MIAMI — Dan Uggla hit a game-ending grand slam with one out in the ninth inning and Florida beat Philadelphia 6-2 on Wednesday, their second victory in as many nights against the NL East leaders.
Jorge Cantu homered twice for the Marlins off Cole Hamels, who was nearly flawless otherwise. Hamels struck out 13 in eight innings.
Tom Gordon (5-3) relieved Hamels to start the ninth and gave up a single to Cantu and two walks. Uggla hit his 19th home run.
It was the second game-ending slam in Marlins history: Bobby Bonilla did it in 1997 against Colorado.
Kevin Gregg (5-2) got the win after blowing his fourth save in 16 chances. Chase Utley, who leads the majors with 21 homers, beat out a double-play relay to drive in the tying run in the ninth.
Pirates 3, Nationals 1
PITTSBURGH — Ryan Doumit homered for the third time in two games for Pittsburgh and Ian Snell pitched into the seventh inning to earn his first win in 11 starts.
Doumit singled twice and Freddy Sanchez had two hits and scored a run for the Pirates, who have won three of four. A day after blowing his first save of the season, Matt Capps earned his 16th save by getting Elijah Dukes to ground into a game-ending double play.
Dukes had an RBI single for Washington, which has lost nine of 11 — scoring a total of nine runs in those losses.
Doumit’s solo shot in the fifth was his eighth of the season.
Snell (3-6) hadn’t won since April 12 and had lost six straight decisions. He allowed one run, six hits and three walks in six-plus innings, striking out six.
Cardinals 10, Reds 0
CINCINNATI — Rick Ankiel and Jason LaRue homered off Johnny Cueto, and St. Louis’ Braden Looper pitched a three-hitter for his first career shutout.
Ryan Ludwick also homered for the Cardinals, who won their fourth straight.
Looper (8-5) has alternated losses and wins in his last six starts. The Reds got only two runners into scoring position against Looper, who hadn’t gone more than 8 1/3 innings in any of his 43 previous starts.
Cueto (5-6) walked eight in five innings, the most by a Reds pitcher since left-hander Steve Avery walked nine Diamondbacks on June 29, 1999.
St. Louis had three walks and two homers in the first. Ankiel hit a three-run homer, his second in two games, and LaRue added a two-run shot, his first since July 31.
Cubs 7, Braves 2
CHICAGO — Ryan Dempster pitched a four-hitter and struck out 11 in his first complete game in almost five years but Chicago lost star leadoff hitter Alfonso Soriano for up to six weeks with a broken left hand after he was hit by a pitch.
Soriano was hit by Atlanta starter Jeff Bennett in the second inning, left the game and went to a hospital for X-rays.
Dempster (8-2) last went the distance Sept. 25, 2002, when he led Cincinnati over the Cubs. Dempster, the closer-turned-starter, is 8-0 this season at Wrigley Field, while the Cubs improved to 28-8 at home.
Kosuke Fukudome hit a three-run homer in the first off Bennett (0-4). Pinch-hitter Corky Miller had a two-run homer for the Braves.
Braves star Chipper Jones, who didn’t start the last two games because of a small tear in his right quadriceps, went 1-for-3 and his average dropped to .419. He was not able to run at full speed and left the game after striking out in the top of the sixth.
Mets 5, Diamondbacks 3 (13)
NEW YORK — Carlos Beltran hit a two-run homer with two outs in the 13th inning, and New York overcame another blown save by Billy Wagner to snap a five-game losing streak.
Arizona third baseman Mark Reynolds tied it by hitting a three-run shot off Wagner with two outs in the ninth inning.
That cost Mike Pelfrey a win in the best outing of his big league career. He set career highs by striking out eight in eight-plus innings.
Beltran lined a 1-2 pitch from Edgar Gonzalez (1-3) to right-center for the fifth game-ending homer of his career and first since Aug. 22, 2006, off St. Louis reliever Jason Isringhausen.
Beltran had a two-run single in the fourth.
With two on in the top of the 13th, Claudio Vargas (3-2) got Conor Jackson to ground into an inning-ending double play. The NL West leaders have dropped 15 of 22.
Brewers 10, Astros 6
HOUSTON — Corey Hart hit two of Milwaukee’s season-high five home runs and the Brewers snapped a five-game losing streak at Minute Maid Park.
Miguel Tejada, Carlos Lee and Ty Wigginton hit solo homers for the Astros, who have lost 10 of 13.
Brandon Backe (4-8) gave up three homers — to Russell Branyan, Mike Cameron and Hart. Jason Kendall added a two-run shot in the fifth off Tim Byrdak and Hart connected again off Chris Sampson in the eighth.
The Astros led 3-1 after Tejada and Lee hit solo homers in the third off Manny Parra (5-2).
Branyan and Cameron hit back-to-back homers in the fourth to tie the game. Kendall then doubled and one out later, Hart homered to put the Brewers up 5-3.
Rockies 1, Giants 0
DENVER — Garret Atkins scored on Yorvit Torrealba’s bases-loaded fly ball in the ninth inning for Colorado.
Atkins was initially called out by umpire Fieldin Culbreth. But Culbreth saw that Giants catcher Bengie Molina had dropped the ball while making a swipe tag and ruled Atkins safe. Molina was charged with an error on the play.
It was the fifth 1-0 game in Coors Field history and the first since Aug. 1, 2006.
Atkins drew a leadoff walk from Keiichi Yabu (2-3) and moved to third on Brad Hawpe’s single. After Chris Iannetta walked, Jack Taschner relieved and retired pinch-hitter Jeff Baker on a shallow fly and Torrealba followed with the fly ball to left fielder Fred Lewis.
Brian Fuentes (1-2) pitched the ninth to get the win.
Starting pitchers Ubaldo Jimenez and Tim Lincecum both went seven innings before leaving for pinch hitters.
Padres 4, Dodgers 1
SAN DIEGO — Randy Wolf combined with two relievers on a five-hitter, and rookie Edgar Gonzalez and Khalil Greene hit solo homers for San Diego.
Wolf (5-4) had his fifth straight outing where he allowed two runs or fewer, giving up four hits in seven innings.
Gonzalez homered in the first inning off Chad Billingsley, his first major league home run. Greene connected with two outs in the second to put San Diego ahead 2-0.
The win was the Padres’ fifth in six games.
Trevor Hoffman pitched the ninth for his 15th save in 18 chances.
Wolf allowed one run on four hits in six innings.
Billingsley (4-7) gave up four runs and eight hits over seven innings.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
