Capuano shuts down Cubs in Brewers’ 2-0 win
MILWAUKEE(AP) – Chris Capuano pitched a five-hit shutout to continue his mastery of the Cubs as Milwaukee beat Chicago 2-0 on Thursday night. Capuano (10-4) gave up five hits, struck out four and walked none for his second career shutout and complete game. The left-hander has not allowed a run in 26 innings over three starts – all wins – against the Cubs this season. He shut out Chicago in a 9-0 victory on April 30.
Before the game, the Brewers said Capuano placed second in fan voting for the final National League All-Star spot behind the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Nomar Garciaparra.
Cubs starter Greg Maddux (7-9) gave up six hits and two runs in six innings to drop to 7-9, meaning he will likely go into the All-Star break with a losing record for only the second time since 1991 and fourth time in his career.
Maddux is now 2-9 since starting the year 5-0.
The win lifted the Brewers back over .500 for the first time since May 29.
Milwaukee scored both of its runs in the fifth. Gabe Gross led off with a double, and two batters later Rickie Weeks doubled him in. Geoff Jenkins drove in Weeks with a single.
Jenkins had two hits against Maddux to push his career average against him to .446.
Astros 4, Cardinals 2
HOUSTON (AP) – Mike Lamb homered in the first inning and the Houston Astros went on to a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, their fifth win in six games.
Taylor Buchholz (6-6) pitched six solid innings for Houston and Brad Lidge got four outs to earn his 21st save and 14th in his last 15 opportunities.
Jim Edmonds homered for St. Louis, which lost for the 10th time in its last 11 road games.
The Cardinals’ starting pitchers had an 8.30 ERA in their last 15 games and Sidney Ponson (4-4) looked like he might be in for a rough night when Lamb hit his eighth homer to right in the first. Ponson did not allow a home run in his last five starts.
Buchholz, meanwhile, wasn’t as sharp as he was in his last start, when he allowed two hits in seven innings in a 7-0 win overt Texas.
Buchholz beaned Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina leading off the third and Molina was replaced by Gary Bennett. Molina suffered a mild concussion.
Braves 8, Reds 7
ATLANTA (AP) – Jeff Francoeur’s two-out single in the 10th inning drove in Chipper Jones with the winning run as the Atlanta Braves recovered from a ninth-inning collapse to beat the Cincinnati Reds.
Despite rallying with five runs in the ninth, the Reds lost their sixth straight.
Jones hit a one-out double, his third hit of the game, in the 10th. Todd Coffey (3-4) struck out Andruw Jones before intentionally walking Brian McCann to face Francoeur, who laced a single to left. Jones just beat Adam Dunn’s throw to the plate.
Ken Ray (1-0) earned the win, pitching around two walks in the top of the 10th.
The Braves blew a 7-2 lead in the ninth. Starter Tim Hudson gave up singles to Dunn and Austin Kearns before reliever Macay McBride gave up a single to Scott Hatteberg to load the bases.
Braves closer Jorge Sosa struck out Edwin Encarnacion before giving up a two-run double to David Ross and a three-run homer to pinch-hitter Javier Valentin.
Braves fans booed after Sosa gave up a fly ball caught by Andruw Jones in front of the wall in center to end the inning.
Andruw Jones drove in four runs, including three with his 19th homer, as the Braves built the early lead.
Jones’ homer capped a four-run first inning for the Braves, who won for the fifth time in seven games.
Padres 5, Phillies 3
PHILADELPHIA – Rookie Josh Barfield had a career-high four hits to help the San Diego Padres win their second straight game with a victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Chan Ho Park (6-4) survived a shaky start to earn his fourth win in his last five decisions. He gave up three runs and nine hits with six strikeouts and two walks.
Scott Linebrink worked a scoreless eighth and Trevor Hoffman pitched a perfect ninth for his 22nd save in 23 chances.
The Padres, who had 12 hits, won for the seventh time in 11 games.
Chase Utley had two doubles and two runs scored for Philadelphia, which has lost eight straight series since sweeping Arizona on June 5-7. The Phillies are 6-19 since then.
San Diego rallied for three runs to take a 5-3 lead in the fifth off starter Ryan Madson (8-6). Brian Giles had an RBI double, Mike Cameron scored on a wild pitch and Adrian Gonzalez delivered an RBI single to lead the Padres.
Nationals 8, Marlins 7
WASHINGTON – Ryan Zimmerman’s two-out RBI-single in the 11th inning gave Washington a victory over Florida.
Zimmerman hit a 3-1 pitch from reliever Jason Vargas through the middle to score Brian Schneider, who had started the inning by reaching base on an error by shortstop Hanley Ramirez.
Zimmerman entered the game leading the National League with 34 hits with runners in scoring position. The RBI was his 58th, tops among all rookies in the majors.
The Nationals won three of four from the Marlins, who have lost four of five.
Chad Cordero (5-3) pitched two innings for the victory. Vargas (1-2) was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque earlier in the day.
Red Sox 12, Devil Rays 5
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – David Ortiz hit his AL-leading 28th and 29th home runs, the latter a ninth-inning grand slam that broke open a close game and helped the Boston Red Sox avoid a four-game sweep by Tampa Bay.
Ortiz, who drove in six runs, has six homers in his last six games. The grand slam off Shawn Camp was his second of the season and sixth of his career. It was his first anywhere except Fenway Park.
Manny Ramirez and Doug Mirabelli also went deep for the Red Sox, who led 6-5 before loading the bases with no outs in the ninth on two singles and a walk. Ortiz drilled the first pitch over the wall left-center for a career-best 82 RBIs before the All-Star break.
Yankees 10, Indians 4
CLEVELAND – Jason Giambi and Derek Jeter both drove in three runs and Randy Johnson, ejected in the seventh inning the last time he faced Cleveland, stuck around until the eighth, leading the New York Yankees to a victory over the Indians.
Johnson (10-7), who dominated early, allowed three runs and seven hits in 7 2-3 innings. The five-time Cy Young Award winner picked up his 273rd career win, moving him into a tie for 30th place with Red Ruffing.
In his first start at Jacobs Field since 1998, Johnson walked none and struck out five. He took a 10-1 lead into the eighth before tiring, but improved to 13-4 in his career against the Indians.
On June 14 at Yankee Stadium, Johnson was thrown out in the seventh inning of a 6-1 win for throwing at former Cleveland first baseman Eduardo Perez. The next day, Major League Baseball slapped him with a five-game suspension.
This time, Johnson dealt the punishment.
Royals 6, Blue Jays 2
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Mark Redman, Kansas City’s lone selection to the All-Star game, allowed five hits in eight-plus innings and Mark Teahen homered and doubled in the Royals’ victory over Toronto.
Redman, who is 6-0 with a 4.05 ERA in his past seven starts, did not allow a hit until Vernon Wells’ line drive single in the fourth. Redman gave up both runs, walked two and struck out two. He lowered his ERA from 6.88 after his first seven starts to 5.27. He is 4-0 with a 2.12 ERA in five career starts against the Blue Jays.
Wells led off the ninth with his 21st home run and Troy Glaus singled to knock out Redman. Joe Peralta came on and retired three straight hitters.
The Royals (30-54) have won 12 of their last 17 games. The Blue Jays have lost three of the first four games on their seven-game road trip and have dropped five games behind first-place Boston in the AL East.
Teahen, who has a career-high nine-game hitting streak, homered to lead off the second. Doug Mientkiewicz and Emil Brown both drove in two runs, while Tony Graffanino had two hits and scored three runs.