innings but got little to show for it. They stranded eight and were 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

"One thing I talked about before the game is we can't do two things, walk people and commit errors because of their propensity to hit home runs," manager Joe Maddon said. "We got away with it tonight, but you can't expect to do that all the time. We were fortunate."

Edwin Jackson (10- became the Rays' fourth 10-game winner despite six shaky innings. He allowed seven hits and two runs, struck out five and walked five while improving to 5-1 in his last six starts.

Danks (10-6) lasted 6 1/3 innings, allowing five hits and three runs. But from the start, he knew this wasn't his night.

"In the second or third inning, I told the guys tonight was the epitome of being effectively wild," he said. "I was getting away with some stuff. I was missing my spots."

Pena had two hits and scored two runs while driving in two. Baldelli and Dioner Navarro added two hits and two runs apiece.

Ken Griffey Jr. went 2-for-4 with a run after hitting his first homer with the White Sox against Seattle on Wednesday. The 13-time All-Star had just nine hits in his first 43 at-bats after the trade from Cincinnati.

The last time these teams met, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen unleashed a rant that seemed aimed at general manager Kenny Williams and hitting coach Greg Walker. He called for roster changes while saying his job and Walker's were in jeopardy after watching his team go 5-for-39 with runners in scoring position while dropping three of four May 29-June 1.

There were no firings and no major roster moves, although they did acquire Griffey at the trade deadline.

This time, Guillen's tone was different.

"That's kind of a weird feeling about the situation here in Chicago," he said. "We lose a game and all the sudden we are down the tank. I don't know if it's people waiting for us to fail or people don't just believe in the White Sox."

Game notes
Rays manager Joe Maddon won his 205th game, tying Larry Rothschild's club record. ... Ramirez now has 15 homers, the most by a White Sox rookie second baseman. ... Chicago DH Jim Thome, a late scratch Wednesday against Seattle with what he called a "little bit of a lower abdominal thing," went 0-for-1 with three walks.





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Span, Young help Twins take it to Angels, win fourth straight

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Glen Perkins pitched eight innings and Denard Span and Delmon Young homered for the Minnesota Twins, who took over first place in the AL Central with a 9-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.

The win was the fourth straight and ninth in 11 games for the Twins, who moved a half-game in front of the Chicago White Sox, who lost 9-4 to Tampa Bay.

Despite losing for the seventh time in nine games, the Angels remained 15 games ahead in the West.

Perkins (11-3) held Los Angeles to five hits, struck out three and walked two on the way to winning his fourth consecutive decision. Dennys Reyes pitched the ninth to complete Minnesota's ninth shutout.

The Angels have been shut out six times.

Young hit a two-run homer off Joe Saunders in the fourth, and Span added a three-run shot against Shane Loux as the Twins broke the game open with a five-run sixth.

Saunders (14-6) allowed six runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings. He hasn't won since July 30, with three no-decisions and a loss over that stretch.

Span, who had four RBIs, made it 4-0 with two outs in the sixth with his third home run.

Young's two-run homer with two outs in the fourth gave Minnesota a 2-0 lead after both teams squandered early scoring chances. It was Young's eighth homer.

Span's RBI single in the fifth built the lead to three runs.

Game notes
Mauer singled in the seventh to extend his career-high hitting streak to 14 games. ... The Twins have gone 42-19 since June 13, the most victories in either league during that span. ... Perkins threw 107 pitches, matching his high for the season.






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Clement's doubles help Mariners snap seven-game skid

SEATTLE (AP) -- Rookie Jeff Clement had two run-scoring doubles to help the Seattle Mariners break their seven-game losing streak with a 7-5 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night.

Roy Corcoran (4-0), who allowed one hit in two innings of relief, earned the victory. J.J. Putz put two runners on in the ninth but held on to pick up his eighth save in 15 opportunities. It was his first save since June 9 at Toronto.

Clement, who had three RBIs, hit his second double in the Mariners' go-ahead two-run rally in the seventh. Adrian Beltre opened with a double to center off Jerry Blevins (1-3) and Raul Ibanez advanced him to third with a right-side groundout. With the infield in, Jose Lopez reached out for a RBI single through the middle for a 6-5 lead.

Clement then hit Blevins' first pitch for a double off the wall in left-center and Lopez scored from first.

Rajai Davis, who replaced Jack Cust in the third inning when the latter complained of blurred vision, gave the A's a 1-0 lead in the fourth with a home run just inside the left-field foul pole. Davis and Bobby Crosby both had three hits for the A's.

Seattle responded with a four-run rally in the bottom of the inning. Ibanez walked then Lopez ripped an RBI double against the left-center wall. After Wladimir Balentien reached on an error, Clement slammed a two-run double against the wall in center.

Clement moved to third on Bryan LaHair's sacrifice bunt. Miguel Cairo followed with a perfectly placed suicide squeeze up the third-base line and Clement scored easily.

The Mariners, who were shut out by the A's on Thursday, ended a 16-inning scoreless streak with the outburst.

The A's countered with a four-run rally in the sixth to take back the lead. Carlos Gonzalez's fielder's choice sent home one run and Daric Barton's RBI single made it 4-3. Cliff Pennington capped it with a two-run bloop single off Cesar Jimenez for a 5-4 lead.

Ichiro Suzuki tied it in the sixth with a run-scoring groundout.

Game notes
A's 2B Mark Ellis left the game in the second with right shoulder pain. ... Frank Thomas' first-inning strikeout extended his hitless streak to a career-high 20 at-bats. Oakland's DH would go 0-for-4 to make it 23 straight. ... Erik Bedard, sidelined since July 5 with a tender left shoulder, made 40 to 50 throws from 80 feet Friday. Mariners manager Jim Riggleman said, "It didn't hurt and that's the key."






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Harris' grand slam, 2-run shot feed Nats' romp of Cubs

CHICAGO (AP) -- Willie Harris and the Washington Nationals pulled into town in the early morning hours Friday. Weary, maybe. But ready to play the Chicago Cubs.

On a humid afternoon at Wrigley Field, Harris hit his first career grand slam and added a two-run homer as the Nationals rallied from a four-run deficit to rout the Cubs 13-5.

"For me, I just had probably the best game of my career. We got in late and I was kind of tired today, but a lot of guys say when you're tired you have your best days," Harris said.

"I've heard that so many times and it's never really happened to me before until today. It was just a good win for us. We fought back the whole game."

The Nationals' victory came less than 24 hours after they'd ended a 12-game losing streak in Philadelphia. And they didn't get to their Chicago hotel until 1:45 a.m.

Entering the game with the worst record in the majors, the Nationals were facing the Cubs, the team with the best mark.

"We got beat up today. What are you going to do?" Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "They came out swinging the bats. They hit the ball all over the park and out of it."

Harris hit his slam off reliever Neal Cotts to cap a six-run sixth inning that put the Nationals ahead 6-4. He added a two-run shot in the ninth off Chad Gaudin for his first multihomer game in the majors.

Harris and Cotts were teammates from 2003-05 with the Chicago White Sox and played on a World Series winner together.

"You know, it's good to hit a grand slam, but I would rather it have been against somebody else," Harris said. "Because Neal and I go way back. ... I consider him a friend. I have to do my job too but if I could choose someone else, I would."

Cotts was part of a Cubs' bullpen that was charged with nine runs, six to Gaudin. Cotts came on after Jason Marquis lost it in the sixth after he'd allowed only two hits in the first five innings.

"I walked the first guy and put us in a bigger jam than we were already in. I put one over the plate and he [Harris] put a good swing on it," Cotts said. "He looks pretty good over there. Today he swung the bat well."

Lefty John Lannan (7-12) allowed seven hits and five runs in 6 1/3 innings to beat the Cubs for the second time this season.

Washington's Ronnie Belliard had four hits, including his 11th homer, and pinch-hitter Aaron Boone hit a three-run double.

Working on nine days' rest, Marquis took a 4-0 lead into the sixth. He ran into trouble as a single by Emilio Bonifacio and walks to Cristian Guzman and Ryan Zimmerman loaded the bases with no outs.

Lastings Milledge hit a sacrifice fly and Belliard had an RBI double to slice the lead to 4-2 and finish Marquis. Pinch-hitter Austin Kearns worked a walk from Cotts (0-2) to reload the bases and Harris hit a drive over the right-field wall for his 11th home run.

Boos came down from the crowd of 40,513 as the Cubs came off the field after the Nationals' big inning.

Harris wasn't through. He fielded Mark DeRosa's liner as it bounced off the left-field wall in the bottom half and made a strong throw to second to nail him.

Guzman added an RBI single in the seventh. Chicago cut it to 7-5 in the bottom half on Ryan Theriot's two-out RBI single off reliever Steven Shell.

Boone delivered his big double off Gaudin in the eighth to break it open. Harris and Belliard homered in the ninth.

"I know I'm strong enough to hit the ball out of the park, but I'm not up there trying to hit the ball out of the park," said Harris, whose 12 homers this season are five more than he had in his entire career before 2008. "I don't know where it's coming from and I'm not trying to figure it out."

Chicago's Derrek Lee hit his first homer since July 27, a solo shot and his 18th of the season, to make it 2-0 in the third. DeRosa cleared the left-field bleachers with his 16th homer in the fourth, a two-run drive that gave him a career-high 75 RBIs.

The Cubs scored in the first on a double steal by Lee and Alfonso Soriano.

Game notes
The start of the game was delayed 62 minutes by rain. ... Harris' six RBIs tie a career high. He also had six against the Cardinals last season while with the Braves.






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Phillies use homers to turn back Maddux in return to Dodgers

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Kyle Kendrick outpitched Greg Maddux on Friday night -- and Maddux probably deserves some of the credit.

A week after a 40-minute meeting with Maddux to discuss pitching, Kendrick did an impersonation of the veteran while leading the Philadelphia Phillies to an 8-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Kendrick allowed the lone run on three hits while striking out three and walking two in 5 2/3 innings, spoiling Maddux's first start in his return to the Dodgers and leaving him stuck on 353 wins, one shy of tying Roger Clemens for eighth on the career list.

Philadelphia snapped a six-game losing streak to Los Angeles and remained 2 1/2 games behind the New York Mets in the NL East.

"It was exciting," Kendrick said of his meeting with Maddux in San Diego, which was set up by teammate Jamie Moyer. "He had advice for how he deals with struggles and the mental side. It was nice the way he put things. I told him I can be afraid of contact, and he said, 'I'm afraid of contact, too.' "

In that case, the Phillies must have been a nightmare.

Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Chris Coste each homered as they pounded Maddux for seven runs and nine hits in just 5 2/3 innings. The right-hander, acquired Tuesday from the Padres, allowed more than nine hits only three times in 26 starts with San Diego.

"They weren't going after bad pitches and were hitting strikes. This is a good lineup," Maddux said. "I couldn't keep the ball in the park. You have to keep the ball in the ballpark no matter where you pitch. When you give up five runs on two swings, it's hard to win like that."

Howard opened the scoring against Maddux, hitting an opposite-field shot for his 34th home run and giving the Phillies a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning. Howard had entered the at-bat 3-for-36 with 18 strikeouts and just one homer in his last 14 games.

"It was a two-seamer that ran down and away and I just went with it and was able to get good wood on it," Howard said.

"Actually it wasn't a bad pitch," Maddux said, "he's just so gosh darn strong."

The Phillies did most of their damage, though, in the sixth inning, when they scored four runs and knocked Maddux (6-10) out of the game. Coste capped the scoring with a three-run homer to left field as the Phillies' slumbering offense tallied its most runs this month.

Philadelphia entered Friday night with 61 runs in its 19 games (3.1 per contest), and hadn't scored more than seven runs since July 31.

Kendrick, meanwhile, rebounded from two poor outings and a first-inning homer by Andre Ethier. Kendrick (11-7) had allowed 13 runs on 15 hits in seven innings his last two outings, including an 8-6 loss against the Dodgers on Aug. 11 in Los Angeles.

"I knew what was going on -- I was falling behind in counts and not being aggressive," Kendrick said. "Tonight I came out attacked the strike zone and got ahead."

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said Kendrick also did a good job of keeping the ball down.

"Here lately his fastball has been up more and out of the strike zone, but the good pitches that he made, the ball sunk and he kept it low," Manuel said.

Game notes
Jimmy Rollins went 0-for-4, dropping him to 3-for-37 (.081) since calling Philadelphia fans "front-runners" in a television interview last week. ... Beginning with Friday's game, the Dodgers play 23 of their last 35 on the road. ... Phillies outfielder Geoff Jenkins left the game after sustaining a high quad strain running the bases in the third inning. Jenkins is scheduled for an MRI exam Saturday, Manuel said.





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Santana handles Oswalt, Astros with seven solid innings

NEW YORK (AP) -- Johan Santana was not going to let his manager take him out after six innings, not when former minor league teammate Roy Oswalt was still out there dominating hitters.

Santana left an inning before Oswalt but he made two less mistakes than his fellow ace, and the New York Mets beat the Houston Astros 3-0 on Friday night.

"He pleaded, begged," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said. "'I don't want to come out of this game,' he said. ... I had to give him the benefit of the doubt. It's only fair to him what he's brought to the team."

Santana, who played in the Houston farm system with Oswalt for three years, allowed eight hits in seven innings, throwing a career-high 121 pitches -- including 11 to strike out Lance Berkman in the first. Oswalt went eight innings, retiring his last 20 batters after giving up three runs in the first two innings.

"He pitched eight innings so he beat me there," Santana said.

Brian Schneider hit a two-run homer and David Wright had an RBI bloop single as the Mets beat a team with a record over .500 after winning nine of 10 against lowly Washington, Pittsburgh and Atlanta to open a 2 1/2-game lead over Philadelphia in the NL East coming in. The Mets have gone 14-4 since being swept by Houston in a three-game series to start the month.

"Everybody's on a roll now," Santana said. "We're having fun in everything we're doing."

Ryan Church returned to New York's lineup after sitting out with post-concussion syndrome since July 5 and was met with a sustained standing ovation. Perhaps the team's best player before his second head injury in less than three months on May 20, Church beat out a grounder to deep third in the second inning for a hit and went 1-for-3.

"I was glad to just test it. It was really good to just bust it down the line," Church said of running out the hit.

Schneider then put to rest Church's pregame joking that he did not have a big bat behind him for protection by homering to right for a 3-0 lead. It was Schneider's third homer in his last five starts.

"Schneider, every year, starts to turn it on at the end and that's key for us," Church said.

That mistake by Oswalt -- and a wild pitch that set up Wright's RBI single in the first -- was all the Mets would need with Santana (12-7) on the mound.

The ace, let down by the Mets' bullpen on several occasions this season, won his third straight start and fifth consecutive decision.

He was not as sharp as he was in pitching his first shutout as a member of the Mets on Aug. 17. But he was unhittable with runners in scoring position.

"I think what he did tonight that was different from Pittsburgh was when he got 0-2 he went out of the strike zone so bad they could not swing at them, and when he came back they fouled them off," Manuel said.

The Astros twice had runners on second and third but a resilient Santana shut down Houston, the second time knocking down a sharp comebacker by Berkman with his glove and recovering to make the throw and end the fifth.

"You've got to get hits in key situations, the clutch hits. We've been scratching the last few days," Astros manager Cecil Cooper said.

Santana struck out five and walked one, and turned the game over to Aaron Heilman and Luis Ayala.

Heilman pitched a perfect eighth and Ayala, acquired on Sunday from Washington, earned his first save of the season with a 1-2-3 inning.

"Might see more of that as long as we're seeing more of those types of results," Manuel said of using Heilman and Ayala in the eighth and ninth.

Oswalt (11-9) gave up four hits, all in the first two innings. He gave up one hit in a 3-0 win over Randy Johnson and Arizona on Sunday and beat All-Star Tim Lincecum on Aug. 12.

Game notes
In honor of Fiesta Latina, the Mets home whites had "Los Mets" written in script across the front. ... 2B Luis Castillo (strained hip flexor) will be activated by New York on Saturday. ... With his second-inning single, 3B Geoff Blum enacted a clause in his contract that ensures he'll return to Houston for 2009. He needed 250 plate appearances to get the guarantee. ... The Astros activated INF Jose Castillo after claiming him off outright waivers from San Francisco. ... After the game, the Mets said RHP Orlando Hernandez, who had been out since having foot surgery Oct. 18, will have an operation on his big toe in the next day or two, effectively ending his attempt to come back this season.






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Cameron's homer helps Brewers shake slow start, dump Pirates

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Dave Bush seems to always struggle in the opening innings. Good thing a run or two doesn't matter to these Brewers.

Bush rebounded from another slow start to toss seven solid innings, then watched Mike Cameron homer to cap a six-run seventh as Milwaukee rallied to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-4 on Friday night.

"I wish I could be more consistent in the beginning of the game. That's kind of been a problem for me throughout my career," said Bush, who allowed a run in each of the first two innings. "I keep in mind that it's a long game, and definitely with the offense that we have, it's not very often one or two runs is going to beat us. It just gives me the peace of mind to be able to go out inning after inning and try to work in a groove."

J.J. Hardy also homered for Milwaukee, which leads the wild-card chase by 2 1/2 games after St. Louis beat Atlanta. The Brewers are 4 1/2 games behind Chicago in the NL Central after the Cubs lost earlier Friday to Washington.

Bush (8-9) continued his resurgence since a pair of losses in June, and manager Ned Yost has seen Bush's early-inning struggles in another pitcher -- one who has 305 wins.

"I watched Tom Glavine do that for years, give up a run or two in the first. If you didn't get him in the first inning or the second inning, you were done," Yost said. "Bushie's a competitor. He attacks and he competes on that mound. When he's got his stuff going and he's executing, you get what you see tonight."

The quiet right-hander, who was demoted to Triple-A on April 27 before returning five days later, allowed three runs off seven hits to improve to 6-2 in his last 11 starts, going at least seven innings in eight of those appearances. Bush has given up runs in the first or second innings in 15 of his 23 starts this season.

But the Brewers gave him plenty of offense, breaking the game open with a big seventh inning after Bush left, capped by Cameron's two-run homer off reliever Sean Burnett that hit the right field foul pole and made it 10-3. Cameron said it was the third time this season he's homered off the pole.

"Our starting pitchers, they've been giving us an opportunity to stay in the game," Cameron said.

Milwaukee, which batted around in the inning, also got RBIs from Rickie Weeks, Hardy, Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder, marking the eighth time this season the Brewers have scored at least 10 runs.

"They really believe in themselves and what they are out to accomplish," Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson said. "You can see it. It's been different the last couple years. You have seen them grow into a very good team with the same players every year. Other than being their opponent, it's been nice to see something we would want here."

Hardy hit his 20th home run of the season to begin the fifth and give Milwaukee a 4-2 lead, after the Brewers scored three times in the fourth to erase a 2-0 deficit.

Pirates starter Zach Duke (4-12) hasn't won since June 9, losing a career-high eight straight decisions over 11 starts. The defense was just as putrid for Pittsburgh, which lost its 10th straight in Milwaukee.

In the fourth, the Pirates committed a pair of throwing errors that led to a two-run double by Corey Hart and a sacrifice fly by Bill Hall.

"Some tricky things happened, and they put the hammer down on me," Duke said.

Pittsburgh opened its 2-0 lead on Ryan Doumit's RBI groundout in the first and Duke's two-out, RBI single in the second. But mixing a fastball with a deceptive offspeed pitch and sinker, Bush settled down and allowed only a long homer to Brandon Moss leading off the seventh.

"That's been exactly what he's been doing," Yost said. "Give up one or two in the first two innings and then get into mow-down mode, one right after another, quick innings, low pitch counts."

Pittsburgh, well on its way to its 16th consecutive losing season, will be a major player in the postseason hopes of Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Louis. Including Friday night's game, the Pirates play 14 of their final 35 games against the three divisional rivals. Milwaukee will see the Pirates eight more times.

"Good teams keep the pedal to the metal, especially this time of year, to everybody that they play," Yost said. "It doesn't matter, they're all the same. They're all capable of beating you every single night."

Game notes
Doumit (flu-like symptoms) left the game after the sixth inning. He is day-to-day. ... Pirates 1B Doug Mientkiewicz returned to the Pirates from the bereavement list on Friday after being with his wife, Jodi, who is recovering from heart surgery earlier this week. ... Pirates LHP Tom Gorzelanny is expected to be recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis and start Saturday's game against Brewers RHP Jeff Suppan. Gorzelanny was sent down after a poor performance against the Brewers on July 4.





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Cards hammer Braves thanks to Pujols, Wainwright

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Adam Wainwright breezed through the Atlanta Braves' lineup like a pitcher in midseason form instead of a guy who had been out 2 1/2 months.

An offense that racked up its most hits since the Gashouse Gang was in its prime made the return of their opening-day starter a complete success.

"It wasn't fantastic, but it's something I can build on for sure, and I'm glad to be back out here, which is the main thing," Wainwright said after the St. Louis Cardinals' 18-3 romp on Friday night. "Anybody," he added, "could have pitched today."

Wainwright worked six dominant innings in his first start since early June, and Albert Pujols had three hits and three RBIs for the Cardinals.

Their 26 hits was the franchise's most since another 26-hit game on Sept. 23, 1930, at Philadelphia, and their 21 singles was their most in a nine-inning game since July 6, 1929, in the second game of a doubleheader at Philadelphia, and two off the major league record by the Houston Astros in 1976.

"That team had some bad luck," Wainwright said of the Braves. "Everything that we hit fell. It was one of those nights where no matter what we did it was going to be right, and whatever they did was going to be wrong."

Wainwright (7-3) had been out with a sprained middle finger on his right hand. He added a career-high three hits and an RBI. The right-hander, who successfully lobbied against a fourth rehab stint earlier in the week, allowed five hits with four strikeouts and a walk.

"It was more than we should have expected, as far as command," manager Tony La Russa said. "It's hard to believe he could have been that sharp with that much time missed."

Pujols has had 100 RBIs in each of his seven seasons, and is making a drive for eight straight with 32 RBIs in 34 games since the All-Star break. He has 82 RBIs with 32 games to go, 13 behind Ryan Ludwick, who singled twice and walked twice with an RBI.

The first five hitters were a combined 10-for-12 with seven walks and a sacrifice fly the first four times through the order, as the Cardinals pummeled rookie Charlie Morton (3- and two relievers for a 12-1 lead after five innings. Yadier Molina had four hits and four RBIs, Cesar Izturis had four hits, Rick Ankiel had three RBIs and Skip Schumaker had two hits and is 16-for-36 (.444) during an eight-game hitting streak.

Even pitcher Joel Pineiro, 4-for-43 on the year with 30 strikeouts, participated in the romp with an RBI double in the ninth off Julian Tavarez.

The outcome could have been a lot more lopsided, given the Cardinals left the bases loaded twice and stranded 13 runners while knocking the Braves a season-worst 17 games below .500.

"It was frustrating," Brian McCann said. "Definitely very, very, very frustrating. We've got to stop the way we're playing. It's just unacceptable."

Greg Norton hit his 11th career pinch homer and first this season, and McCann threw out consecutive runners attempting to steal in the third for the Braves, including Wainwright on a botched hit-and-run. But Morton retired only four of the 14 batters he faced while walking five.

"Nobody goes out there and tries to throw a ball, but when I tried to bear down I couldn't find it," Morton said. "It wasn't a thing where I couldn't believe I couldn't get them out, it wasn't anything like that."

The Cardinals had been on the fence whether to plug Wainwright, their opening-day starter, into the rotation or as the closer. Rookie Chris Perez made the decision easier, going 4-for-4 in save situations since his call-up earlier this month, and the Cardinals ramped up Wainwright's pitch count during his rehab stint.

Wainwright justified the decision by breezing through a reeling lineup that has lost 11 of 12, needing only 72 pitches.

Wainwright, who lives in St. Simons, Ga., and was a first-round pick of the Braves in 2000, is 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA in six career appearances against his old team.

"It's always a treat to pitch against them," Wainwright said.

Pineiro, bumped from the rotation to make way for Wainwright despite winning all three of his starts this month, allowed two runs and five hits the final three innings for his second career save.

The Cardinals placed former closer Jason Isringhausen on the 15-day disabled list with an elbow injury to make room for Wainwright.

Game notes
The Cardinals' previous season high for hits was 22 on July 12 at Pittsburgh, a 12-11, 10-inning loss, and the previous best for runs was 12 on Aug. 9 at Chicago. ... Chipper Jones was 1-for-4 and is batting .359, six points ahead of Pujols. ... The 18 runs is the most by the Cardinals without hitting a home run in research dating to 1954. ... The margin of victory was the Cardinals' most against the Braves since they won 15-0 on May 7, 1950, in St. Louis.





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Harang gets out of key jam in 5th for first win since June

DENVER (AP) -- Aaron Harang has been going through a nightmare season. On Friday night, he got a brief respite from his struggles.

Harang pitched out of a bases loaded, no-out jam to get his first win in more than two months as the Cincinnati Reds routed the Colorado Rockies 8-5 on Friday night.

"He was dealing tonight," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "I was so glad to get him that win. It had been a long, long time."

Harang (4-13) scattered six hits over six innings to get his first win since beating Boston on June 13, a span of seven starts. He spent four weeks on the disabled list, and he said straightening out his mechanics was more important than ending a two-month winless drought.

"I wasn't too worried about that," Harang said. "I was worried about getting myself back into a normal rhythm."

Thanks to Brandon Phillips' two-run homer in the first and a four-run fourth, Harang was in cruise control. He had an 7-0 lead before the Rockies mounted a serious rally, loading the bases with no outs in the fifth and their 3-4-5 hitters coming to bat. Matt Holliday nearly cleared the bases with a shot down the right field line that curved foul.

"That's a huge situation," Harang said. "He hit that ball hard down the right field line. When he hit it I was a little worried, but with the spin on it I could tell it was going to go foul."

After that scare, Harang got Holliday to pop out to shortstop and then struck out Brad Hawpe and Garret Atkins.

"Anytime you can work through the heart of that lineup with no outs and the bases loaded and come out with no runs, you've done something," Baker said.

Livan Hernandez (1-2) didn't fare as well, allowing eight hits and six earned runs in 3 2/3 innings. In three starts since joining the Rockies on Aug. 10, Hernandez has a 15.32 ERA. In his two Coors Field starts, Hernandez has allowed 15 runs in 6 1/3 innings and failed to get out of the fourth inning in either.

"He's pitched better in the past and we need better from him to keep him in the rotation," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "We got him to pitch innings. Now more often than not the bullpen has had to pick up quite a few innings."

Cincinnati chased Hernandez in the fourth inning Friday, scoring four runs on five singles. Chris Dickerson's two-run single made it 6-0 and ended Hernandez's night.

"I know I don't pitch good and I said I'm sorry to the organization because the last two starts here are horrible," Hernandez said. "I know I have to pitch better than that."

Cincinnati scored runs in the fifth and seventh to extend the lead to 8-0.

"We were seeing a whole lot of balls that were moving," Phillips said. "We were hitting the balls that weren't moving."

Colorado finally broke through against reliever Gary Majewski in the seventh. Holliday singled to bring home Willy Taveras, Atkins doubled to left-center and Ian Stewart, who had a career-high four hits, singled to make it 8-3.

The Rockies scored twice in the eighth to cut the lead to 8-5, and they had runners on second and third in the ninth before Francisco Cordero closed the door for his 25th save in 31 chances.

"It's never easy in this ballpark," Baker said.

The Reds took the lead in the first when Keppinger singled to shortstop and Phillips followed with his 21st homer.

Game notes
Reds RHP Josh Fogg and LHP Jeremy Affeldt received their NL Championship rings before the start of the game. Affeldt and Fogg were part of the Rockies' World Series team last season. ... Taveras stole his major league-leading 60th base. ... Reds RHP Jared Burton (strained right latissimus muscle) threw 30 pitches in a simulated session Friday. Burton has been on the DL since July 10.





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Ross, Marlins stage late rally to stop Big Unit, D-backs

PHOENIX (AP) -- The struggling Florida Marlins broke out of their slump in a most unexpected way, victimizing ageless wonder Randy Johnson.

Cody Ross hit a solo homer and Wes Helms added a tying sacrifice fly in the eighth inning, helping the Marlins, losers of eight of their previous 11 games, rally past the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4 on Friday night.

"One of the better games we've played in the past three or four weeks," Ross said. "We've been struggling, everybody knows it, but we're pulling together."

It spoiled a 13-strikeout performance by Johnson, who pitched seven strong innings but was denied career victory No. 295.

"He certainly pitched well enough to win," Arizona manager Bob Melvin said. "He pitches quite a few games like that, where we don't score a whole lot of runs. Seems like they're always close games."

The Diamondbacks maintained a two-game lead over Los Angeles in the NL West but missed a chance to stretch the lead to three games after the Dodgers lost in Philadelphia.

Arizona's Stephen Drew hit a tying RBI single in the seventh and Chris Young added an RBI double off the wall in left to give the Diamondbacks a 4-3 lead. That would have put Johnson in the win column, but the Marlins struck when Jon Rauch (0-2) replaced Johnson in the eighth.

Josh Willingham led off with what appeared to be a home run, but it bounced off left fielder Connor Jackson's glove as he dropped back to the wall, then hit a bar and fell back into play on the slumped Jackson.

Asked if he's a fan of baseball's instant replay review proposal, Willingham said: "I'm glad I made contact. To get a hit is even better."

Indeed, it was exactly the kind of situation made for replay. Perhaps because they won, the Marlins didn't complain much.

"They did their best," Florida manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "The umpires got together to try to get it right. That's all you can ask for. If this thing [replay] comes along, hopefully it can help out."

The ruling was a triple, and Willingham scored easily when Helms drove the ball deep into left for a sacrifice fly. Florida led 5-4 after one more pitch, when Ross, who hit a two-out RBI double in the fourth, drove it into the left-field stands for his 18th homer.

"I was just trying to get the bat on the ball," Ross said. "Fortunately, I got some good wood on it and it went out."

Rauch left a few sliders over the plate.

"I wish I had an explanation for it," he said. "I have no excuses for it. Just bad execution of pitches and leaving pitches that are way too good in the zone. Obviously, a team like that can swing it a little bit."

Arizona threatened in the bottom of the eighth. Miguel Montero and Augie Ojeda each hit one-out singles, but pinch-hitter Alex Romero lined a shot off the pitcher's mound that second baseman Dan Uggla flipped to begin a double play.

"It caught a perfect break," Ross said. "It was just a momentum changer. It was one of those plays where when you see it and on your team, you say, 'Oh, we're going to win this game.' "

Arthur Rhodes (1-0) got two outs in the seventh to earn the win, his first in the NL after a July 31 trade from Seattle. Kevin Gregg pitched a perfect ninth for his 28th save in 35 chances.

Florida starter Anibal Sanchez hadn't faced the Diamondbacks since throwing a no-hitter against them on Sept. 6, 2006. But he allowed a single to the first batter he faced and gave up five hits by the time Arizona took a 2-0 lead.

He settled down and retired 15 of the next 17 batters through the following 4 1/3 innings. Sanchez wound up pitching 6 1/3 innings, allowing eight hits and four runs. He had seven strikeouts, walked one and hit two batters.

Sanchez left after Drew and Young put Arizona up 4-3, when Gonzalez called for Rhodes. He intentionally walked Jackson to load the bases with one out for Adam Dunn, who'd been batting .194 against lefties.

Rhodes found the corner on a called third strike to retire Dunn, then got Chad Tracy to fly out to center.

"It was a big win for us," Rhodes said. "Everybody did their job."

It also spoiled a big night by the Big Unit. Johnson allowed five hits and three runs, two earned, with an intentional walk. It was his 212th game with at least 10 strikeouts, ranking second all-time behind Nolan Ryan (215).

It was vintage Johnson.

"For a little while, anyway," the 44-year-old Johnson said. "Then I think my age caught up with me and I got a little tired in the last inning. It just seemed like a lot culminated in that one inning."

Twice this season Johnson had 10-strikeout efforts -- May 24 in a loss at Atlanta and during a July 6 win at San Diego.

Game notes
Johnson threw the most strikeouts since he had 15 on Aug. 31, 2004, in a 4-1 loss to the Dodgers. His 116 pitches were his most since throwing 129 on July 19, 2006, against Seattle. ... The Marlins are 6-1 against the Diamondbacks this season. ... Arizona RHP Brandon Webb was sore after being hit by a liner just below his rib cage while earning his 19th win Thursday. He throws a regular bullpen session Saturday. ... Marlins LHP Andrew Miller (patella tendinitis) pitched 5 2/3 innings on a rehab assignment at Double-A Carolina. He gave up two hits and two runs, and makes another start for Carolina next week. ... Florida outrighted RHP Justin Miller to Triple-A Albuquerque.






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Lincecum moves MLB-best strikeout total to 200 in win over Padres

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- One of these days Tim Lincecum believes he'll pitch a complete game. For now, the San Francisco right-hander will settle for leading the major leagues in strikeouts.

Lincecum pitched eight dominant innings and struck out eight to become the first pitcher in the major leagues to reach 200 this season in the Giants' 5-0 win over the San Diego Padres on Friday night.

"It's great to get there," Lincecum said. "I've never had that many strikeouts in any season. It's cool. Everything was going well, everything felt good."

Travis Ishikawa hit a three-run home run and Bengie Molina had two hits and two RBIs for the Giants, who won their third straight and sixth of seven.

Lincecum (14-3) gave up four hits while becoming the ninth pitcher in franchise history to reach 200 strikeouts in a season and the first since Jason Schmidt had 251 in 2004.

The Giants haven't had a pitcher lead the National League in strikeouts since Bill Voiselle (161) in 1944. Currently, only Milwaukee's CC Sabathia (192) is close to Lincecum's total.

"That's quite a milestone for the kid," San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said. "At this stage of the season to have 200 strikeouts, that tells you what incredible stuff he has. What's been impressive is how he's emerged as a pitcher, too. He can throw any pitch any time."

Lincecum walked three and didn't allow a runner to reach third. Two of the walks came with two outs in the eighth but Lincecum got Adrian Gonzalez to fly out to end the inning.

In five starts against the Padres this season, Lincecum has given up only three runs.

"He just doesn't miss very often over the plate and when he does it's going 95 (mph)," San Diego's Jody Gerut said after going 0-for-4. "It's different to have success against him. You basically have to wait for him to make a mistake."

Keiichi Yabu worked a perfect ninth to complete the shutout for San Francisco, which improved to 3-1 on its nine-game homestand.

Cha Seung Baek (4- pitched well except for the fifth inning when the Giants scored all their runs. Baek had a career-high eight strikeouts but lost on the road for the first time this year.

Emmanuel Burriss singled leading off the San Francisco fourth and took third when Fred Lewis hit a bloop double that got Gerut in center field. Molina followed with a two-run double to the gap in left-center. Three batters later, Ishikawa hit a first-pitch homer to make it 5-0.

"[Baek] pitched a solid game but they didn't miss a mistake in the fourth inning," San Diego manager Bud Black said. "Bengie hit it well and the home run was the death blow."

The five-run fourth was more than enough for Lincecum, who hadn't been given more than four runs of support since June 3 when the Giants beat the Chicago Cubs 8-3.

Lincecum pitched ahead in the count most of the game while limiting San Diego to two hits over the first five innings.

Lincecum also continued his dominance of Gonzalez, San Diego's home run leader who struck out three times in four at-bats. Gonzalez has only three hits in 20 career at-bats against Lincecum with eight strikeouts.

San Francisco's young ace, who has yet to pitch a complete game in the majors, shrugged off being pulled after throwing 115 pitches.

"I would have been OK with going out there but there are other guys for that situation," Lincecum said. "They don't need to throw me out there if they don't want to. I'd love to get a complete game in there. But if I don't I'm still just trying to do my job and give them what I can while I'm out there."

Game notes
San Francisco SS Omar Vizquel was in the starting lineup for only the fifth time in the last 21 games. Vizquel went 0-for-3 and his average dropped to .181. ... The Padres optioned IF Brian Myrow to the minors to make room for RHP Dirk Hayhurst, who the team plans to call up from Triple-A Portland and start Saturday. Hayhurst, who was 2-3 with a 3.75 ERA for Portland, will fill the hole in San Diego's rotation left when Greg Maddux was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. ... Padres RHP Chris Young, on the DL with a strained right forearm, will throw on the side before Saturday's game.





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