Jul 5, 2008 - 1:08 AM
0 shoutsBy PA SportsTicker
PHILADELPHIA 3, NY METS 2 -------------------------
PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Johan Santana again did his job, but the New York Mets' offense did not.
Shane Victorino delivered a two-out RBI single off Duaner Sanchez in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Philadelphia Phillies a 3-2 comeback victory over the Mets in the opener of a four-game series at Citizens Bank Park.
Sanchez (3-1) came on for Santana to start the ninth inning and struck out both Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell. Pedro Feliz kept the inning alive with a double into the left field corner and Victorino followed with the winning hit, lining a 1-2 pitch to right to give Philadelphia its fourth straight triumph.
The single made a winner of Brad Lidge (2-0), who tossed a perfect top of the ninth. The closer combined with two other relievers to limit New York to just one hit over the final 4 1/3 innings.
Winless in his previous five starts, Santana was seeking his first victory since June 1. The lefthander came up with another solid effort, allowing two runs and six hits - all singles - in eight innings with no walks and six strikeouts.
The game was a pitchers' duel for the first four innings, even though both teams left a runner on third in the first. Santana and Phillies southpaw J.A. Happ each retired 12 of the first 14 batters they faced.
Happ ran into the trouble in the fifth, when New York loaded the bases with none out. Santana fouled out, but Jose Reyes' RBI grounder gave the Mets a 1-0 lead.
Happ reloaded the bases with a four-pitch walk to Endy Chavez, then issued a free pass to David Wright to force in another run.
Chad Durbin replaced Happ and struck out Carlos Beltran to end the inning. Durbin then tossed a scoreless sixth before the Phillies rallied in the bottom half.
With one out, Jayson Werth and Chase Utley singled. One out later, Howard and Burrell delivered consecutive RBI base hits to forge a 2-2 tie.
Happ lasted 4 2/3 innings, allowing two runs, three hits and four walks with three strikeouts in his second career start. This outing was better than his major league debut against the Mets on June 30, 2007, however, as he surrendered five runs and seven hits in four innings of an 8-3 loss.
COLORADO 18, FLORIDA 17 -----------------------
DENVER (Ticker) -- Matt Holliday and Ryan Spilborghs each hit two home runs, Garrett Atkins collected five hits - including the game-tying RBI single in the ninth inning - and Chris Iannetta delivered the walk-off base hit as the Colorado Rockies rallied from a nine-run deficit to beat the Florida Marlins, 18-17.
In the second-highest scoring game in Coors Field history, the Rockies opened the ninth with three straight singles and benefited from Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez's error on a potential double-play ball to set the table for Iannetta.
Iannetta, who hit a three-run homer in the fifth, slapped a grounder off Florida closer Kevin Gregg (6-4) between third baseman Wes Helms and Ramirez, scoring Holliday from third and completing the biggest comeback in franchise history.
Holliday hit his third career grand slam, and Spilborghs and Clint Barmes both finished with four hits for Colorado, which has won four straight games.
MILWAUKEE 9, PITTSBURGH 1 -------------------------
MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- One day after a remarkable bullpen collapse, the Milwaukee Brewers' offense made sure there would be no such drama.
J.J. Hardy and Bill Hall both homered, with the former going deep in a five-run fifth inning, as the Brewers slugged their way past the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-1.
The win provided a quick turnaround from the team's loss in Arizona on Thursday, when Milwaukee's bullpen allowed six runs without recording an out in the ninth to incur a 6-5 loss. Milwaukee still has won three of its last four games and beat Pittsburgh for a seventh straight time at home.
Hardy, who extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a single in the first, finished 4-for-5, with a two-run homer jumpstarting a big inning against Pirates lefty Tom Gorzelanny (6-7). It was Hardy's second straight four-hit game.
CINCINNATI 3, WASHINGTON 0 --------------------------
CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Bronson Arroyo pitched six effective innings and Ken Griffey, Jr. hit a two-run homer as the Cincinnati Reds blanked the Washington Nationals, 3-0.
Arroyo (6-7) only retired the side in order once, but allowed just one runner to reach third base. The righthander gave up five hits and three walks, striking out three.
Griffey blasted his 11th of the season, following Jay Bruce's double, in the first inning to give the Reds a 2-0 lead.
Three relievers combined to keep the Nationals scoreless and Francisco Cordero worked around a pair of singles in the ninth to secure his 17th save.
LA DODGERS 10, SAN FRANCISCO 7 ------------------------------
SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- Andre Ethier collected three hits and three RBI as the Los Angeles Dodgers scored five runs in the sixth inning en route to their fourth consecutive win, a 10-7 victory over the San Francisco Giants.
Russell Martin and Nomar Garciaparra - who was activated from the disabled list prior to the game - each drove in a pair of runs for Los Angeles, which roughed up Osiris Matos (0-1) for five unearned runs in the sixth to erase a 5-3 deficit.
The rally made a winner of Derek Lowe (6-8), who notched just his second win in five decisions despite surrendering five runs - four earned - and eight hits in five innings. Hong-Chih Kuo and Jonathan Broxton bridged the gap to Takashi Saito, who tossed a perfect ninth for his 15th save.
Aaron Rowand went 3-for-4 with two RBI for the Giants, who have lost three of five.
ATLANTA 6, HOUSTON 2 --------------------
ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Tim Hudson hurled seven solid frames and rookie Jason Perry tripled and drove in a run in his major league debut to lead the Atlanta Braves to a 6-2 triumph over the Houston Astros.
Kelly Johnson blasted a two-run homer and Chipper Jones had two hits and drove in a run for Atlanta, which snapped a five-game losing streak.
Hudson (9-6) allowed just one run and four hits, walked three and struck out six over seven frames in his 300th major league start en route to recording just his second victory since May 22.
Darin Erstad scored twice and Lance Berkman and Miguel Tejada drove in a run each for the Astros, who have dropped four straight games.
SAN DIEGO 5, ARIZONA 1 ----------------------
PHOENIX (Ticker) -- Cha Seung Baek tossed six scoreless innings to lead the San Diego Padres to a 5-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the opener of a three-game series.
Kevin Kouzmanoff and Jody Gerut each collected two hits for the Padres, who had lost 10 of their previous 11 contests.
Chad Tracy delivered an RBI single and Dan Haren (8-5) pitched seven solid innings for the Diamondbacks, who managed just five hits en route to their 10th loss in 14 games.
Baek (2-3), who had a no-hitter through five frames, allowed just two hits and a walk with seven strikeouts in his 94-pitch outing.
CHICAGO CUBS 2, ST. LOUIS 1 ---------------------------
ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- Carlos Zambrano pitched six strong innings and the Chicago Cubs benefited from a pair of solo home runs to record a 2-1 triumph over the St. Louis Cardinals.
Zambrano (9-3) yielded only four hits and two walks in six frames with five strikeouts. Kerry Wood worked around one hit in the ninth to record his 22nd save of the season.
Kosuke Fukudome homered in the first off Cardinals starter Braden Looper to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead and rookie Geovany Soto added a solo shot in the fourth.
Albert Pujols cut the deficit to 2-1 with a home run to left in the eighth, the 300th homer of his career.
