Major League Baseball
Phillies end four-game losing streak PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Ryan Howard and Pedro Feliz hit solo homers in the eighth inning and Philadelphia ended a four-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory over St. Louis on Wednesday night.
Howard drove an 0-2 pitch from Kyle McClellan (1-4) for his 25th homer, rallying the Phillies after they blew a 2-0 lead. Feliz added his shot off Chris Perez.
Brad Lidge retired Albert Pujols on a fly ball and struck out Rick Ankiel with two on to earn his 20th save.
Howard tied All-Star teammate Chase Utley for the NL home run lead. Howard’s 80 RBIs lead the league, and he set a team record for most RBIs before the All-Star break.
Clay Condrey (2-1) struck out the side for the Phillies in a scoreless eighth.
Jimmy Rollins and Howard each drove in a run in the fifth, ending Philadelphia’s scoreless streak at 16 innings.
Pujols had a sacrifice fly and Troy Glaus snapped an 0-for-21 skid with a two-out RBI single in the seventh to tie the game at 2.
Mets 5, Giants 0
NEW YORK – Johan Santana tossed five effective innings before his night was cut short by a rain delay, but New York won its fifth straight.
Ramon Castro had a three-run homer, and Carlos Delgado had three hits and is batting .429 (15-for-35) in nine games this month.
The Giants have lost four of five and were shut out for the second straight game for the first time since Oakland did it June 9-10 last year, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Santana (8-7) was 0-4 despite a 2.48 ERA in his previous six starts. He allowed three hits, walked three and struck out five in his shortest outing since he went three innings in his final start for Minnesota, a 9-4 loss at Detroit on Sept. 26.
Cubs 5, Reds 1
CHICAGO – Carlos Zambrano allowed one hit over eight innings – a second-inning homer by Adam Dunn – and retired the final 20 batters for Chicago.
In his second start since coming off the disabled list with a right shoulder strain, Zambrano (10-3) walked none and struck out five.
Carlos Marmol relieved to start the ninth and gave up a two-out single to Jay Bruce and walked two. Kerry Wood relieved and got Brandon Phillips to foul out to earn his 23rd save.
Other than Dunn’s 23rd homer, the only Reds’ baserunner against Zambrano was Jeff Keppinger, who reached on shortstop Aramis Ramirez’s one-out error in the first.
Ramirez hit his 16th homer in the sixth to break a 1-1 tie.
Johnny Cueto (7-9) gave up eight hits and five runs, four earned, in 6 2-3 innings.
Rockies 8, Brewers 3
MILWAUKEE – Garrett Atkins hit two homers for Colorado and Glendon Rusch won as a starter for the first time in exactly two years.
Rusch (2-3) had not won as a starter since beating the Brewers on July 9, 2006, in his last start for the Chicago Cubs. He missed all of last season while recovering from a blood clot in his lung, and took a loss in his only other start for Colorado this year.
Rusch, who was recalled from Triple-A on Saturday, went six innings, giving up one run and five hits with four strikeouts and no walks.
Brewers starter Ben Sheets (10-3) struck out season-high 11 over six innings, giving up three runs and five hits.
The Rockies led 4-3 going into the eighth, and scored four runs off reliever Guillermo Mota, including Atkins’ 14th homer.
Nationals 5, Diamondbacks 0
WASHINGTON – Jesus Flores’ three-run, pinch-hit homer in the sixth inning to lead Washington, which snapped a six-game losing streak.
Nationals starter John Lannan (5-9) allowed two hits and walked three in six shutout innings for his first victory since May 18.
The Nationals’ first shutout since May 19 was completed by Joel Hanrahan, Luis Ayala and Jon Rauch with one inning each of relief.
Diamondbacks starter Micah Owings (6-8) hit three batters and walked five over 5 2-3 innings. Reliever Connor Robertson allowed a two-out RBI double to Kory Casto and Flores’ three-run shot, his first career homer as a pinch-hitter.
Marlins 5, Padres 2
SAN DIEGO – Scott Olsen allowed four hits over eight innings, and Mike Jacobs and Hanley Ramirez homered for Florida.
Olsen appeared to be in line for his first major league complete game, but he was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the ninth as the Marlins sent eight batters to the plate and scored twice.
Olsen (5-4) allowed one run and broke his career-worst winless streak of 11 games, during which he was 0-3 with a 5.31 ERA.
Joe Nelson allowed Chase Headley’s RBI single before Kevin Gregg got two outs for his 17th save.
White Sox 7, Royals 6
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Carlos Quentin hit a pair of two-run homers and the Chicago White Sox fought back from a five-run deficit to score the go-ahead run on an eighth-inning balk in a 7-6 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.
Quentin, voted onto the AL All-Star team, hit his 20th home run in the fourth inning off Royals starter Brian Bannister to begin the rally. Quentin added a second homer off Bannister in the sixth, helping send the White Sox to their 11th win in 13 games.
Adam Russell (3-0) got one out for the win, and Octavio Dotel struck out the side in the ninth for his first save in three opportunities for the AL Central leaders.
Trailing 6-5, the White Sox caught up and went ahead in the eighth after Orlando Cabrera walked leading off against reliever Robinson Tejeda.
Cabrera stole second and third, and after Tejeda walked Quentin, Jim Thome’s single tied the game. Plate umpire Dan Iassogna called a balk on Ramon Ramirez moments later, allowing Quentin to score the go-ahead run.
Copyright Associated Press 2008