Major League Baseball roundup
Pujols collects 1,000th career hit as Cardinals beat Cubs, 9-3 ST. LOUIS (AP) – Albert Pujols hit a two-run homer in the first inning for his 1,000th career hit and finished with four RBIs to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 9-3 on Friday night.
The game was the first for the Cubs since losing NL batting champion Derrek Lee for at least two months with two broken bones above his wrist. Lee’s bat could not have saved the Cubs in the opener of a three-game series, with starter Jerome Williams (0-2) getting pounded for seven runs in 1 1-3 innings.
Mark Mulder (2-0) worked eight strong innings and Jim Edmonds homered for the second straight game for the Cardinals, who have won five of six.
The only damage off Mulder, who retired 13 of his last 14 batters, was a three-run homer in the fourth by Michael Barrett.
Pujols tied Todd Helton of the Rockies as the second-fastest active player to reach 1,000 hits with his 11th homer. He and Helton needed 3,003 at-bats, 26 more than Ichiro Suzuki of the Mariners.
Reds 3, Brewers 1
MILWAUKEE – Bronson Arroyo struck out eight in eight innings to outpitch Ben Sheets in Cincinnati’s victory.
Arroyo (3-0) allowed Gabe Gross’ home run on his first pitch, then limited the Brewers to five hits the rest of his outing. Arroyo retired 10 in a row at one point to pin the loss on Sheets (0-2), who struck out 10 in seven innings.
David Weathers pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save.
Marlins 4, Phillies 3
PHILADELPHIA – Scott Olsen limited the Phillies to one earned run in 6 2-3 innings, and Dan Uggla stole home to help Florida take a 4-0 lead in the fifth.
The 22-year-old Olsen (1-1) allowed eight hits, seven of them singles. Joe Borowski worked the ninth for his second save.
Jon Lieber (0-4) was the loser for the Phillies, 2-8 at home.
Indians 6, Royals 5
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Jhonny Peralta had a three-run double in the seventh inning and matched his career high with four RBIs in Cleveland’s victory over Kansas City.
The Royals have lost 11 straight games to drop to a major league-worst 2-13. They have only two longer losing streaks in franchise history – 12 games in 1997 and 19 games last season. The Royals have been outscored 78-32 during the skid.
Ronnie Belliard led off the seventh with a single off Elmer Dessens (1-1), and Grady Sizemore’s infield single and Jason Michaels’ walk loaded the bases with two out. Peralta then hit Dessens’ first pitch of the at-bat into the left-field corner.
Danny Graves (2-0) retired the only batter he faced in the sixth to pick up the victory.
Blue Jays 7, Red Sox 6
TORONTO – Lyle Overbay doubled in the winning run in the 12th inning and the Toronto Blue Jays overcame Manny Ramirez’s first two homers of the season for a victory over the Boston Red Sox.
Trying to protect a 6-2 lead in the eighth, Boston starter Josh Beckett got a Toronto rally going by plunking Aaron Hill. Russ Adams followed with a homer and Vernon Wells chased Beckett with his second homer of the game to cut Boston’s lead to 6-5.
Mike Timlin relieved and allowed a tying home to Troy Glaus.
Keith Foulke (0-1) walked Glaus with two outs in the 12th before Rudy Seanez relieved and allowed Overbay’s double to left center. Glaus slid headfirst for the winning run.
Orioles 6, Yankees 5
NEW YORK – Kris Benson pitched just well enough to escape trouble and Kevin Millar hit a go-ahead, two-run single in the sixth inning in Baltimore’s victory Friday night.
Dealt by the Mets to Baltimore during the offseason, perhaps because of attention-grabbing wife Anna, Benson (2-2) never retired the side in order. He allowed four runs – three earned – and eight hits in 5 1-3 innings, and rookie reliever Sandy Rleal got out of a two-on jam he inherited in the sixth. Chris Ray loaded the bases in the ninth before getting his sixth save in six chances.
Millar spent the previous three seasons with Boston, helping the Red Sox beat the Yankees in 2004 en route to their first World Series title since 1918. He was booed loudly each time he came to the plate, and got a pair of big hits for the Orioles.
After doubling and scoring to spark a three-run third against Chien-Ming Wang (1-1), Millar got the key hit of the game.
Robinson Cano hit a two-run homer for New York.
White Sox 7, Twins 1
CHICAGO – Mark Buehrle outpitched Johan Santana, and Jim Thome his his eighth homer in the sixth inning to help the White Sox win their sixth straight game.
Buehrle (3-0) allowed four hits over eight innings to get his third straight victory as the defending World Series champions won for the 10th time in 11 games. He lost his shutout when Lew Ford hit a two-out homer in the eighth.
Santana dropped to 0-3.
Rangers 13, Devil Rays 7
ARLINGTON, Texas – Michael Young had five hits with a career-high five RBIs and Kevin Mench hit a grand slam for Texas.
Mench capped a five-run first for the Rangers with his first home run of the season and second career grand slam.
He also knocked in five runs to match a career high.
Young broke a 6-all tie with a three-run double in the third and added a two-run double in the fourth. He equaled a career high by going 5-for-5.
C.J. Wilson (1-0) won in relief, and Seth McClung (1-3) was the loser.
Phil Nevin also homered for Texas. Ty Wigginton hit his seventh home run and Russell Branyan also homered for Tampa Bay.