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Spirited Brewers down Chicago Cubs

Milwaukee Brewers' Geoff Jenkins is congratulated by Scott Podsednik after hitting the game-winning three-run home run against the Chicago Cubs in the ninth inning in Chicago on Thursday. The Brewers won 5-3. PHOTO: AP

Geoff Jenkins hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning to rally the Milwaukee Brewers past the Chicago Cubs and Mark Prior 5-3 on Thursday.

Prior struck out a career-high 16 in eight innings, allowing two runs on four hits with no walks. He posted the highest strikeout total in the majors this season.

But with his pitch count at 126, Cubs manager Dusty Baker pulled Prior with a 3-2 lead -- an edge built on Sammy Sosa's home run.

"It wasn't very tough," Baker said of the decision. "It was tough to send Mark out there in the eighth. That was the tough one, he had 112 or 14 pitches before he started that inning."

"You get chastised if you take him out and you get chastised if he goes too long. He's such a valuable commodity, you couldn't stretch him any further than that," he said.

Prior wasn't willing to risk anything, either.

"I was tired. We have had conversations about trying to learn how to be honest because it is a long season," the 22-year-old said. "I was gassed going out in the eighth inning."

Cubs reliever Joe Borowski (1-1) gave up a leadoff single to Scott Podsednik in the ninth and walked Keith Ginter. Jenkins followed with a shot onto Sheffield Avenue.

Jenkins homered for the fourth straight game.

"He's shut us down in Milwaukee and we just got lucky to get something to hit," said Jenkins.

Marlins 6, Mets 1

In New York, rookie Dontrelle Willis won his seventh straight start as Florida took advantage of four errors and three wild pitches by New York.

Willis (8-1) defeated the Mets for the second time in 10 days. On June 16, he pitched a one-hitter against them to win 1-0 at Miami.

The hard-throwing lefty with the high leg kick gave up one run and nine hits in seven innings. He struck out seven and walked two.

Phillies 8, Braves 1

In Atlanta, Randy Wolf pitched six strong innings and Jim Thome and Mike Lieberthal homered as Philadelphia to win second straight series against Atlanta.

Wolf (9-3) allowed three hits and one run, striking out five. He improved to 4-0 in five starts this month.

Thome's 18th homer, an opposite-field solo shot to left off South Korean reliever Jung Bong, gave the Phillies a 6-1 lead in the sixth. Lieberthal's fifth homer, a two-run shot off Kevin Gryboski, ended the scoring in the eighth.

Cardinals 11, Reds 7

In St. Louis, Tino Martinez went 3-for-4 with a three-run homer and rookie Bo Hart had three more hits in St. Louis' victory over Cincinnati.

Woody Williams won his 10th game, Jim Edmonds had four RBIs and Albert Pujols had four hits for the Cardinals, who took two of three from the Reds after entering the series 1-6 against Cincinnati.

Hart was 3-for-5 with an RBI single and a run scored, and is batting .514 (18-for-35) since being called up seven games ago.

Martinez hit his ninth homer, and Edmonds also had a three-run shot in a seven-run second off Jimmy Anderson (1-5) that put the Cardinals ahead 7-2. Anderson was left in for five innings to save a depleted bullpen. He gave up 11 runs on 15 hits.

Red Sox pitching ace Pedro Martinez picked up his first victory since May 15 as Boston completed a sweep of the Detroit Tigers 6-4 on Thursday.

Trot Nixon drove in three runs for Boston, which outscored baseball's worst team 30-8 in the four-game series.

"It's something we anticipated doing," Boston's Todd Walker said of four straight wins against a team that has lost 18 of 20. "Then again, they're a big league team and you have to do your best every time."

Martinez (5-2), in his fourth start since a 26-day stay on the disabled list, struck out eight and allowed four runs, seven hits and three walks in 6 2-3 innings.

"He was OK," Boston catcher Jason Varitek said. "It just shows you what you have. The guy doesn't have his best feeling [on the ball] and he goes 6 2-3."

White Sox 5, Twins 1

In Minneapolis, Mark Buehrle won his third straight start with a five-hitter as Chicago beat Minnesota.

Jose Valentin went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, and D'Angelo Jimenez and Aaron Rowand each drove in runs for the White Sox, who took two of three games from the Twins.

Buehrle (5-10) struck out a career-high nine and walked two. He lost his shutout bid on Corey Koskie's RBI double in the ninth inning.

Yankees 4, Devil Rays 3

In St. Petersburg, Florida, Jason Giambi and Raul Mondesi hit two-run homers to back the pitching of Mike Mussina and give New York a victory over Tampa Bay.

Newly acquired reliever Dan Miceli made an immediate contribution as the Yankees won the last three of the four-game series to maintain their two-game lead over Boston in the American League East.

Mussina (10-4) allowed two runs and eight hits, struck out five and walked none before being replaced by Miceli with the tying runs on base and one out in the bottom of the eighth.

Mariano Rivera worked the ninth for his 12th save in 13 chances. The Devil Rays put runners on second and third with no outs, but managed only one run on pinch-hitter Al Martin's groundout.

Blue Jays 13, Orioles 8

In Toronto, Carlos Delgado homered twice to increase his AL-leading total to 25 as Toronto beat Baltimore.

Delgado tied his season high with five RBIs and now has driven in a major league-best 86 runs. The slugging first baseman hit a two-run shot off Rodrigo Lopez in the second inning. The ball hit off the top of Windows restaurant in center field, giving Toronto an 8-6 lead.

Royals 4, Indians 1

In Cleveland, resurgent right-hander Jose Lima pitched seven strong innings as Kansas City completed a three-game sweep of Cleveland.

The Royals retained first place in the AL Central, but did so with leading hitter Mike Sweeney back home in Kansas City. The first baseman was placed on the 15-day disabled list before the game with tightness in his upper back.

Rookie Aaron Guiel helped fill the void by hitting a two-run homer and scoring twice as the Royals improved to 24-6 within their division. They won for the 10th time in 13 games overall.

Athletics 13, Rangers 0

In Arlington, Texas, Scott Hatteberg, Eric Chavez and Terrence Long all homered in the third inning, and Tim Hudson pitched three-hit ball for seven innings as Oakland routed Texas.

Juan Gonzalez was out of Texas' starting lineup for the third straight game. The two-time AL Most Valuable Player is considering whether to accept or reject a trade that would send him to the Montreal Expos, and said on Thursday he will probably wait until today to decide. He was in uniform, but manager Buck Showalter decided against using him.

Mariners 10, Angels 6

In Anaheim, California, Edgar Martinez set the Seattle club record for career RBIs with a two-run homer, and Bret Boone also hit a two-run shot as Seattle beat Anaheim.

Martinez and Boone each had three hits, and Randy Winn drove in the tying and go-ahead runs with a double during a five-run sixth inning. The AL West-leading Mariners took two of three from the defending World Series champions, who are 13 1/2 games back.
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