Johan Santana breezed through seven innings in his first start at Citi Field as the New York Mets took advantage of a key error to scratch out the only run they needed in a 1-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday.
Santana (2-1) allowed five hits and struck out seven without issuing a walk. He never allowed a Brewers baserunner past first.
Yovani Gallardo was just as good for Milwaukee, cruising through six scoreless innings before giving way to reliever Carlos Villanueva (1-2), who gave up an RBI fielder’s choice to Jose Reyes.
PHOTO: AFP
Turning it over to their suddenly stout bullpen, J.J. Putz set the Brewers down in order in the eighth, and new closer Francisco Rodriguez worked around a leadoff single to Ryan Braun for his third save of the season.
PIRATES 10, BRAVES 0
At Pittsburgh, Craig Monroe hit a pair of three-run homers and Ian Snell allowed four hits in seven-plus innings, lifting the Pirates to their second consecutive shutout of the Braves.
Monroe homered off Atlanta starter Jo-Jo Reyes (0-1) with two outs in the sixth inning and off reliever Buddy Carlyle with two outs in the seventh.
Snell (1-2) walked three, struck out three and benefited from three double plays. The right-hander was replaced by Sean Burnett after walking Martin Prado to lead off the eighth.
Jesse Chavez worked a perfect ninth to complete the four-hitter.
DODGERS 9, ROCKIES 5
At Los Angeles, Manny Ramirez hit his first two home runs of the season — and dropped a flyball for his first error — as the Dodgers extended their winning streak to seven games.
Andre Ethier also homered twice to drive in four runs while batting second for the first time this season. Chad Billingsley (3-0) allowed three runs and four hits over six innings with six strikeouts and three walks.
Aaron Cook (0-1) gave up five runs and eight hits over four innings, allowing three home runs.
CUBS 7, CARDINALS 5, 11 INNINGS
At Chicago, Aramis Ramirez hit a game-winning two-run homer in the 11th inning and Derrek Lee hit a two-run double to lead Chicago past St Louis.
Dennys Reyes (0-1) walked leadoff hitter Alfonso Soriano in the 11th inning, then Kosuke Fukudome bunted into a fielder’s choice.
With two outs, Ramirez hit a 1-0 pitch from Reyes into the left-center bleachers to win it with his third homer of the season.
Khalil Green homered for the Cardinals, who have dropped the last two games after winning the opener of a four-game series against the Cubs.
Angel Guzman (1-0) pitched a scoreless 11th inning for his first career victory.
MARLINS 9, NATIONALS 6, 11 INNINGS
At Washington, Jeremy Hermida hit a three-run homer in the 11th inning after tying it with a two-run shot in the ninth as Florida beat the Nationals for their sixth straight win.
Hermida, whose two-run homer tied it at 6 with two outs in the ninth, hit a 1-2 pitch from Wil Ledezma into the right-center field stands for the lead.
Kiko Calero (1-0), Florida’s fifth pitcher, worked one-and-a-third scoreless innings for the win.
In Saturday’s other games it was:
• Padres 8, Phillies 5
• Astros 7, Reds 0
Lyle Overbay hit a two-out, two-run homer off Dan Giese in the 12th inning as Toronto beat Oakland 4-2 on Saturday.
After a two-out walk to Jose Bautista, Overbay hit a towering drive to center off Giese (0-1), who was called up from Triple-A earlier in the day.
Right-hander Jason Frasor (2-0) got two outs for the win for Toronto.
Blue Jays starter Brian Tallet gave up two runs — one earned — and four hits in five-and-a-third innings. He walked one and struck out one.
Trevor Cahill allowed two runs and five hits in five-and-a-third innings, walking five for Oakland.
TIGERS 2, MARINERS 0
At Seattle, Edwin Jackson baffled Seattle again, allowing five hits while working into the eighth inning for Detroit.
Jackson (1-0), who beat the Mariners twice last season and has a career ERA of 0.40 against them, struck out six and walked one in seven-and-two-third innings.
He outpitched Seattle’s Erik Bedard (1-1), who allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings. He struck out eight in his first start at Safeco since he beat Detroit on July 4.
Brandon Inge singled in a run in the sixth and another run scored on right fielder Ichiro Suzuki’s throwing error.
WHITE SOX 8, RAYS 3
At St Petersburg, Florida, Paul Konerko homered and drove in three runs and Mark Buehrle pitched effectively into the seventh inning as Chicago downed Tampa Bay.
Buehrle (2-0) gave up eight hits, three walks and struck out five in six-and-two-third innings.
Carlos Quentin also homered for Chicago, who have won five of seven.
In Saturday’s other games it was:
• Twins 9, Angels 2
• Red Sox 6, Orioles 4
• Royals 2, Rangers 0
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set