Bedard makes it 9 straight

Erik Bedard struck out 11 over seven innings to win his ninth straight decision, and the Orioles got home runs from Miguel Tejada and Aubrey Huff in a 6-2 victory over the Texas Rangers last night in Baltimore.

Bedard (13-4) increased his AL-leading strikeout total to 218, matching Mike Mussina's club record in 1997. Bedard, who walked none and struck out at least one batter in every inning, has 26 strikeouts in two games against Texas this season.

The Rangers struck out 19 times against Minnesota Sunday, and got a one-day reprieve with a rainoug Monday.

Bedard gave up five hits and two runs, both in the seventh inning. The lefthander is 9-0 in 12 starts since June 15.

Mets 7, Padres 6 -- Carlos Beltran had five RBIs and Luis Castillo singled home the winning run off Trevor Hoffman in the ninth inning, helping New York rally past visiting San Diego.

Hoffman and Billy Wagner struggled in the ninth. Wagner (2-1) gave up a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to Kevin Kouzmanoff that put San Diego up, 6-5, but Hoffman couldn't hold the lead.

Brewers 7, Diamondbacks 4 -- Gabe Gross hit a grand slam to cap a five-run seventh inning for Milwaukee, which has won four of five on the road.

Chris Young hit his team-leading 25th home run for the Diamondbacks, who have lost three straight for the first time since July 15-17.

Cubs 5, Giants 1 -- Cliff Floyd hit a go-ahead two-run single in the ninth inning, rallying Chicago over host San Francisco.

Tim Lincecum (7-4) was three outs from his first complete game when the Cubs finally got to the rookie righthander.

Tigers 2, Indians 1 -- Jair Jurrjens allowed one hit in his second major league start and host Detroit got consecutive homers from Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen to edge Cleveland in the opener of a key three-game series.

Jurrjens (1-1) outpitched Fausto Carmona (14-8) and carried a no-hit bid into the sixth inning until Jhonny Peralta homered with one out for Cleveland's only hit of the game.

Reds 8, Braves 7 -- Brandon Phillips hit a solo homer and a tiebreaking single in the sixth inning, leading host Cincinnati past Atlanta.

Phillips's solo homer in the fifth helped the Reds come from two runs down to tie the game at 7. He broke the tie an inning later with a run-scoring single off Peter Moylan (4-3), who hit two batters during the Reds' go-ahead rally.

Phillies 5, Dodgers 4 -- Aaron Rowand hit a go-ahead homer and Kyle Kendrick remained unbeaten at home, leading Philadelphia over Los Angeles.

Kendrick (6-3) has been a nice surprise since he was called up in mid-June. He allowed four runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings to earn his first win since July 29 and improve to 5-0 in eight home starts.

Cardinals 5, Marlins 2 -- Albert Pujols homered for the fourth straight game and host St. Louis scored four times in the eighth inning to beat Florida.

Mariners 7, Twins 2 -- Adrian Beltre and Richie Sexson hit consecutive home runs, Jarrod Washburn (9-10) won for the first time in seven starts, and visiting Seattle extended its winning streak to five.

Athletics 6, Blue Jays 4 -- Dan Haren (14-4) matched his career high in wins, Dan Johnson had two hits and two RBIs, and visiting Oakland beat Toronto.

White Sox 5, Royals 2 -- Jim Thome hit his 493d career homer, Javier Vazquez (11-6) won his third straight decision, and Bobby Jenks pitched a perfect ninth for his 35th save, leading Chicago past visiting Kansas City.

Rockies 9, Pirates 2 -- Ian Stewart hit a third-inning grand slam in his ninth career at-bat -- one of four Colorado home runs -- and the Rockies overpowered visiting Pittsburgh to close within 2 1/2 games of NL wild-card leaders San Diego and Philadelphia.

Nationals 11, Astros 6 -- Nook Logan had a career-high five hits and Ryan Zimmerman hit a two-run homer and had four RBIs as Washington ended Wandy Rodriguez's six-game unbeaten streak at Minute Maid Park.