Brewers enjoy power surge

Watching his Brewers hit three home runs to open their game against Cincinnati yesterday left Milwaukee manager Ned Yost a little nervous.

"It was nice, but you know the balls are flying out of here," Yost said.

They certainly were.

After Rickie Weeks, J.J. Hardy, and Ryan Braun connected off Phil Dumatrait, making Milwaukee the third team in major league history to open a game with three straight home runs, the Brewers added three more homers in a 10-5 victory over the Reds.

"That was pretty cool," Braun said. "I was never part of something like that before."

Weeks and Braun each hit another homer and Hardy added two doubles - all in the first four innings - to give Milwaukee sole possession of first place in the National League Central.

The Brewers began the day tied for the lead with the Chicago Cubs, who lost, 10-5, at Pittsburgh.

Johnny Estrada also homered to give Milwaukee six in the game.

San Diego's Marvell Wynne, Tony Gwynn, and John Kruk became the first trio to open a game with consecutive home runs April 13, 1987, off Roger Mason in a 13-6 loss to San Francisco at San Diego.

Atlanta's Rafael Furcal, Mark DeRosa, and Gary Sheffield hit consecutive home runs off the Reds' Jeff Austin to start a 15-3 win at Cincinnati May 28, 2003.

Mariners 14, Tigers 7 - Ichiro Suzuki scored in each of the first four innings and Seattle won for only the second time in 15 games to beat host Detroit and remain five games behind the Yankees in the American League wild-card race.

Felix Hernandez (12-7) earned the win despite giving up seven runs - six earned - and 10 hits with three walks over five innings plus.

Detroit's Curtis Granderson joined Willie Mays and Frank Schulte as the only players in major league history with 20 stolen bases, 20 homers, 20 triples, and 20 doubles in a season.

Indians 6, Angels 2 - Ryan Garko hit a three-run homer, Asdrubal Cabrera had two RBIs and Cleveland beat host Los Angeles to split a four-game series between AL division leaders.

Cleveland's 13th victory in 16 tries increased its Central lead to six games over Detroit. The first-place Angels have an eight-game cushion over Seattle in the West.

Mets 4, Astros 1 - Pedro Martinez tossed five shutout innings in his first start at home this season, outpitching Roy Oswalt and leading host New York to the win.

Martinez (2-0) scattered six hits and struck out four against the skidding Astros.

Giants 4, Dodgers 2 - Pinch hitter Ray Durham hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the eighth inning and host San Francisco spoiled another chance for Los Angeles to gain ground in the playoff race. The Dodgers are 2 1/2 games back of San Diego in the NL wild-card chase.

Diamondbacks 6, Cardinals 5 - Jose Valverde retired pinch hitter Yadier Molina with the bases loaded for the final out, and NL West-leading Arizona held off visiting St. Louis for its fifth straight victory.

Twins 5, White Sox 2 - Jason Kubel hit a three-run homer, Johan Santana (15-11) struck out 10 in seven innings, and visiting Minnesota snapped a six-game losing streak.

Pirates 10, Cubs 5 - Freddy Sanchez's bases-loaded triple highlighted host Pittsburgh's six-run second inning as the Pirates knocked Chicago from first place in the NL Central.

Rockies 4, Padres 2 - Garrett Atkins hit a two-run homer and Todd Helton had two of host Colorado's four hits to help the Rockies close within three games of San Diego in the NL wild-card race.

Phillies 8, Marlins 5 - Pat Burrell homered and drove in three runs for host Philadelphia, and Jamie Moyer (13-11) overcame one awful inning to remain unbeaten against Florida.

Devil Rays 3, Blue Jays 2 - Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena hit consecutive homers in the sixth inning, and James Shields (12-8) allowed four hits through seven games to lead host Tampa Bay.

Nationals 7, Braves 4 - Ryan Church hit a three-run homer and D'Angelo Jimenez drove in three runs for visiting Washington.

Rangers 12, Athletics 9 - Sammy Sosa socked a three-run homer to cap an eight-run second inning, then drove in another run as host Texas completed a three-game sweep.