Rays stung again, drop 7th straight on road
Gil Meche pitched seven scoreless innings after a shaky start and John Buck drove in two runs, helping the Kansas City Royals hold off Tampa Bay, 4-2, last night to extend the Rays' road losing streak to seven games.
Kansas City appeared well on its way to ending a four-game home losing streak after taking a 4-0 lead into the eighth inning. Then it started raining and things got interesting.
Tampa Bay cut the lead to 4-1 on B.J. Upton's RBI grounder off Ron Mahay, then Evan Longoria led off the ninth by hitting closer Joakim Soria's first pitch down the left-field line for a double. Carlos Pena followed with a single and Cliff Floyd made it 4-2 with a sacrifice fly.
But Soria got Dioner Navarro to ground into a fielder's choice, then ended the game by striking out Eric Hinske for his 27th save.
Meche (8-9) needed 26 minutes and 31 pitches to get out of the first inning, but he did it without giving up a run.
After allowing two singles in the second inning, Meche didn't allow a runner past first base the rest of the way.
The righthander gave up five hits and walked one, beating an AL East team for the first time in seven starts this season (1-5).
Rays starter Matt Garza (8-6) was coming off a solid outing, allowing two hits in 7 2/3 scoreless innings against Toronto. But he can't seem to beat the Royals (0-4 in five starts). He allowed four runs and eight hits and walked four in five innings.
"I just kind of felt out of whack," said Garza, who did not have a strikeout for the first time in 45 career games.
Mets 3, Phillies 1 - Carlos Delgado hit a tiebreaking two-run double in the eighth inning and Oliver Perez stifled Philadelphia, helping New York take sole possession of first place in the NL East.
The Mets took two of three in the series after blowing a three-run lead in the ninth inning of the opener, putting them alone in first for the first time since April 19.
Eric Bruntlett tied a season high with three hits for the Phillies, who rallied for an 8-6 win Tuesday night. Philadelphia has lost four of five.
Phillies manager Charlie Manuel scratched Jimmy Rollins after the NL MVP showed up late to the ballpark. He batted for J.C. Romero (4-3) and bounced into a fielder's choice to end the game.
Giants 1, Nationals 0 - Matt Cain pitched a four-hitter, Dave Roberts singled home a run in the eighth inning, and San Francisco earned its first three-game home sweep of the season.
Cain (6-8) retired his first 11 batters and didn't issue a walk for the first time this year.
Brewers 4, Cardinals 3 - Ryan Braun had four hits for a second straight game, including a two-run homer in the ninth, and Milwaukee beat host St. Louis.
Eric Gagne (3-2) picked up the win with one scoreless inning of relief. Solomon Torres recorded his 19th save by striking out the side in the ninth.
Pirates 9, Padres 1 - Yoslan Herrera pitched six shutout innings for his first major league win, and host Pittsburgh got back-to-back homers from Jason Bay and Xavier Nady in a win over San Diego.
Nate McLouth also homered and had three RBIs for the Pirates, who have won four straight. They stopped a six-game skid against the Padres.
Cubs 6, Marlins 3 - Carlos Zambrano (11-4) pitched seven solid innings and Chicago snapped a 10-game losing streak to visiting Florida.
After a 2-4 road trip, the Cubs got home runs from Henry Blanco and Ronny Cedeno and a two-run double from Aramis Ramirez to improve to 38-12 at Wrigley Field.
Blue Jays sweep, 5-1, 7-1 - Roy Halladay (12-7) scattered seven hits over seven innings, leading Toronto over host Baltimore after the Blue Jays won a game suspended one night earlier.
In the suspended game, halted by rain in the sixth Wednesday, Toronto's bullpen preserved a 5-1 victory for A.J. Burnett (11-9).
