Chicago, IL (co.uk) - Blake DeWitt's three-run homer in the sixth provided the difference, and the Cubs began a weekend series against the Mets with a 7-6 victory at Wrigley Field. DeWitt hit his fourth home run in just 30 games with Chicago since a midseason trade with the Dodgers, and the Cubs improved to 7-3 under interim manager Mike Quade. Alfonso Soriano also hit a three-run shot in the victory, while Xavier Nady went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Randy Wells allowed four runs, eight hits and four walks in the start, and John Russell (1-1) earned the win for retiring the only batter he faced. Carlos Marmol ended up with his 26th save of the season. David Wright hit a solo homer among three hits and drove in three, as the Mets fell for the fourth time in five games. Luis Hernandez added his first home run with the team in defeat. R.A. Dickey (9-6) squandered an opportunity to set a new career-high in wins after giving up a season-worst seven runs on eight hits and a walk in six frames.
Final Score: Philadelphia 1, Milwaukee 0
Philadelphia, PA (co.uk) - Carlos Ruiz drove in the lone run of the game and Cole Hamels pitched seven strong innings, as the Philadelphia Phillies snuck past the Milwaukee Brewers, 1-0, in the opener of a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park. Hamels (9-10) gave up just three hits to go with seven strikeouts and three walks to pick up his second straight win. Ryan Madson recorded his fifth save of the year. The victory moved the Phillies, who have won four in a row and seven of eight, within one game of the NL East-leading Braves, who lost to the Marlins on Friday. Chris Capuano (2-3) was solid in five frames, allowing one run on four hits to suffer the hard-luck loss. He also fanned four batters and walked two for Milwaukee, which has lost four straight.
Final Score: Pittsburgh 8, Washington 5
Pittsburgh, PA (co.uk) - Garrett Jones hit two doubles and drove in three runs, leading Pittsburgh to an 8-5 win over Washington to begin a three- game weekend series at PNC Park. Ryan Doumit homered among three hits for the Pirates, who had lost five of their last six. Pedro Alvarez drove in two runs, while Jose Tabata and Ronny Cedeno each had two hits in the win. Zach Duke (7-12) lasted five-plus innings, giving up four runs, five hits and three walks while fanning five for the win. Danny Espinosa hit his first career home run for the Nationals, who have lost three straight. Adam Dunn and Justin Maxwell each drove in a run in defeat. Livan Hernandez (9-10) was pounded for eight runs on eight hits and two walks in just 4 1/3 innings to take the loss. Nationals outfielder Nyjer Morgan, who found out Friday that he had been suspended eight additional games on top of a previous seven-game suspension after fighting with Marlins pitcher Chris Volstad on Wednesday, went 0-for-4.
Final Score: Florida 6, Atlanta 1
Miami, FL (co.uk) - Logan Morrison tripled twice, scored two times and drove in a run in support of five solid innings from Andrew Miller as Florida downed Atlanta, 6-1, to being a three-game set. Chad Tracy had a key two-run double and Hanley Ramirez went 1-for-2 with a pair of runs scored, two walks, a stolen base and an RBI for the Marlins, who claimed their third win in a row and have now alternated three game winning and losing streaks over their last nine games. Miller (1-0) allowed the lone run on seven hits while walking three and fanning six to pick up his first win since July 4 of last season. Four different hurlers came out of the bullpen to blank the visitors over the final four frames. Kenshin Kawakami (1-10) took the loss after lasting only three innings in his first start since June 26. The right-hander yielded five runs on five hits and four walks while fanning two for the Braves, who lost a second straight and saw their lead over Philadelphia in the NL East trimmed to a single game after the Phillies blanked Milwaukee, 1-0, earlier in the night.
Final Score: St. Louis 3, Cincinnati 2
St. Louis, MO (co.uk) - Jaime Garcia kept an unbeaten streak against Cincinnati intact with 6 2/3 effective innings and Jon Jay set the tone with a first-inning RBI triple and run scored, as St. Louis slowed the Reds' roll with a 3-2 win at Busch Stadium to open a crucial three-game series. Garcia (13-6) won his fourth start in as many tries versus the Reds this season by limiting surging Cincinnati to six hits and two runs while striking out six. Ryan Franklin picked up his 23rd save with a spotless ninth to give the Cardinals their fifth straight win against the Reds. Skip Schumaker collected two hits and an RBI in the much-needed win that snapped St. Louis' season-high five-game skid. The last time these two teams met the Cardinals earned a three-game sweep that gave them sole possession of first place in the National League Central. Since then Cincinnati had won 14 of 18 while the Cards went 5-13. Friday's result cut the Reds' lead in the division to seven games. Bronson Arroyo (14-9) suffered the loss for giving up three runs and six hits in six innings. Paul Janish provided a solo home run in the loss that stunted the Reds' four-game win streak.
Final Score: Arizona 4, Houston 3
Phoenix, AZ (co.uk) - Augie Ojeda's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth delivered the winning run as Arizona downed Houston, 4-3, to start a three-game set. Adam LaRoche went 2-for-4 with two runs batted in and Gerardo Parra added two hits and a run scored for the Diamondbacks, who have won four in a row and seven of their last eight games while outscoring their opponents 58-28 in the process. Aaron Heilman (5-5) earned the win with a scoreless top of the eighth and Juan Gutierrez worked a scoreless ninth to preserve the win and earn his seventh save. Wilton Lopez (5-1) suffered the loss after yielding the deciding run on one hit over one inning of work for the Astros, who had a three-game win streak snuffed out.
Final Score: Colorado 4, San Diego 3
San Diego, CA (co.uk) - Jason Giambi and Troy Tulowitzki each hit a two-run homer, as the Colorado Rockies dealt San Diego an eighth consecutive defeat, 4-3, in the opener of a three-game series. Aaron Cook (5-8), who was activated off the disabled list to make the start, got the win after limiting the Padres to two runs on four hits and four walks in 6 1/3 innings. The Rockies, who snapped a three-game skid, entered the weekend trailing the NL West-leading Padres by 7 1/2 games. Meanwhile, San Diego's worst losing streak of the season continued with Friday's loss, but it did not lose any ground in the division. The Padres still hold a three-game lead over San Francisco because the Giants lost to Los Angeles on Friday. Cory Luebke (0-1) made his major league debut for San Diego and pitched five innings in taking the loss. He walked two and allowed five hits, two of which were Colorado's home runs.
Final Score: Los Angeles 4, San Francisco 2
Los Angeles, CA (co.uk) - Chad Billingsley was strong through eight innings of work on the hill and drove in the game-winning runs to carry Los Angeles to a 4-2 win over San Francisco in the opener of a three-game series. Billingsley (11-8) yielded two unearned runs on only two hits while walking a pair and fanning seven while combining with Hung-Chi Kuo to set down the last 10 Giants' hitters as the Dodgers ended a brief two-game slide. Rod Barajas continued his hot hitting since joining the team he grew up rooting for with a home run and Casey Blake went 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored for Los Angeles, which moved ahead, 7-6, in the season series. Barry Zito's (8-11) misery continued as he was charged with four runs on four hits and four walks while fanning five to suffer the loss and remain winless in his last 10 games, the longest streak of his career.
