Aug 18, 2006 5 min read

SAN DIEGO (AP) – Rookie Kevin Frandsen hit his first homer and Pedro Feliz also connected to lead the San Francisco Giants to an 8-4 win over the sputtering San Diego Padres on Thursday and a four-game sweep. San Francisco is 9-1 against the Padres since July 1. San Diego (60-61) has lost eight of 10 overall, dropping from the NL West lead to third and falling below .500 for the first time since May 6. The Padres trail first-place Los Angeles by four games and the last-place Giants are six back of the Dodgers.

Giants rookie Matt Cain (9-9) allowed one hit, struck out eight and walked six in 5 1-3 innings. Josh Barfield hit a pinch grand slam off Jack Taschner in the ninth.

Cardinals 2, Reds 1

ST. LOUIS – Scott Rolen hit a tying home run in the seventh off Kyle Lohse and a winning single in the ninth against Ryan Franklin (2-6), boosting the Cardinals’ NL Central lead back to 21/2 games over the second-place Reds.

Ken Griffey Jr. put Cincinnati ahead in the seventh against Jeff Weaver with his 25th homer of the season, the 561st of his career. The drive, which came after Griffey fouled off six straight pitches, was his 1,042nd extra-base hit, breaking a tie with Pete Rose for 20th place.

Astros 7, Brewers 3

MILWAUKEE – Lance Berkman and Aubrey Huff homered off Ben Sheets and the Houston Astros beat the Milwaukee Brewers to stop a five-game losing streak.

Jason Hirsch allowed three runs and three hits in 5 1-3 innings for his first major league win. Hirsch (1-1) walked four and struck out five in his second career start.

Mets 7, Phillies 2

PHILADELPHIA – Carlos Delgado ended a 21/2-week homer drought by connecting twice and driving in four runs as New York avoided a four-game sweep. Carlos Beltran also hit a solo shot for the Mets, who have a 13-game lead over second-place Philadelphia in the NL East.

John Maine (3-3) allowed two runs and eight hits in six innings, and New York reopened a 13-game NL East lead over the second-place Phillies.

Ryan Howard tied David Ortiz for the major league lead with his 42nd homer as the Phillies remained 21/2 games behind NL wild card-leading Cincinnati.

Braves 5, Nationals 0

WASHINGTON – Oscar Villarreal (9-1) pitched five innings of one-hit ball in his first start since April 8, 2003. He became the 12th starter used by the Braves this season.

Edgar Renteria stopped an 0-for-24 skid with three singles and two RBIs, and Brian McCann homered.

Rockies 8, Diamondbacks 4

DENVER – Colorado took a 6-0 lead in the second inning against Brandon Webb (13-5), who walked a season-high five in six innings and gave up five runs and eight hits.

Josh Fogg (9-7) improved to 5-0 in his career against Arizona, giving up three runs and seven hits in five-plus innings. Ryan Spilborghs homered and threw out a runner out at the plate from left field.

Orioles 12, Yankees 2

NEW YORK – Brian Roberts led off the game with a home run, and Nick Markakis and Fernando Tatis also connected to lead the Baltimore Orioles to a that left the New York Yankees staggering a bit heading into their big weekend series in Boston.

New York’s AL East lead over second-place Boston was cut to 11/2 games heading into a five-game series at Fenway Park that starts with a day-night doubleheader Friday. The Yankees lost two of three to the Orioles and have dropped seven of their last 12.

Baltimore drew five walks, four from Jaret Wright (9-7), and turned all of them into runs. Wright (9-7) lasted just three-plus innings and allowed only two hits.

White Sox 5, Royals 4

CHICAGO – Bobby Jenks got Mike Sweeney to ground into a game-ending double play with the bases loaded, and Chicago increased its AL wild-card lead.

Mark Buehrle (10-10), 0-6 in his previous eight starts, allowed two runs and six hits over six innings to get the win. Jenks got four outs for his 34th save in 36 chances.

Chicago took a two-game lead in the wild card over Minnesota, which lost to Cleveland 3-2.

For the first time in major league history, both teams hit leadoff home runs in the first two innings, the Elias Sports Bureau said.

Indians 3, Twins 2

MINNEAPOLIS – Paul Byrd pitched his first complete game in more than a year, scattering seven hits to lead the Indians to the win.

Byrd (8-6) struck out three and walked none in his 14th complete game, his first since July 1, 2005, for the Los Angeles Angels at Kansas City.

Cleveland, which leads with the major leagues with 10 complete games, stopped a five-game road losing streak and avoided a three-game sweep.

Hector Luna had an RBI triple, and Joe Inglett and Victor Martinez each had a sacrifice fly, helping Byrd improve to 5-1 at the Metrodome.

Tigers 4, Rangers 2

DETROIT – Kenny Rogers (12-6) allowed two runs and five-plus innings to win for the first time since July 5. He had been 0-3 in his previous six starts.

Carlos Guillen homered and Ivan Rodriguez also had three hits for Detroit. Todd Jones worked the ninth for his 34th save.

Edinson Volquez (1-2) gave up three runs and eight hits in 3 2-3 innings.

Bench coach Don Wakamatsu ran the Rangers as manager Buck Showalter started a four-game suspension that resulted from hit batters during games against the Los Angeles Angels.

Blue Jays 6, Devil Rays 2

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Bengie Molina hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer against Brian Meadows (2-4) during a four-run eighth inning and came within a double of hitting for the cycle.

A.J. Burnett (5-5) won his third straight start, giving up two runs and four hits in seven innings.

Tampa Bay’s Scott Kazmir allowed two hits and struck out 10 in five scoreless innings, his second start after missing almost three weeks due to left shoulder inflammation.