Pujols powers Cardinals again
Cubs get 6 in 8th to beat Marlins
 Albert Pujols connects for a homer in the first inning against the Pirates last night, his 12th of the season. (AP Photo) |
Albert Pujols hit his major league-leading 12th home run and Chris Carpenter beat the Pittsburgh Pirates for the sixth straight time in the Cardinals' 7-2 victory last night in St. Louis.
Pujols added a run-scoring double for his 28th RBI, also tops in the majors, to help send the Pirates to their fifth straight loss.
Pujols's shot to left in the first off Oliver Perez (1-3) left him one homer shy of the major league record for April shared by Ken Griffey Jr. (1997) and Luis Gonzalez (2001) with six games left.
Carpenter (3-1) worked around eight hits, a walk and a hit batter in six innings, with three strikeouts.
Cubs 6, Marlins 3 -- Jacque Jones hit a three-run homer to cap a six-run eighth inning as host Chicago rallied against Florida's bullpen.
Carlos Zambrano matched a career high with 12 strikeouts but remained winless in five starts this season because Chicago couldn't muster any offense until he was out of the game.
Phillies 6, Rockies 5 -- Cory Lidle struck out 10 and Bobby Abreu drove in three runs to lead host Philadelphia over Colorado.
Chase Utley and Ryan Howard were instant hits in their new spots in Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel's latest batting order. Manuel moved Utley from the fourth or fifth spots to second and batted Howard fifth after stints in the six and seven holes. Utley had three hits and Howard finished 2 for 4 with two RBIs.
Giants 6, Mets 2 -- Moises Alou homered and drove in five runs after a pair of intentional walks to Barry Bonds to lead San Francisco over visiting New York.
Alou, the one the Giants have counted on to come up big behind Bonds, hit a three-run homer in the first inning and then had a two-run single in the seventh.
Brewers 3, Braves 2 -- Chris Capuano pitched seven strong innings and Corey Koskie hit his first home run for Milwaukee in its win over visiting Atlanta.
Capuano (3-2) allowed a leadoff triple to Marcus Giles in the third, then retired 12 of the next 13 batters he faced.
Reds 4, Nationals 2 -- Elizardo Ramirez pitched effectively into the eighth inning for his first major league win and Cincinnati rode some early offense to a victory over Washington.
Washington fell to 1-5 at home this season, and the announced crowd of 19,264 was the smallest at 46,382-capacity RFK Stadium since baseball returned to the capital, eclipsing Sunday night's previous low of 21,569.
Diamondbacks 4, Padres 1 -- Brandon Webb pitched neatly into the ninth inning and Johnny Estrada hit a two-run double to lead Arizona in San Diego.
Webb (3-0) allowed six hits, struck out four, and walked none.
Mariners 4, White Sox 3 -- Yuniesky Betancourt singled with two outs in the 11th inning to give host Seattle the victory, ending Chicago's eight-game winning streak.
Chicago intentionally walked Jeremy Reed in front of Betancourt even though Reed was 2 for 16 in the past week. Betancourt was 7 for 18 during the same span.
Athletics 3, Rangers 2 -- Nick Swisher and Eric Chavez hit back-to-back home runs in the sixth, and Joe Blanton pitched six solid innings to help lift Oakland in Arlington, Texas.
Swisher homered for the third straight game, a two-run shot.
Angels 3, Tigers 0 -- Ervin Santana outpitched Kenny Rogers with six sharp innings, Tim Salmon homered and drove in two runs, and Los Angeles snapped Detroit's five-game winning streak, in Anaheim, Calif.
Santana (2-0) threw 111 pitches, combining with three relievers on the Angels' first shutout of the season.
