Major League baseball roundup
Jones homers twice as Braves top Phils in NL East showdown PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Chipper Jones hit two homers and tied his career-high with five RBIs, helping Atlanta avert a four-game sweep with a 6-4 victory over Philadelphia on Thursday night.
The Braves extended their lead in the NL East over the Phillies and Florida Marlins to six games. Houston, which beat Florida 4-1 on Thursday night, moved to the front of the wild-card standings, one-half game ahead of Philadelphia and Florida.
Jorge Sosa (12-3) allowed two runs and seven hits in 5 2-3 innings for the Braves and Adam LaRoche had a solo homer.
Jones hit a three-run homer in the third inning and a two-run shot in the seventh for his 32nd career multihomer game.
Brett Myers (12-8) allowed four runs and five hits in six innings. He was 0-2 and the Phillies lost all three of his starts during this 10-game homestand.
Astros 4, Marlins 1
HOUSTON – Andy Pettitte allowed one run over eight innings to win his sixth straight start and Houston moved back in front of the wild-card race.
The Astros (78-68) took a half-game lead over Florida and Philadelphia, which lost to Atlanta, in the wild-card race. Houston and Florida split their four-game series, the last games against each other this season.
Pettitte (16-9) scattered five hits and struck out five. Aside from Miguel Cabrera’s 32nd homer leading off the seventh, the left-hander allowed five baserunners, three of whom were erased by double-play grounders.
Brad Lidge struck out the side in the ninth for his 37th save in 40 chances.
Brad Ausmus and Craig Biggio homered in the fifth to give the Astros a 3-0 lead.
Florida rookie Jason Vargas (5-4) went five innings and lost his third straight decision over four starts.
Brewers 14, D’backs 2
PHOENIX – Bill Hall had a career-high five hits and Chad Moeller drove in four runs for Milwaukee.
Jeff Cirillo went 3-for-4 with two walks and three RBIs, including a two-run homer against reliever Jason Bulger in the sixth inning to make it 14-0.
Carlos Lee had a two-run shot for the Brewers, who won for the seventh time in 10 games. Milwaukee had 19 hits and tied a season high with its 14 runs.
Tomo Ohka (11-8) allowed two runs and four hits and drove in two runs. He struck out seven and improved to 4-1 in his last seven starts.
Shawn Estes (7-8) gave up seven runs on six hits and three walks in 2 2-3 innings.
Nationals 6, Mets 5
NEW YORK – Vinny Castilla drove in the go-ahead run with a two-out single in the 10th inning and Washington completed the three-game sweep of New York.
Cliff Floyd hit a grand slam and Jose Reyes also homered for the Mets, who have lost 15 of 18.
New York fought back from a three-run deficit to take the lead, but closer Braden Looper blew a save in the ninth and the Mets fell to 2-12 in September.
Roberto Hernandez (6-6) walked Nick Johnson to open the 10th and Preston Wilson followed with his fourth hit to move Johnson to third.
Castilla’s single broke the tie.
Jason Bergmann (2-0) pitched one inning and Gary Majewski worked the 11th for his first save.
Royals 7, White Sox 5
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – John Buck hit a two-run double to key Kansas City’s four-run seventh inning, and the Royals beat Chicago to cut the White Sox’s lead over idle Cleveland in the AL Central to 41/2 games.
The Royals started the season losing 10 straight to Chicago but has won two in a row and five of the last eight.
Athletics 6, Red Sox 2
BOSTON – Mark Kotsay singled in two runs before Curt Schilling recorded his first out, and Mark Ellis also drove in a pair of runs as Oakland beat Boston.
The East-leading Red Sox fell to 11/2 games in front of the New York Yankees, who beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 9-5; the Yankees had not been that close since Aug. 29.
Rangers 4, Mariners 3
ARLINGTON, Texas – Michael Young reached 200 hits for the third straight season and Gary Matthews Jr. had a tiebreaking sacrifice fly to lead the Texas Rangers over the Seattle Mariners.
Kameron Loe (9-5) pitched 5 1-3 innings and left with the 3-2 lead despite making three errors in his sixth major league start.
He allowed two runs and six hits, struck out two and walked four.
Loe had two throwing errors and a fielding miscue, but Seattle scored only one unearned run as a result of the errors and left 13 runners on base.
Yankees 9, Devil Rays 5
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Alex Rodriguez hit his 42nd home run and Robinson Cano erased a four-run deficit with a grand slam, helping Aaron Small and New York rally to beat Tampa Bay.
Small (8-0) became the first pitcher to win his first eight decisions with the Yankees since Doug Bird in 1980 and ’81, and New York’s fourth straight win continued its strong push in the AL East and wild-card races. Coupled with Boston’s loss to Oakland, the Yankees pulled 11/2 games behind the Red Sox in the division and one-half game of idle Cleveland for the AL wild card.