Patterson shuts out Dodgers
John Patterson struck out a career-high 13 in his first complete game shutout and Brad Wilkerson hit a grand slam to lead Washington past the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-0, last night for the Nationals' first series victory in a month.
Patterson allowed four hits and no walks, facing just two batters over the minimum and never allowing a runner past second base. He struck out everyone in the Dodgers' starting lineup at least once, getting Jeff Kent, Jose Valentin, Oscar Robles, and Dioner Navarro twice each.
Vinny Castilla, who entered the night batting .108 over his last 12 games, hit an RBI double to make it 1-0 in the fourth. He moved to third on a ground out, then scored on a ground out by Cristian Guzman, who came into the game hitting .189 and collected his first RBI since June 20.
Braves 7, Reds 4 -- Andruw Jones hit his 33d home run to take over the league lead and Jeff Francoeur also homered as Atlanta overcame Sean Casey's two home runs and four RBIs to win at Cincinnati.
Francoeur and Rafael Furcal each drove in two runs to help rookie Kyle Davies improve to 4-1 in his last seven starts. The first-place Braves have won nine of 12 to maintain their 4 1/2-game lead over Washington.
Marlins 4, Cardinals 3 -- Miguel Cabrera had four hits and A.J. Burnett pitched into the eighth inning, helping Florida win in St. Louis to split a four-game series.
Jeff Conine, Cabrera, and Paul Lo Duca -- the Marlins' 3-4-5 hitters -- went 9 for 11 against Jeff Suppan with three RBIs.
Diamondbacks 7, Astros 3 -- Troy Glaus hit a two-run homer and Shawn Green and Tony Clark also connected, powering Arizona over Houston at Phoenix.
Craig Counsell drove in a run and Glaus also doubled for Arizona, which avoided getting swept by Houston in a series for the first time.
Padres 12, Pirates 7 -- Brian Lawrence beat his brother-in-law, Mike Redman, and kept visiting San Diego in first place.
Brewers 12, Mets 9 -- Geoff Jenkins went 5 for 5 and drove in the tying run, keying a five-run rally in the ninth for visiting Milwaukee.
Phillies 6, Cubs 4 -- Bobby Abreu's grand slam snapped a 25-game homerless skid and Todd Pratt and Chase Utley added solo shots, leading host Philadelphia.
Giants 6, Rockies 4 -- Lance Niekro broke out of an 0-for-13 slump with a tiebreaking, two-run double in the eighth and host San Francisco snapped a four-game losing streak.
