Brewers snap Twins' streak

Parra hurls two-hitter in sixth straight win

A jubilant Bobby Jenks is pumped while watching his White Sox teammates escape in the ninth. (jerry lai/Associated Press)

The maturation of Manny Parra is happening faster than expected.

Parra allowed two hits in seven innings to win his sixth straight start and the Milwaukee Brewers beat Minnesota, 5-1, last night in Minneapolis to end the Twins' 10-game winning streak.

Bill Hall had a two-run double and Ryan Braun and Corey Hart also had RBIs for the Brewers, who have won 9 of 12.

Jason Kubel hit a home run with two outs in the ninth for Minnesota.

"I think I've started to figure out that if you execute your pitches you're going to get outs," Parra said. "I don't have to have my best stuff to do well, as long as I'm going out there and being aggressive."

This time he did so against baseball's hottest team.

Parra (8-2), who has seven wins in eight starts dating to May 20, struck out six, but walked four. He has allowed 14 free passes in his last three starts, including a career-high six in his last outing.

"The fastball against the lefties I kept missing with, but I made some pitches with my offspeed against them to get them out," he said. "Against the righties I basically used my fastball and split against them. I made some pitches when I had to. I don't like how I fell behind in counts, but I'm working through that."

Yankees 3, Mets 2 - At rainy Shea Stadium, Andy Pettitte outpitched Johan Santana for his sixth straight win.

Robinson Cano delivered a key RBI single off Santana, who has received little support from his teammates while dropping four consecutive decisions for the second time in his career.

Pettitte (9-5) allowed only solo homers to Ramon Castro and David Wright in six neat innings, winning his fourth start in a row since allowing 10 runs in a June 7 no-decision against Kansas City.

White Sox 6, Cubs 5 - Carlos Quentin hit a tiebreaking homer leading off the bottom of the seventh, Bobby Jenks escaped a ninth-inning jam, and the White Sox made it two straight over their crosstown rival.

Quentin drove an 0-and-2 pitch from Carlos Marmol (1-3) for an opposite-field home run into the Cubs' bullpen in right field to snap the 5-5 tie. Derrek Lee was 5 for 5 with three RBIs for the Cubs.

Tigers 7, Rockies 6 - Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run double in the bottom of the ninth and the host Detroit overcame Todd Jones's blown save to beat Colorado.

With their fourth straight win and 14th in 17 games, the Tigers improved to .500 for the first time this season. The Rockies used three consecutive two-out hits to claw back from a three-run deficit in the top of the ninth. But closer Brian Fuentes gave up a single, a walk, and Cabrera's double to blow his fourth save of the year.

Reds 5, Indians 0 - Johnny Cueto won for the first time in four starts for Cincinnati, combining with four Reds relievers to shut out host Cleveland.

Cueto (6-8) constantly worked out of trouble to win for the first time since June 6 at Florida. He struck out Sal Fasano with the bases loaded to end the second inning, left two runners stranded in both the fourth and sixth, and got key double plays in the first and fifth.

Mariners 4, Padres 2 - Carlos Silva won for the first time in 13 starts spanning nearly 2 1/2 months and visiting Seattle beat former teammate Cha Seung Baek and San Diego. Adrian Beltre had three hits and two RBIs for the Mariners.

Giants 1, Athletics 0 - Tim Lincecum outpitched Justin Duchscherer in a fine matchup between two likely All-Stars, Randy Winn drove in the only run, and visiting San Francisco snapped a seven-game losing streak to Oakland.

Orioles 9, Nationals 1 - Luke Scott and Ramon Hernandez homered, Adam Jones matched his career high with four hits, and Baltimore cruised in a game interrupted by rain for 63 minutes before a record crowd of 39,479 fans at Nationals Park.

Diamondbacks 6, Marlins 2 - Brandon Webb (12-4) returned to his All-Star form with eight strikeouts in six innings, Chris Young had three RBIs, and visiting Arizona finally beat Florida.

Cardinals 5, Royals 1 - Rick Ankiel hit a two-run home run to help rookie Mitchell Boggs remain unbeaten and visiting St. Louis snapped Kansas City's six-game winning streak.

Phillies 8, Rangers 6 - Chase Utley and Ryan Howard hit 400-foot homers in the third inning as visiting Philadelphia held on for the victory.

Blue Jays 9, Braves 5 - Vernon Wells had three hits, including a homer, and drove in three runs to help Toronto beat visiting Atlanta.

Pirates 4, Rays 3 - Jason Bay homered with two outs in the 13th inning to lift host Pittsburgh over Tampa Bay.