Arroyo shuts down Brewers
Bronson Arroyo struck out eight in eight innings to outpitch Ben Sheets, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 3-1 win over the Brewers last night in Milwaukee.
Arroyo (3-0) allowed a home run on his first pitch, then limited the Brewers to five hits over the rest of his outing. He retired 10 in a row at one point to pin the loss on Sheets (0-2), who struck out 10 in seven innings.
David Weathers pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save in five opportunities.
Brandon Phillips and Felipe Lopez both used their speed to manufacture runs for the Reds. Lopez led off the fourth inning by striking out but reached on Sheets's wild pitch. He stole second, went to third on Adam Dunn's groundout, and scored on Rich Aurilia's RBI single.
Padres 2, Mets 1 -- Brian Giles doubled home Geoff Blum in the bottom of the 14th inning to give San Diego the victory over New York.
Blum led off the inning by singling to center off former Red Sox reliever Chad Bradford, setting the stage for Giles.
The Mets had taken a 1-0 led on Carlos Delgado's home run in the fourth before the Padres tied it an inning later. The teams then traded zeros for eight innings before Giles's heroics.
Nationals 7, Braves 3 -- Alfonso Soriano hit three homers, including a three-run shot in the eighth inning after a wild pitch in the rain allowed the go-ahead run to score for host Washington.
It was Soriano's first three-homer game, and his five RBIs matched his career high. He hit leadoff shots in the first and third innings off John Smoltz, and he now has six homers this season.
The Nationals wasted another strong start from John Patterson, who took a two-hit shutout and 3-0 lead into the eighth, when the Braves tied it.
Cardinals 9, Cubs 3 -- Albert Pujols hit a two-run homer in the first inning for his 1,000th career hit and finished with four RBIs to help St. Louis beat visiting Chicago.
Mark Mulder (2-0) worked eight strong innings and Jim Edmonds homered for the second straight game for the Cardinals, who have won five of six.
Pujols also set a franchise record for April, topping the mark set by Mark McGwire in his 70-homer season in 1998, with nine games to spare.
Astros 3, Pirates 2 -- Morgan Ensberg homered in his franchise-record sixth straight game, hitting a two-run shot to back Wandy Rodriguez and lead host Houston over Pittsburgh.
Ensberg has seven home runs in the last six games and eight overall.
Rodriguez (3-0) allowed five hits, including Jason Bay's solo homer, in six innings.
Dodgers 6, Diamondbacks 3 -- J.D. Drew homered and drove in three runs and Odalis Perez pitched six innings of four-hit ball to improve to 3-0 for host Los Angeles.
Danys Baez worked the ninth for his fourth save. Orlando Hernandez (1-3) allowed three runs and seven hits in six innings for Arizona.
Rockies 9, Giants 8 -- Garrett Atkins's run-scoring single capped a four-run rally in the ninth inning, lifting host Colorado over San Francisco.
The Giants had an 8-5 lead going into the ninth but Tim Worrell (2-1) failed to record an out and was tagged for four earned runs. Barry Bonds went 0 for 2 with three walks and watched his homerless start stretch to 12 games and 30 at-bats.
Marlins 4, Phillies 3 -- Scott Olsen allowed one earned run over 6 2/3 stellar innings, Dan Uggla stole home to spark Florida past Philadelphia, which lost for the eighth time in 10 home games.
White Sox 7, Twins 1 -- Mark Buehrle outpitched Johan Santana, Jim Thome homered in the sixth inning, and host Chicago beat Minnesota for its sixth straight victory.
Buehrle (3-0) allowed four hits over eight innings to get his third straight victory and hand the winless Santana his third loss.
Rangers 13, Devil Rays 7 -- Michael Young had five hits with a career-high five RBIs and Kevin Mench hit a grand slam to lead host Texas over Tampa Bay.
Mench capped a five-run first for the Rangers with his first home run of the season. He also knocked in five runs.
Young broke a 6-all tie with a three-run double in the third and added a two-run double in the fourth.
Tigers 2, Mariners 1 -- Mike Maroth improved to 3-0 and Placido Polanco had a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the sixth inning to help visiting Detroit beat Seattle.
Maroth, who lowered his ERA to 0.49, who came into the game with an 0-2 record and a 15.95 ERA in three previous starts at Safeco Field, pitched six innings and limited the Mariners to four hits, all singles.
Athletics 5, Angels 3 -- Eric Chavez hit a go-ahead two-run homer to help Rich Harden win his third straight start, and host Oakland beat Los Angeles.
Indians 6, Royals 5 -- Jhonny Peralta had a three-run double in the seventh inning and matched his career high with four RBIs in visiting Cleveland's victory over Kansas City, which has lost 11 straight.
