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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   ADDITIONAL ITEMS • mlb (External Link)   CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Sunday, June 22, 2008 Baseball roundup: Cubs pound White Sox Associated Press CHICAGO -- The Cubs own the best record in the majors and it sure looks as if they're the top team in their own town, too. Jim Edmonds homered twice, Mike Fontenot went deep and Aramis Ramirez added a three-run shot, all during a nine-run fourth inning Saturday that helped the Cubs beat the White Sox 11-7 to win for the second straight day in the meeting of first-place teams. The Cubs hit back-to-back homers twice in the fourth inning -- the second straight day they've hit consecutive homers against their city rivals -- and finished with 15 hits. They've now won 13 straight at Wrigley Field, where they are 31-8 this season. The White Sox led 4-1 after two-run homers from Jermaine Dye and DeWayne Wise, before the Cubs jumped all over Jose Contreras (6-6), combining eight hits, including the four homers, into their biggest inning of the season. The outburst made it easy for Jason Marquis (6-3) to win his fourth straight start and fifth straight decision. He gave up eight hits and five runs in seven innings and also collected two hits. Marlins 6, Athletics 4 OAKLAND, Calif. -- Dan Uggla hit a tiebreaking three-run double in the ninth, and the Marlins got to Oakland closer Huston Street for the second straight game. Cody Ross hit a tying solo homer off Alan Embree with two outs in the eighth, then Uggla lined a double to the wall in left with two outs in the ninth. Street (1-2) blew a save opportunity Friday night and surrendered two home runs before the A's won in 11 innings. Renyel Pinto (2-2) pitched a perfect eighth with two strikeouts for the victory and Kevin Gregg allowed Kurt Suzuki's RBI single and faced a bases-loaded jam before finishing for his 13th save in 17 chances. Gregg needed 34 pitches to wrap up the win. Tigers 7, Padres 5 SAN DIEGO -- Marcus Thames' two-run, pinch-hit homer in the seventh inning lifted Nate Robertson and the Tigers to a win over the Padres. The Tigers, who won for the ninth time in 11 games, also got a two-run home run by Magglio Ordonez, whose fly ball to deep center bounced off Jody Gerut's glove and over the fence in the third inning. Ordonez ended the eighth by throwing out Khalil Greene trying to score from second base on Michael Barrett's single to right. Ordonez fielded the ball on one bounce and his one-hop throw to catcher Brandon Inge was in time to get Greene. Rockies 7, Mets 1 DENVER -- Garrett Atkins and Brad Hawpe homered on Pedro Martinez's first two pitches in the fifth inning, touching off a six-run burst that led the Rockies over New York. Martinez (2-1) cruised through the first four innings before the Rockies broke loose. Ubaldo Jimenez (2-7) pitched eight strong innings for his first win in more than two months. He limited the Mets to one run and two hits -- he also singled twice and scored a run. Martinez lasted just 4 1/3 innings, his shortest outing since coming off the disabled list June 3. He'd struck out five before Atkins homered over the left-field wall and Hawpe hit a drive to right. Cardinals 9, Red Sox 3 BOSTON -- Troy Glaus hit a grand slam and St. Louis rocked Daisuke Matsuzaka in his return from the disabled list. On the DL since May 30 because of a mild strain in his rotator cuff, Matsuzaka (8-1) was tagged for seven runs in one-plus inning. It was shortest outing of his brief major league career. Mitchell Boggs (2-0) pitched effectively into the sixth inning in his third big league start. Aaron Miles and Rick Ankiel also homered for St. Louis. The Cardinals had scored just four runs in their previous three games before defeating Boston 5-4 Friday night. J.D. Drew homered for the Red Sox, who lost for just the fourth time in 24 home games. Indians 7, Dodgers 2 (11) LOS ANGELES -- Pitcher C.C. Sabathia hit a tape-measure home run and struck out 10, highlighting Cleveland's win over the Dodgers. Jamey Carroll opened a six-run 11th with a single and capped the burst with a sacrifice fly. Sabathia launched a home run estimated at 440 feet and improved to 12-for-40 (.300) lifetime as a hitter. He has two career homers and seven RBI. He allowed one run and five hits over seven innings, and improved his league-leading strikeout total to 107. Cory Wade (0-1) took the loss. Masahide Kobayashi (4-3) pitched a perfect 10th inning for the victory and Scott Elarton finished up, allowing an RBI double by James Loney. Angels 6, Phillies 2 PHILADELPHIA -- Erick Aybar hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the eighth inning and Vladimir Guerrero connected twice to back another strong performance by Joe Saunders, and Los Angeles beat Philadelphia. Saunders (11-3) allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings. He had 15 career victories entering this season, but is now tied with Arizona's Brandon Webb for most wins in the majors. The left-hander hadn't allowed a runner past first base until running into trouble with two outs in the seventh. But the Angels quickly answered off Brett Myers (3-9). Chone Figgins singled with two outs and Aybar followed with a drive to right field for his third career homer in 393 at-bats. Aybar entered the game in the third inning because shortstop Maicer Izturis left with tightness in his right hamstring. The Angels have won the first two games in this interleague matchup of division leaders. Since sweeping a three-game series in Atlanta earlier this month, the Phillies are 3-8, including their first four-game losing streak of the season. Reds 6, Yankees 0 NEW YORK -- Edwin Encarnacion broke up an unlikely pitchers' duel with a two-run single in the seventh inning and Cincinnati beat New York. Encarnacion's two-out hit off Dan Giese (1-2) gave Cincinnati the lead and Corey Patterson followed with a drive to right off Jose Veras for his 100th career homer. Brandon Phillips tacked on a two-run single in the eighth. Daryl Thompson worked five innings in his major league debut for Cincinnati, which has won the first two games in its first trip to the Bronx since it swept New York in the 1976 World Series. Thompson and Giese locked up in the first matchup of pitchers making their first major league start at Yankee Stadium since Boston's Tony Welzer faced New York's Myles Thompson on April 22, 1926, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Bill Bray (2-0) followed Thompson with 1 1/3 innings, David Weathers got two outs and Jared Burton worked the eighth before Jeremy Affeldt finished the seven-hitter. Rays 4, Astros 3 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Pinch-hitter Gabe Gross doubled with the bases loaded, driving in two runs in the bottom of ninth inning to give Tampa Bay its sixth win in eight games, pulling the Rays within a half-game of Boston in the AL East. With Houston leading 3-2 in the ninth, Astros manager Cecil Cooper turned to Doug Brocail (2-3) instead of calling on closer Jose Valverde to finish the game. It turned out to be the wrong move; Brocail failed to record an out. Gross was the third straight pinch hitter to come through for the Rays, who got a leadoff single from Cliff Floyd off Brocail. The Houston pitcher then allowed pinch-hitter Eric Hinske to single and hit pinch-hitter Dioner Navarro with a pitch to load the bases for Gross. The Astros have lost nine of 10. Their 4-3 win over the Rays on Friday night was their only win since June 10. Former Astros pitcher Dan Wheeler (2-3) got the win for the Rays. Brewers 3, Orioles 2 MILWAUKEE -- Corey Hart hit a two-run homer, Seth McClung continued his superb June and Milwaukee snapped Baltimore's four-game winning streak. The Brewers won for the fifth time in six games overall and for the 11th time in their last 14 home games. McClung (5-3), a one-time reliever, struck out six and improved to 3-1 with a 2.55 ERA this month. He gave up two runs and three hits with five walks in 6 2/3 innings, retiring 12 of the first 13 batters. Daniel Cabrera (5-3), who had struggled with 17 walks over his previous five starts, struck out a season-high eight in six innings and didn't allow a free pass until the fifth. He gave up three runs and seven hits with three walks in all. Pirates 6, Blue Jays 3 PITTSBURGH -- Jason Bay, Raul Chavez and Jose Bautista each hit two-run homers, helping Pittsburgh extend Toronto's season-high losing streak to seven games. Rod Barajas had two hits and two RBIs and Vernon Wells had two hits and scored two runs for the Blue Jays, who lost for the second consecutive night in Pittsburgh under new manager Cito Gaston. Bautista had three hits and Matt Capps pitched a perfect ninth for his 17th save. Paul Maholm (5-5) gave up three runs on seven hits and three walks in seven innings to win his third straight decision in six starts since May 20. Jesse Litsch (7-4) only allowed six baserunners during his six innings of work -- but they all scored. He gave up five hits and a walk to lose his third consecutive decision. Twins 6, Diamondbacks 1 MINNEAPOLIS -- Joe Mauer started a six-run seventh inning for Minnesota with a surprise bunt single, and Nick Blackburn pitched seven shutout innings to get the Twins their fifth straight victory. Blackburn (6-4) surrendered only three hits, two by Stephen Drew, and struck out three. He threw just 89 pitches. Stepping in to start the seventh, Mauer bent down on a first-pitch fastball from Micah Owings (6-6) and sent a bunt toward replacement third baseman Augie Ojeda. Mauer barely beat it out, but then Justin Morneau followed with an RBI double that tied the game and the rout was on -- ruining a solid performance by the previously struggling Owings. Royals 5, Giants 3 KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Gil Meche won consecutive starts for the first time this season, Jose Guillen hit a two-run homer and Kansas City defeated San Francisco. Meche lost his shutout in the sixth when Fred Lewis and Ray Durham led off with singles. Randy Winn hit a comebacker, but Meche's throwing error to second allowed Lewis to score and Durham to take third, and Bengie Molina followed with a sacrifice fly that made it 3-2. Guillen, who is fourth in the American League with 57 RBI, connected in the seventh off reliever Billy Sadler. It was his 12th homer of the year and 39th extra-base hit. Meche (5-8) was pulled after 101 pitches in 5 2/3 innings. He allowed two runs, one earned, on three hits and two walks while striking out seven. Kevin Correia (1-5) was making just his second start since missing six weeks with a left intercostal strain. He worked five innings and allowed three runs on six hits, while walking four and striking out two. Rangers 13, Nationals 3 WASHINGTON -- Kason Gabbard won for the first time since April 4, David Murphy and Ramon Vazquez had three RBIs each and Texas beat Washington. Ian Kinsler led the game off with a fly ball that left fielder Wily Mo Pena deflected into the visitors bullpen for a home run, his 11th. The Rangers scored seven runs in the seventh on a two-run single by Michael Young, RBI singles by Josh Hamilton and Murphy, and a bases-loaded double by Vazquez. The seven runs equaled Texas' biggest inning of the season. The Nationals have lost eight of their last 10 home games and 14 of 20 overall. Gabbard (2-3) was staked to 3-0 lead before he threw a pitch on Kinsler's homer and a two-run double by Murphy off Garrett Mock (0-2).

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