Utley gets call, extends streak
Chase Utley extended his hitting streak to 34 games when the official scorer changed his call on an eighth-inning grounder, then added a single in the ninth to help the Philadelphia Phillies rout the Cardinals, 16-8, last night in St. Louis.
Utley was 0 for 4 when, with the Phillies leading, 11-7, he hit a bouncer to the third-base side of the pitchers' mound. Reliever Randy Flores, a lefthander, grabbed the ball with his glove hand as his momentum carried him toward third. He briefly hesitated to check Shane Victorino, the runner off third, and then turned and threw wide and late to first.
Official scorer Mike Smith initially ruled it a fielder's choice but after watching replays, Smith changed his call to a hit.
Utley is batting 59 for 147 (.401) during the streak, which is four games behind Jimmy Rollins's franchise-record 38-game streak that included 36 games last year and the first two this season.
Rollins homered twice, including his 16th career leadoff homer, and scored a career-high five runs and had four RBIs. Brett Myers (7-5) hung on for the win after getting knocked out in the Cardinals' four-run seventh.
Rangers 10, Twins 2 -- Kip Wells gave up one run in five-plus innings in his first start for Texas and Mark Teixeira homered twice, as Minnesota suffered its first losing homestand this season.
Acquired in a deadline-day trade with Pittsburgh, Wells got his first win as an American Leaguer since 2001.
Boof Bonser (2-3), an emergency callup to fill in for injured rookie lefthander Francisco Liriano, lasted only four innings and left trailing, 7-0.
A's 3, Angels 2 -- Mark Kotsay drove in the go-ahead run with an eighth-inning single, and visiting Oakland increased its lead over Los Angeles to 1 1/2 games in the AL West.
Scot Shields (6-7) relieved Kelvim Escobar after seven innings, giving up a leadoff walk to Mark Ellis and a single by Jason Kendall. Kotsay followed with a ground single that delivered Ellis.
Royals 7, White Sox 3 -- Mark Teahen hit a go-ahead, two-run homer and drove in three runs to lead host Kansas City.
Giants 8, Nationals 6 -- Moises Alou homered and drove in four runs, Shea Hillenbrand hit his first homer as a Giant, and Jason Schmidt (8-7) struck out 10 as host San Francisco ended its longest losing streak -- nine games -- in 10 years.
Alfonso Soriano homered twice to drive in three runs, his fourth multihomer game this season and 15th of his career.
Mariners 2, Orioles 1 -- Adrian Beltre hit a two-run homer, and visiting Seattle held on to beat Baltimore, ending Erik Bedard's seven-game winning streak.
Mets 6, Marlins 5 -- New York took advantage of four errors by host Florida and closer Billy Wagner escaped a ninth-inning jam by striking out the side.
Astros 7, Padres 1 -- Craig Biggio homered twice and Brandon Backe (2-1) threw 7 2/3 innings as visiting Houston beat punchless San Diego, giving the defending NL champion Astros consecutive wins for the first time in almost a month.
Tigers 8, Devil Rays 3 -- Magglio Ordonez hit a go-ahead two-run double and Craig Monroe added a two-run homer in a four-run eighth inning as visiting Detroit surpassed last season's victory total with its 72d win.
Dodgers 5, Reds 3 -- Brad Penny (11-5) pitched six sharp innings to snap a three-game losing streak and drove in a run to help visiting Los Angeles beat Cincinnati for its fifth straight victory.
Rockies 8, Brewers 2 -- Byung Hyun Kim (7-6) allowed one run in eight innings and Todd Helton homered and drove in three runs to lead host Colorado.
Braves 3, Pirates 2 -- Edgar Renteria hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning and Horacio Ramirez pitched into the seventh inning to lead visiting Atlanta past Pittsburgh.
The Cubs' game against Arizona in Chicago was rained out and rescheduled as part of a doubleheader today.
