Mets complete 3-game sweep of St. Louis
NEW YORK (AP) – Carlos Delgado homered for the fourth time in four games, and the New York Mets completed a three-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals with a 6-2 victory Thursday night that extended their winning streak to seven. Shawn Green had a RBI single in his debut for New York, which has won 11 straight at Shea Stadium, its longest home winning streak since September 1995. The Mets (78-48) moved to 30 games over .500 for the first time since 1999 and lead second-place Philadelphia by 141/2 games in the NL East.
Dave Williams (3-3), making just his second start for New York, allowed two runs and seven hits in 6 1-3 innings. Roberto Hernandez and Guillermo Mota combined for perfect relief.
St. Louis, which entered with a one-game lead over Cincinnati in the NL Central, lost for the 18th time in 26 games.
Brewers 12, Rockies 6
MILWAUKEE – Tomo Ohka (4-3) drove in a career-high four runs batting left-handed for the first time in his major league career, and Prince Fielder hit a three-run homer to send Colorado to its sixth straight loss.
Ohka, a right-handed pitcher, drove in runs in his three plate appearances on a catcher’s interference call, a two-run single on a slow roller and an RBI single. Hitting right-handed, Ohka is a .130 batter in his career (30-for-230) with 11 RBIs.
Josh Fogg (9-8) gave up eight runs, eight hits and two walks in 4 2-3 innings and hit two batters.
Cubs 11, Phillies 2
CHICAGO – Aramis Ramirez homered and tripled, and Chicago hit four homers in stopping Philadelphia’s five-game winning streak.
Michael Barrett hit a two-run homer, Angel Pagan added a three-run drive, and Ramirez and Phil Nevin hit back-to-back solo shots as the Cubs broke a four-game losing streak.
Carlos Zambrano (14-5) became the NL’s first 14-game winner, allowing two runs and six hits in seven innings. Cole Hamels (6-7) gave up a season-high nine runs – five earned – and nine hits, which matched his season high.
Twins 11, Orioles 2
BALTIMORE – Michael Cuddyer went 4-for-4 with four RBIs, Joe Mauer had three hits and drove in four runs, and Minnesota cruised past the Orioles.
Justin Morneau and Torii Hunter homered for the Twins, who remained a half-game behind the Chicago White Sox in the AL wild-card race.
Minnesota begins a three-game series against the White Sox on Friday in Chicago.
Boof Bonser (3-4) was solid in his 11th big league start for Minnesota. The rookie right-hander took a four-hit shutout into the seventh. Although he didn’t make it out of the inning, Bonser earned his first win in five starts since June 24. He gave up two runs, seven hits and a walk in 6 2-3 innings.
Orioles starter Kris Benson (10-10) gave up six runs and 10 hits in 3 2-3 innings.
White Sox 10, Tigers 0
DETROIT – Jon Garland pitched a six-hitter and Jermaine Dye homered twice to lift the Chicago White Sox over the Detroit Tigers for a four-game split.
Chicago, which lost the first two games by a combined 11-1, trails the first-place Tigers by 51/2 games in the AL Central and has a slim lead over Minnesota in the wild-card race. Detroit, which has lost five of seven, had a 10-game lead after play on Aug. 7.
Garland (15-4) struck out two and walked one in fifth career shutout.
Rangers 4, Devil Rays 3
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Robinson Tejeda won his second consecutive start since being called up from minor leagues and Carlos Lee hit a solo homer, helping Texas beat Tampa Bay and avoid a four-game sweep.
Tejeda (3-3) gave up two runs and five hits in 7 2-3 innings. He was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma on Saturday to make a start that day and earned a spot in the rotation after giving up one run over 6 2-3 innings in a 3-1 win over Detroit.