Major League Baseball
Mets unleash the power, snap Brewers’ win streak NEW YORK (AP) – David Wright, Carlos Delgado and Damion Easley homered, helping the New York Mets to a 5-4 victory over Milwaukee on Friday night that snapped the Brewers’ six-game winning streak.
Jorge Sosa (2-0) won his second straight start since coming back from the minors and beat Jeff Suppan (5-3), who pitched at Shea Stadium for the first time since helping the St. Louis Cardinals win Game 7 of last year’s NL championship series.
New York took a 4-0 lead in the fourth, won for the seventh time in nine games and cooled off the hottest team in the majors. Milwaukee came to town with a big league-best 24-10 record and had won 10 of 11.
Wright led off with a home run into the left-field bleachers, Carlos Beltran beat out an infield single to first and Delgado hit an opposite-field homer to left. Delgado homered for the second straight game after hitting one in New York’s first 32.
Geoff Jenkins, Prince Fielder and J.J. Hardy homered for the Brewers, whose seven-game lead in the NL Central was the franchise’s largest since divisional play began in 1969.
Phillies 7, Cubs 2
PHILADELPHIA – Pat Burrell homered twice and drove in five runs and Cole Hamels pitched seven strong innings for Philadelphia.
The much-maligned Burrell entered with only one homer and 11 RBIs in 97 at-bats, but he connected twice off Rich Hill (4-2).
Hamels (5-1) allowed two runs on solo homers by Alfonso Soriano and Aramis Ramirez and seven hits. He struck out seven and walked two.
Leading 2-0 in the fourth, Hill got in trouble by walking Aaron Rowand and hitting Chase Utley. Burrell then lined a 2-2 pitch into the left-center field seats to give the Phillies a 3-2 lead. His two-run shot in the sixth made it 5-2 and chased Hill.
Nationals 6, Marlins 0
WASHINGTON – Shawn Hill threw five no-hit innings before leaving with a sore right elbow, helping Washington end an eight-game losing streak.
Hill (3-3) walked two and retired the other 15 batters he faced. He took the mound to start the sixth but left without throwing a pitch. Hill, who had elbow ligament replacement surgery in 2004 and missed all of 2005, will have an MRI exam on Monday and probably will be shut down for a week to 10 days, team doctor Ben Shaffer said.
Four relievers finished up a four-hitter for the Nationals.
Ryan Church drove in Washington’s first two runs off Scott Olsen (3-3) with a groundout in the first and a double in the sixth.
Washington finished with 15 hits, and each of its starting position players wound up with at least one. Cristian Guzman and Brian Schneider contributed three apiece.
Diamondbacks 3, Astros 1
HOUSTON – Brandon Webb pitched his sixth career complete game and Houston native Chris Young homered twice to lead Arizona to the win.
Chad Tracy added an RBI double off Houston starter Chris Sampson (3-3), and the Diamondbacks won for the fourth time in five games.
Young, a 23-year-old rookie center fielder, went to high school a short drive from Minute Maid Park and lives in Houston in the offseason. He had his own cheering section at Friday’s game, a few dozen family members and friends about 20 rows up from the Diamondbacks’ dugout.
Webb (3-2) allowed five hits, struck out 10 and walked one.
Angels 6, Rangers 3
ARLINGTON, Texas – John Lackey pitched into the ninth inning before departing after Sammy Sosa’s 596th career homer and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Texas Rangers.
Lackey (5-3) allowed three runs – all in the ninth – and five hits. He struck out seven and walked one.
Michael Young broke up Lackey’s bid for his sixth career shutout with an RBI double and Sosa added a two-run drive, his eighth of the season. Scot Shields replaced Lackey (5-3) and got the last two outs.
Former Ranger Gary Matthews Jr. had two RBIs for the Angels. Reggie Willits and Orlando Cabrera had two hits apiece.
The Angels opened the season with a three-game sweep of the Rangers. Los Angeles has won 36 of the last 51 meetings.
Orioles 6, Red Sox 3
BOSTON – Nick Markakis and Melvin Mora had four hits apiece, Brian Burres pitched five innings for his first major league victory and Baltimore won its fourth consecutive game.
Markakis singled to start a three-run rally that broke a fifth-inning tie, and the Orioles got help when Red Sox right fielder Wily Mo Pena misplayed two consecutive balls: one went over his head for an RBI ground-rule double, another glanced off his glove for a run-scoring two-base error that made it 5-2.
Burres (1-1) allowed two runs on seven hits, striking out three and walking five. Four relievers bridged the gap to Chris Ray, who pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his eighth save.
White Sox 2, Royals 1
CHICAGO – Jon Garland held Kansas City without a run for eight innings and Chicago won for the fifth time in six games.
Garland (2-2) gave up four hits and a run, walking one and striking out three in 8 1-3 innings, and won his second straight start.
A.J. Pierzynski’s solo homer to right off Odalis Perez (2-4) broke a scoreless tie with two outs in the fourth. Chicago added another run in the fifth when Tadahito Iguchi doubled and scored from third on an error by Royals shortstop Tony Pena Jr., who let Darin Erstad’s grounder roll between his legs.
The Royals broke through against Garland with a run in the ninth on doubles by Esteban German and Mark Grudzielanek.
Lefty Matt Thornton struck Mark Teahen out swinging and Bobby Jenks got Mike Sweeney to line out to third for his 12th save in 13 chances.
Blue Jays 5, Devil Rays 1
TORONTO – A.J. Burnett struck out a season-high 10 to win for the first time in three starts and Toronto ended a nine-game losing streak.
Alex Rios homered for Toronto, which has been riddled with injuries. Staff ace Roy Halladay was whisked to hospital before the game for an appendectomy, sidelining him for four to six weeks. Third baseman Troy Glaus suffered an apparent leg injury while running out a fly ball in the first inning and was replaced by Jason Smith in the second inning.
Tigers 7, Twins 3
MINNEAPOLIS – Mike Maroth allowed one run in 6 2-3 innings, Carlos Guillen homered and drove in four runs and Detroit jumped into first place in the AL Central with its 10th win in the past 11 games.
Maroth (3-0) allowed nine hits and struck out three to get his first victory since April 12. Detroit has won all seven of Maroth’s starts this season.
Johan Santana (4-3) gave up two runs and six hits with six strikeouts in six innings, but once again the struggling Twins offense got going a little too late to help him.
Guillen hit a two-run home run off Juan Rincon in the ninth, finishing a double shy of the cycle, to put the game out of reach. Gary Sheffield also had three hits and a home run.