Phillies get boost from Thome HR
Jim Thome hit his major league-leading 30th homer and fell a triple short of the cycle, pacing the Philadelphia Phillies past the Mets, 8-2, yesterday at New York. Reliever Rheal Cormier pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth for the first-place Phillies, who have won two in a row after losing the series opener. The Mets dropped back to .500 (45-45), three games behind Philadelphia in the East.
Randy Wolf (4-5) allowed one run and six hits in 5 1/3 innings to win for just the second time in 10 starts.
Tom Glavine (7-8) allowed four runs -- two earned -- in 6 1/3 innings and has lost five straight starts for the first time in his career.
Trailing, 4-1, in the sixth, New York blew a prime opportunity after loading the bases with one out against Wolf. Mike Piazza, booed earlier in the game as his batting slump reached 0 for 16, homered on a 2-1 pitch from Tim Worrell into the camera stantion in center -- 435 feet away -- to lead off the eighth, making it 4-2.
Braves 6, Expos 2 -- Marcus Giles hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the seventh for host Atlanta and Russ Ortiz (11-6) improved to 4-0 this season against Montreal.J.D. Drew and Adam LaRoche had solo shots for the Braves, who won for the 14th time in 18 games and stayed one game behind Philadelphia in the East.
Reds 7, Cardinals 5 -- Adam Dunn hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the eighth, enabling host Cincinnati to cool off St. Louis. The Cardinals, who overcame a 4-0 deficit, had won 10 of their previous 11 games.
Padres 7, Astros 4 -- Mark Loretta sparked a five-run fifth with a two-run homer and David Wells (5-5) won his third straight decision, spurring visiting San Diego past reeling Houston. The Astros (44-46), who replaced Jimy Williams with Phil Garner as manager Wednesday, have dropped four straight and eight of 10, falling two games below .500 for the first time since they were 0-2 April 6. They remained a season-high 12 games behind Central-leading St. Louis.
Cubs 5, Brewers 0 -- Greg Maddux (8-7) pitched a six-hitter for his first complete game in exactly one year and his first shutout in precisely three years, earning his 297th win and leading host Chicago past Milwaukee. Sammy Sosa hit his 556th homer and Moises Alou also homered for the Cubs.
Dodgers 7, Diamondbacks 6 -- Pinch hitter Robin Ventura hit a two-run homer in the ninth, lifting visiting Los Angeles. Jason Grabowski had an RBI single earlier in the inning off Mike Koplove, who hit two batters, walked one, and gave up three runs while getting one out.
Giants 4, Rockies 0 -- Jason Schmidt (12-2) allowed four hits in eight innings for his 12th straight win, pitching San Francisco past Colorado in Denver. The Giants managed just three hits, including a two-run double by Barry Bonds in the eighth after being walked twice.
Pirates 4, Marlins 2 -- Tike Redman's tying single sparked a three-run rally against two All-Star pitchers in the eighth, and Pittsburgh extended its longest home winning streak in 26 years by beating Florida.
