Sanders, Marquis, Pujols homer in Cards’ 11-9 win
HOUSTON (AP) – Reggie Sanders hit a grand slam and pitcher Jason Marquis added a two-run homer during an eight-run third inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals held off the Houston Astros 11-9 Saturday. Sanders went 4-for-4 with five RBIs, Marquis was 3-for-3 with two hits in the third and Albert Pujols homered in the eighth to help preserve the victory for the Cardinals, who have won 11 of 15.
Jason Isringhausen got three outs for his 17th save in 18 chances, rebounding quickly after his first blown save against Colorado on Thursday.
The Cardinals have won five straight and six of seven against the last-place Astros, a totally different club than the one they beat in seven games in the NL championship series last fall.
Now missing the big bats of All-Stars Carlos Beltran and Jeff Kent, Houston ranks last in the majors in hitting and scoring – and last in the NL Central standings.
But the Astros responded with one of their best offensive performances of late, tying their third-highest scoring output of the season.
And it still wasn’t enough against the division-leading Cardinals.
Marquis (7-3) gave up six runs and 10 hits in 5 2-3 innings for his second straight win. He made up for a shaky performance on the mound with a career high-tying three hits and did just enough to outpitch struggling Astros rookie Wandy Rodriguez.
Coming off his first career win in his previous start last Saturday, Rodriguez (1-2) was roughed up early during a dreadful home debut.
Sanders’ run-scoring double in the first was only a preview of the outburst to come in the third.
The Cardinals sent 11 batters to the plate, starting with consecutive singles by Marquis and David Eckstein. With runners at second and third and one out, Pujols was intentionally walked to load the bases. Sanders followed with the second grand slam of his 13-year career, giving St. Louis a 5-1 lead.
Rodriguez was clearly shaken after that, cursing loudly, and angrily shaking his head after watching the ball sail out of the park.
Mark Grudzielanek followed with a single, Larry Walker added a run-scoring triple, Scott Seabol had an RBI single and Marquis chased Rodriguez with a two-run shot that put the Cardinals up 9-1.
Brandon Backe ended the inning by getting Eckstein on a popup.
Rodriguez allowed nine runs and nine hits in 2 2-3 innings, striking out four and walking two. He has an ERA of 10.67 in three starts since he was called up from Triple-A Round Rock.
The Astros simply couldn’t overcome Rodriguez’s poor start.
Lance Berkman and Adam Everett had run-scoring singles, and Jason Lane grounded into a double play to score Craig Biggio in the fourth, cutting the Cardinals’ lead to 9-4. Chris Burke added an RBI double in the fifth.
Abraham Nunez, pinch-hitting for Seabol, singled in Sanders to give St. Louis a 10-5 lead in the sixth.
But the Astros got an RBI single from rookie catcher Humberto Quintero in the bottom half, and Berkman added a two-run homer in the seventh to close the gap to 10-8.
Pujols connected in the eighth off Chad Harville to give Isringhausen a little more cushion.
Mets 5, Giants 1
NEW YORK – Tom Glavine pitched effectively into the eighth inning and New York defeated San Francisco, sending the Giants to their eighth straight loss.
Mike Cameron homered off Noah Lowry (2-6) and Mike Piazza hit a two-run single for the Mets, who have won three in a row and six of eight.
The Giants are on their longest losing streak since also dropping eight straight in May 2000. They finished that season with the best record in baseball.
Glavine (4-5) scattered nine hits over 7 2-3 innings for his 266th win, tying Bob Feller and Eppa Rixley for 32nd on the career list. He gave up a home run to Moises Alou, who had four hits.
Phillies 10, D’backs 6
PHILADELPHIA – Bobby Abreu homered twice and drove in four runs, Jim Thome also connected and Vicente Padilla won for only the second time this year to help Philadelphia beat Arizona in the first game of a doubleheader.
The Phillies (28-27) moved above .500 for the first time since they were 7-6 on April 18 thanks to their fourth straight win and 13th in 19 games overall.
Philadelphia roughed up Javier Vazquez (5-4) and finished with 14 hits, including three each from Kenny Lofton and Chase Utley, who singled, doubled and tripled. Mike Lieberthal had three RBIs to back Padilla (2-5).
Nationals 7, Marlins 3
WASHINGTON – Nationals outfielder Marlon Byrd knocked over one umpire during an argument with another, an ugly moment in Washington’s victory over Florida.
In a rare big-margin victory for the Nationals, Vinny Castilla hit a three-run double, Nick Johnson drove in two runs, and even slumping Cristian Guzman contributed two hits and an RBI.
But the night’s most talked-about moment surely will be Byrd’s outburst. It came after he was called out on strikes to end the sixth, when first-base umpire Bill Miller ruled that Byrd went around on a checked swing with the count full.
Byrd, thinking he had drawn a walk, was about halfway to first when he realized Miller had called him out. Byrd began arguing with the umpire, and first-base coach Don Buford stepped between them.
As the Nationals took the field for the top of the seventh, Byrd continued arguing on his way to left, and Miller ejected him.
Byrd then headed toward Miller, and second-base umpire Joe Brinkman tried to get in the player’s way. They collided, sending Brinkman tumbling to his back on the infield dirt. He was attended to by a Washington trainer.
Several Nationals players and manager Frank Robinson ran over toward Miller, and eventually Byrd walked off the field.
It marred what should have been an enjoyable night for Washington, which led 4-3 after five innings and tacked on one run in the seventh and two in the eighth off relievers.
The Nationals have won six of seven – but this was the first victory in that stretch by more than two runs.
The Marlins, meanwhile, have lost nine of 11, dropping a half-game behind Washington in the NL East. Florida left 14 runners on base.
Washington starter Tomo Ohka allowed one run in each of the first three innings, on Miguel Cabrera’s RBI double in the first, Juan Pierre’s RBI double in the second and Juan Encarnacion’s eighth homer of the season leading off the third.
That allowed the Marlins to tie the game after trailing 3-0 following Castilla’s double in the first inning off Al Leiter (2-6), who loaded the bases by hitting two batters with pitches after giving up a single.
Leiter appeared to tire in the fifth, when his pitch count reached 100, and the Nationals went ahead 4-3. Jamey Carroll doubled with one out, went to third on Jose Guillen’s flyout and scored on Johnson’s single.
Leiter was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the next half-inning, ending his outing after four runs, six hits, three walks and three strikeouts. In his last six starts, the veteran left-hander is 1-4 with a 7.90 ERA.
When Ohka gave up a single and a walk in the fourth, bringing Cabrera to the plate, Robinson came out to make a change. Ohka kept his back to the dugout and clutched the ball as Robinson made the slow walk to the mound. It appeared as though Robinson had to grab the ball from the right-hander – an awkward exchange similar to one between the manager and starter Zach Day last month.
Ohka’s line: 3 1-3 innings, two earned runs, seven hits, a wild pitch and a hit batsman. He had a rough beginning to the season, going 1-3 with a 5.85 ERA through April 23, making the team worry that he might be injured. But Ohka turned things around, going 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in his last four starts before Saturday.
Sun-woo Kim (1-0) entered for just his second appearance of the season and needed only five pitches to get out of the inning. He struck out Cabrera on three straight 92 mph fastballs, then got Encarnacion to fly out.
Kim got into a bit of trouble in the sixth, allowing two-out singles to Luis Castillo and Carlos Delgado to put runners on the corners. But Cabrera grounded out to end the threat.