May 4, 2008 10 min read

PHOENIX (AP) – Brandon Webb became the majors’ first seven-game winner, Augie Ojeda drove in a career-high six runs and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the New York Mets 10-4 on Saturday. Webb (7-0) matched Randy Johnson in 2000 for the fastest start by a Diamondbacks pitcher.

On the day he was selected NL pitcher of the month for April, Webb went six innings, allowing a season-high four runs. He gave up five hits, walked two and struck out three.

Webb was sailing along with a 5-1 lead when Ryan Church singled and Carlos Beltran walked in the sixth. With two out, Carlos Delgado hit a 1-1 delivery deep into the right-field seats to cut Arizona’s lead to 5-4.

The Diamondbacks responded with five runs in the eighth against Duaner Sanchez.

Mike Pelfrey (2-2) gave up five runs and nine hits in five innings with four walks and a strikeout.

Cubs 9, Cardinals 3

ST. LOUIS – Ted Lilly worked seven solid innings, recorded his 1,000th strikeout and added his second career extra-base hit, leading Chicago over St. Louis.

Mike Fontenot hit a three-run homer and had a career-best four RBIs for Chicago, which finished with 12 hits and won for only the third time in nine games. Geovany Soto had a two-run double in a six-run fourth.

Kyle Lohse (3-1) faced 10 batters in the fourth and allowed eight runs overall in six-plus innings, entering the game with a 2.36 ERA and exiting at 3.79.

Albert Pujols hit his sixth homer for St. Louis and has reached base in all 31 games, two shy of his career-best start in 2005. Yadier Molina also went deep.

Lilly (2-4) hit a season best for innings, allowing three runs and six hits. He is 2-1 with a 2.84 ERA in his last three starts, recovering from an 0-3 record and 9.16 ERA his first four outings.

Astros 6, Brewers 2

HOUSTON – Pitcher Brandon Backe and Michael Bourn hit back-to-back home runs in a five-run fifth inning and Houston beat Milwaukee.

It was the second night in a row the Astros have hit consecutive home runs, after they hit three straight in the series opener.

Backe (2-3) pitched 5 2-3 solid innings for his first win since April 12. He allowed five hits and two runs with three strikeouts and five walks.

Backe and Bourne – not exactly the Astros vaunted “Killer B’s” – came in with five career home runs combined in 316 at-bats.

Manny Parra (1-2) allowed a career-high six runs and tied his career mark with nine hits. He walked four and struck out three in four innings.

Braves 9, Reds 1

ATLANTA – Jo-Jo Reyes gave up one run in 5 1-3 innings, and Atlanta broke open a close game with a six-run seventh inning.

Reyes (1-0), recalled from Triple-A Richmond for the start in place of the injured John Smoltz, gave up four hits and one run in 5 1-3 innings. He walked three and struck out five.

Relievers Jeff Bennett, Will Ohman, Jorge Campillo, Blaine Boyer and Chris Resop finished with 3 2-3 perfect innings.

Reds starter Matt Belisle (1-2) gave up eight hits and two runs in 5 1-3 innings.

Giants 3, Phillies 2, 10 innings

PHILADELPHIA – Bengie Molina singled in the go-ahead run in the 10th inning to lift San Francisco over Philadelphia.

Chase Utley hit his major league-leading 13th homer and Geoff Jenkins had a solo shot for the Phillies, who had won nine of 12.

Fred Lewis had a solo homer for the Giants, who already are 71/2 games behind Arizona in the NL West.

Brian Wilson picked up his 10th save in 12 chances. Jack Taschner (1-0) pitched a scoreless ninth.

Randy Winn singled with one out in the 10th off Rudy Seanez (2-2). After Winn stole second, Molina lined a 3-1 pitch to the left-field wall to drive him in.

Padres 7, Marlins 2

MIAMI – Jake Peavy won for the first time in more than three weeks and Tadahito Iguchi hit the go-ahead two-run double to help San Diego beat Florida.

Peavy (4-1) allowed two runs, five hits, walked two and struck out eight in 5 2-3 innings. It was the 2007 National League Cy Young Award winner’s first win since April 11.

Mike Jacobs homered and Jeremy Hermida had three hits for the Marlins, who have dropped four of five.

Ricky Nolasco (1-3) gave up six runs and 10 hits in 4 2-3 innings. He walked two and struck out two.

San Diego’s Adrian Gonzalez homered off Logan Kensing in the ninth. It was Gonzalez’s third hit of the game and seventh home run of the year.

Yankees 6, Mariners 1

NEW YORK – Johnny Damon homered and doubled twice to help Mike Mussina win his third straight start in the New York Yankees’ victory over the Seattle Mariners.

One day after co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner said he was “disappointed with the way the season has gone,” the Yankees (16-16) rapped out 13 hits and beat Seattle for the second consecutive day following a three-game sweep by the Detroit Tigers in New York.

Damon scored three times and Mussina outpitched Felix Hernandez (2-2), 17 years his junior, for his 254th win.

The slumping Mariners have lost four in a row, managing only seven runs during that stretch, and eight of 10 overall. They fell to 6-11 on the road and made two more errors after committing four in the first three innings of Friday night’s 5-1 loss.

Mussina (4-3) was in control all afternoon, using a sharp curveball and 68 mph changeup to strike out five batters in six strong innings. The 39-year-old right-hander passed Carl Hubbell on the career wins list while tying Jack Morris and Hall of Famer Red Faber for 39th place.

Angels 3, Orioles 1

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Jon Garland pitched three-hit ball for eight innings, Gary Matthews Jr. drove in two runs and the Angels beat Baltimore with slumping slugger Vladimir Guerrero on the bench.

Only four Orioles reached base against Garland (4-3), who allowed one run and retired 18 of his last 19 batters. Francisco Rodriguez pitched a perfect ninth for his 12th save, breaking a tie with Baltimore’s George Sherrill for the major league lead.

Los Angeles pulled ahead 2-1 with a pair of runs in the seventh against Daniel Cabrera (2-1).

Matthews started in right field for the Angels in place of Guerrero, who was given the day off by manager Mike Scioscia. Guerrero is in an 0-for-15 drought, the first time in his career that the eight-time All-Star and 2004 AL MVP has gone hitless in five consecutive games.

Blue Jays 5, White Sox 2

TORONTO – Vernon Wells drove in three runs and Marco Scutaro homered to lead the Blue Jays to the victory.

Jesse Litsch (4-1) gave up two runs and five hits in 7 1-3 innings for Toronto, which has won three straight after losing eight of nine. Wells went 3-for-5 with three singles.

Scott Downs got two outs in the eighth and B.J. Ryan worked the ninth for his fourth save.

Chicago’s Jermaine Dye ended an 0-for-15 streak with a solo home run in the seventh, snapping a streak of 24 2-3 consecutive scoreless innings by Blue Jays pitchers. Toronto had not given up a run since the ninth inning of Wednesday’s 2-1 loss at Boston.

Carlos Quentin also homered for the White Sox, who have lost a season-high four straight. John Danks (2-3) gave up two runs and seven hits in 4 2-3 innings.

Red Sox 12, Rays 4

BOSTON – Manny Ramirez singled in two runs in the first inning to end his longest RBI drought with Boston and Josh Beckett pitched eight innings to help the Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays.

Ramirez also had an RBI double and threw out a runner at the plate. Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz each had three hits and Jason Varitek drove in three runs for Boston, which has won four of five after a five-game losing streak.

The Red Sox can complete the three-game sweep – like the Rays did to them last weekend in St. Petersburg, Fla. – Sunday afternoon when Tampa Bay’s Scott Kazmir is scheduled to make his first start of the season.

Gabe Gross hit a two-run homer and Akinori Iwamura also connected for the Rays, who lost for just the third time in 11 games.

Beckett (3-2) allowing four runs and seven hits, struck out five and walked one.

Ramirez threw out Carlos Pena trying to score on a flyball, ending a fourth-inning rally.

James Shields (3-2) tossed a two-hit shutout in his previous start Sunday against the Red Sox, but he gave up three runs before retiring a batter Saturday night. He lasted only 3 2-3 innings, giving up seven runs and 10 hits.

Jacoby Ellsbury and Pedroia singled in the first before Ortiz hit an RBI double off the Green Monster. Ramirez appeared to ground out when third baseman Evan Longoria fielded his slow roller down the line and threw to first. But plate umpire Bill Welke ruled the ball foul and sent Pedroia back to third from near the dugout. Ramirez came back down into the batter’s box and grounded the next pitch up the middle for a two-run single.

Ramirez had gone 11 games without an RBI since hitting his 496th career homer on April 19, his longest run-producing drought with the Red Sox – where he signed as a free agent in December 2000 – and the second-longest of his career. He had previously gone 12 games twice with Cleveland, the last in June 1997.

Gross homered about eight rows into the right-field seats for his first of the season in the second, but Pedroia had an RBI single in the bottom half.

The Rays cut it to 5-3 on Longoria’s run-scoring single in the fourth, but Beckett escaped a bases-loaded jam on Ramirez’s throw and Varitek’s tag.

Twins 4, Tigers 1

MINNEAPOLIS – Craig Monroe hit a two-run homer off Justin Verlander and Brian Bass picked up his first major league win in relief of injured starter Scott Baker, leading the Minnesota Twins to a victory over the Detroit Tigers.

Bass (1-0) allowed three hits in four scoreless innings, Pat Neshek and Jesse Crain combined to work the eighth, and Joe Nathan pitched the ninth for his 10th save in as many chances.

Michael Cuddyer also drove in two runs for the Twins, who have won four straight.

Curtis Granderson homered for the Tigers, who have cooled off since arriving in Minnesota. After scoring 20 runs in a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees, Detroit has managed only two runs against the Twins in two games. The teams play the final game of their three-game set on Sunday before the Tigers head home for a seven-game homestand against the Boston Red Sox and the Yankees.

Verlander (1-5) retired the first 10 batters he faced but ran into trouble in the fourth. Mike Lamb singled with one out, Joe Mauer doubled and Justin Morneau was intentionally walked to load the bases. Lamb scored on Cuddyer’s groundout to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.

Cuddyer singled in Lamb in the sixth and Monroe hit his second homer of the season after Verlander walked Delmon Young on four pitches with none out in the seventh.

Baker left after three innings with a right groin injury. It was the same injury that forced him to leave a start against Texas a week earlier.

The right-hander was off to a strong start, retiring nine of the 10 batters he faced. Edgar Renteria led off the third with an infield single but Baker retired the next three batters before calling it a night. The team said he was removed as a precaution.

Verlander allowed seven hits and struck out five in seven innings.

Copyright Associated Press 2008