Thursday's National League Capsules

Aug 29, 2008 - 3:40 AM By PA SportsTicker

HOUSTON 3, CINCINNATI 2 -----------------------

HOUSTON (Ticker) -- Brandon Backe gave the Houston Astros his second quality start in a row and Ty Wigginton hit two solo home runs as the Astros posted a 3-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Minute Maid Park.

Backe (9-12) went 6 2/3 innings giving up six hits and two runs with a walk and six strikeouts on just 89 pitches. The righthander, who retired 15 out of 16 batters at one point, threw seven innings in his last start - a win over the New York Mets on Saturday - giving up just three runs on five hits with four strikeouts.

LaTroy Hawkins threw a perfect eighth, and Jose Valverde struck out the side in the ninth for his 35th save of the year.

Wigginton gave Houston a 1-0 lead in the first inning, driving a 2-0 offering from Aaron Harang (4-14) just inside the left field foul pole and into the second row of the Crawford Boxes for his 18th home run of the year.

Humberto Quintero extended the lead with a solo homer in the fifth and Wigginton upped the lead in the sixth with a 413-foot solo home run to left-center. It marked Wigginton's 19th homer of the year and seventh multi-home run game of his career.

Cincinnati got two runs back in the seventh on an RBI triple to left by Jay Bruce to score Brandon Phillips, who had hit a two-out infield single to start the rally.

After an Adam Rosales walk, Corey Patterson hit an RBI single to left field to cut the deficit to 3-2 and chase Backe from the game. Doug Brocail induced a Ryan Hanigan ground out to end in the inning.

The Astros finished the season series with a 10-2 record against the Reds. Houston has won 14 of the last 16 meetings overall.

WASHINGTON 11, LA DODGERS 2 ---------------------------

WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Cristian Guzman hit for the cycle as the Washington Nationals finished off a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers with an 11-2 victory.

Guzman hit a one-out homer in the first inning and a single in the second inning off Clayton Kershaw. The shortstop added an RBI double in the sixth inning and an RBI triple in eighth to complete the feat.

Elijah Dukes, who was playing in his second game since returning from a strained right calf he suffered on August 2, also blasted a pair of home runs, including a three-run homer in Washington's five-run first inning.

John Lannan (8-12) won his second consecutive start, allowing two runs, four hits and three walks in six innings.

Manny Ramirez hit a two-run homer in the first inning for the Dodgers, who have lost seven in a row. Kershaw (2-5) lasted just 2 1/3 innings, surrendering five runs, five hits and three walks in the shortest outing of his rookie season.

ATLANTA 4, FLORIDA 2 --------------------

ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Brian McCann belted a three-run homer in the sixth inning and Charlie Morton tossed six effective innings as the Atlanta Braves pushed the Florida Marlins further back in the National League East with a 4-2 victory.

With Atlanta already ahead, 1-0, on Martin Prado's second-inning RBI single, McCann launched the first offering from Anibal Sanchez (2-3) over the right field wall for his 22nd blast of the season and a four-run bulge.

Morton (4-8) limited the Marlins to two runs and four hits in ending a personal three-game skid. The righthander, who had dropped six of his previous seven starts, walked two and struck out three.

Julian Tavarez and Jeff Bennett each worked a hitless inning before Mike Gonzalez struck out the side in the ninth for his seventh save.

Luis Gonzalez collected two hits and an RBI for Florida (68-66), which fell six games behind the idle first-place New York Mets (74-60) in the NL East.

CHICAGO CUBS 6, PHILADELPHIA 4 ------------------------------

CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Aramis Ramirez belted a grand slam in the eighth inning to erase a deficit and lead the Chicago Cubs to a 6-4 triumph over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Pinch hitter Mike Fontenot sparked the five-run uprising in the eighth with a leadoff homer for the Cubs (84-50), who have won six in a row.

Fontenot's blast came off Ryan Madson, who had an unhappy 28th birthday celebration. Alfonso Soriano followed with a double and Ryan Theriot singled before Phillies manager Charlie Manuel called upon Chad Durbin (5-3), who walked Derrek Lee on five pitches to load the bases.

After taking a ball, Ramirez crushed Durbin's next offering for his 24th homer of the season, a blast on which Shane Victorino remained stationary in center field once the bat hit the ball.

The rally spoiled a superb effort by Cole Hamels, who limited Chicago to one run and five hits in seven innings. The lefthander struck out six without a walk.

Bobby Howry (6-4) picked up the win after tossing a perfect eighth and Kerry Wood worked around a leadoff single by Jimmy Rollins in the ninth for his 28th save.