White Sox 5, Angels 3
In Chicago, Esteban Loaiza won his 16th game as Chicago moved into a tie for AL Central lead by beating Anaheim.
Jose Valentin, Magglio Ordonez and Carl Everett homered as the White Sox completed a three-game sweep and tied Kansas City, which lost 8-7 to the New York Yankees on Wednesday. Minnesota, which beat Cleveland 4-3, trails by one-half game.
Loaiza (16-6) matched Toronto's Roy Halladay for the AL lead in wins and is one behind major league leader Russ Ortiz of Atlanta. He allowed 10 hits in six-plus innings -- including Adam Riggs' second homer in two nights. He struck out nine and improved to 5-1 since the All-Star break.
Roberto Alomar went 4-for-5 -- all infield hits -- for the White Sox.
Chone Figgins, the Angels' leadoff hitter, also had four hits -- a career high.
National League
Reggie Sanders became the first player to homer twice in an inning this season, the second one a grand slam that capped a 10-run fifth, as the Pittsburgh Pirates tied a team record with seven home runs in a 14-0 rout of the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday.
"It wasn't much of a contest," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "I guess it was no contest."
The Pirates were victimized by the Cardinals' 10-run eighth inning in a 13-5 loss on Tuesday. They made sure this game was out of reach in the fifth, which ended with Pittsburgh leading 13-0.
"It's nice to be on the giving end and not the receiving end, that's for sure," Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon said.
Jeff D'Amico (8-12) threw a three-hitter for his fifth career complete game.
Jason Kendall and Brian Giles homered in a span of three pitches to start the fifth and knock Garrett Stephenson (7-12) out. Pittsburgh also got a pair of homers from Rob Mackowiak, breaking the Busch Stadium record of six set by the Cardinals on April 9, 2000, against the Brewers.
The only other time the Pirates hit seven homers came against the Cardinals on Aug. 16, 1947, at Pittsburgh.
Cubs 6, Astros 0
In Houston, Mark Prior took a no-hitter into the sixth inning as Chicago moved within a half-game of Houston in the National League Central.
Prior (12-5) allowed four hits and struck out nine in seven shutout innings as the Cubs snapped a three-game losing streak. He had a no-hitter until Adam Everett led off the sixth with a double.
The win was Prior's fourth straight since coming off the disabled list on Aug. 4 with a bruised right shoulder. He's allowed just two earned runs in 31 innings for a 0.58 ERA, with 29 strikeouts and three walks in those four starts.
Rockies 9, Marlins 3
In Denver, Preston Wilson, Chris Stynes and Ronnie Belliard each drove in two runs, and Cory Vance earned his first major league victory as Colorado beat Florida.
Vance, recalled from minor league team Colorado Springs on Tuesday, entered in the first inning when starter Darren Oliver bruised his left foot after taking a liner off the bat of Luis Castillo. Vance (1-0) went 5 1-3 innings, allowing four hits and one run. He benefited from double plays in the third and fourth innings.
Stynes and Juan Uribe each had three hits for Colorado. Wilson boosted his major league-leading RBI total to 119.
ESPN shows Major League Baseball games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Taiwan. Please check local TV listings for details.
RSS