Hamels's 3-hitter blanks Cincinnati
Cole Hamels pitched a three-hitter for his second career shutout - in a span of three weeks - and the Phillies took advantage of two dropped balls to beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-0, yesterday in Philadelphia.
Ken Griffey Jr. remained one shy of 600 home runs, going 1 for 4 in his first start in four games. He hit a double off the wall in left-center, grounded out twice, and hit a deep drive to center field leading off the ninth.
"Growing up, I was a really big fan of his and I saw the numerous home runs," Hamels said. "If I would've given it up, I would've been on a long list with a lot of people. I wouldn't have minded, even though it would've broken up the shutout."
A sellout crowd gave Griffey a standing ovation as he headed back to the dugout after his long out. The 13-time All-Star outfielder tipped his hat and waved to the Philadelphia fans, who've had a long history of boorish behavior. They've also cheered other opposing stars over the years.
"It was awesome," Griffey said. "I can't thank everybody enough."
Griffey dropped a ball in right field that directly led to a pair of unearned runs against Homer Bailey (0-1). Griffey wasn't in the lineup the previous three games because of general soreness, including a bothersome left knee. He walked as a pinch hitter the last two games.
Braves 7, Marlins 5 - Chipper Jones hit his 400th career home run and finished with four hits in Atlanta's victory over visiting Florida, raising his major league-leading batting average to .418.
Jones came out of the dugout for a curtain call as fans cheered his milestone homer in the sixth inning. He became the third switch hitter to reach 400 home runs, following Hall of Famers Mickey Mantle (536) and Eddie Murray (504).
Cardinals 4-1, Nationals 10-9 - Elijah Dukes hit a two-run, 10th-inning homer to give host Washington the win over St. Louis in the second game of a day-night doubleheader.
Brian Sanches (2-0) was the winner. He allowed Joe Mather's two-out home run, his first major league homer, in the 10th to give St. Louis a 9-8 lead.
In the opener, Todd Wellemeyer won his fifth straight decision, Troy Glaus hit a two-run homer, and Albert Pujols connected on the first pinch-hit homer of his career to lead the Cardinals to victory. Glaus also homered in the nightcap.
Pirates 4, Astros 3 - Paul Maholm pitched eight strong innings, Jason Michaels hit a three-run homer, and host Pittsburgh handed Houston its seventh loss in eight games.
Jason Bay added a run-scoring triple to break a 3-3 tie in the fifth, helping Pittsburgh beat Houston for the second consecutive night.
Cubs 5, Dodgers 4 - Kosuke Fukudome had an RBI single with one out in the ninth inning to lead visiting Chicago over Los Angeles for its 10th win in 11 games.
Fukudome opened the scoring with a solo homer and drove in the winning run against Dodgers closer Takashi Saito.
Padres 2, Mets 1 - Scott Schoeneweis hit Paul McAnulty with a pitch to drive in the winning run with the bases loaded in the ninth inning, as host San Diego defeated New York.
Schoeneweis (0-2) hit McAnulty with a first-pitch fastball in the right shoulder to score pinch hitter Scott Hairston and give the Padres their second straight win.
Orioles 3, Twins 2 - Adam Jones hit a tiebreaking home run in the seventh inning and Baltimore won in Minneapolis.
Garrett Olson (5-1) pitched 6 1/3 innings, giving up two runs on eight hits, and George Sherrill pitched the ninth for his 20th save in 22 attempts.
White Sox 6, Royals 2 - Jose Contreras won his fourth straight decision and Jim Thome homered as host Chicago completed a three-game sweep of Kansas City.
Orlando Cabrera's two-run single capped a four-run second inning for the first-place White Sox.
Rangers 9, Indians 4 - Michael Young homered and extended his hitting streak to 21 games, Kevin Millwood (4-3) shook off a bad first inning to pitch into the seventh, and Texas beat visiting Cleveland.
Cleveland ace C.C. Sabathia (3-8) yielded five runs and nine hits while striking out eight over six innings.
