Rob Mackowiak came around to score on a bizarre, bases-loaded double when Atlanta catcher Johnny Estrada made two errors on one play, and the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied with a five-run seventh inning to beat the Braves 8-4 Tuesday night.
"It was a weird play, the way it happened," Mackowiak said. "I'm just glad it worked out for us."
The comeback -- Pittsburgh once trailed 3-0 -- was the Pirates' third in four days at home and their 15th victory in their last 17 home games. Atlanta's four-game winning streak ended along with J.D. Drew's 22-game hitting streak when he went 0-for-3 in the loss. Mike Gonzalez (3-0) got the win.
PHOTO: REUTERS
"We're getting better, we're starting to pick it up, but we got lucky tonight," Pittsburgh manager Lloyd McClendon said. "We weren't in it at all ... until we got some breaks."
Braves starter Paul Byrd was cruising with a 3-0 lead before allowing Jason Kendall's two-run homer in the sixth, then left after Bobby Hill and pinch-hitter Abraham Nunez singled with one out in the seventh and the Braves up 4-2. That brought on Kevin Gryboski (1-2), who gave up Kendall's infield single before shortstop Rafael Furcal booted Jack Wilson's possible double-play grounder.
Then Estrada mishandled the throw on Mackowiak's hit and made a bad throw himself.
Cardinals 6, Reds 0
In Cincinnati, Jason Marquis hit a two-run double, pitched seven shutout innings for St. Louis and got homer support from Reggie Sanders and Jim Edmonds as he beat Cincinnati for his eighth straight win.
Marquis (11-4) hasn't lost since May 26, going 8-0 with a pair of no-decisions and a 2.90 ERA. He left the game for a pinch-hitter in the eighth. Marquis also doubled home a pair of runs with two outs in the third inning off Cory Lidle (6-9). Marquis' 13th hit this season -- the most by any pitcher in the majors -- put the Cardinals ahead 5-0.
Edmonds led off the fifth with his 26th homer -- five of them since the All-Star game -- to help the Cardinals reach 10-3 since the break.
Cubs 7, Brewers 1
In Milwaukee, Greg Maddux allowed a run and four hits in six innings to move within a win of 300, while Sammy Sosa homered and doubled in a run as Chicago trounced Milwaukee.
Maddux (10-7) will try to become the 22nd pitcher in major league history to win 300 games when he faces Philadelphia in Chicago on Sunday. He would be the first National Leaguer to accomplish the feat since Philadelphia's Steve Carlton on Sept. 23, 1983.
Rockies 7, Dodgers 2
In Denver, Aaron Cook pitched into the eighth inning for his first home win in a year, and Jeromy Burnitz homered for the fifth straight home game and drove in four runs for Colorado.
Todd Helton and Todd Greene also homered for the Rockies, who had 15 hits to snap a three-game home losing streak. Paul Lo Duca hit his 10th homer, but Los Angeles stranded 10 runners to end its run of nine straight road wins.
Coco Crisp, who wasn't in Cleveland's original starting lineup Tuesday night, had first career grand slam among three hits and drove in a career-high five runs for the Indians in a 10-6 victory Tuesday night over the Detroit Tigers.
He became a late replacement as the starter in left field and at leadoff when Travis Hafner was scratched with a sprained neck and Matt Lawton moved to designated hitter. Crisp hit his slam in the second inning off Gary Knotts (5-6) and added a RBI single in the fifth.
"If things work out, then someday maybe I'll be a starter," Crisp said, shrugging his shoulders. "That's the way it's been my whole life. You have to hang in there."
Crisp also scored twice and also saved at least one run in the second with a leaping catch against the left-field wall. C.C. Sabathia (7-5) struggled through six innings, allowing a three-run homer to Rondell White. Bobby Higginson had three RBIs for Detroit.
"I'll give myself a B-minus," said Sabathia, overly critical of his outing. "It's only not an F because we scored all those runs."
Yankees 7, Blue Jays 4
In Toronto, Jorge Posada hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the eighth inning, Gary Sheffield connected for his 400th career home run as New York rallied to beat Toronto.
Orlando Hernandez became the latest Yankees starter with an injury, leaving after the second inning with tightness in his left hamstring. Mike Mussina and Kevin Brown are on the disabled list, and Tanyon Sturtze injured his right pinky in the brawl with Boston on Saturday.
Bernie Williams and Derek Jeter singled and Sheffield walked. Justin Speier relieved Kerry Ligtenberg (1-3), and Alex Rodriguez hit a game-tying sacrifice fly. One night after hitting a grand slam, Posada homered off Speier, giving New York a 5-2 lead.
Bernie Williams and Sheffield homered in the ninth. Scott Proctor (1-0) got for his first major league career victory.
Twins 7, White Sox 3
In Chicago, Johan Santana pitched two-hit ball into the seventh inning and surging Minnesota beat Chicago to take a 2 1/2 game lead in the AL Central.
Cristian Guzman had three hits, including a pair of doubles, and Corey Koskie was hit by a pitch three times to tie a major league record as the Twins won for the ninth time in 11 games.
Santana (9-6) walked two and struck out six, giving him an AL-best 161 strikeouts, in six-plus innings. After Ben Davis singled with one out in the third for the White Sox's first hit, Santana retired 11 straight before Carlos Lee led off the seventh with his 18th homer -- the first of two on the night.
After Lee's homer, Santana walked Paul Konerko and hit Carl Everett with a pitch before Juan Rincon relieved. Chicago's Freddy Garcia (8-9) gave up seven hits and four runs in 7 1-3 innings.
Angels 2, Rangers 0
In Anaheim, California, Bartolo Colon combined with two relievers on a one-hitter, Jose Guillen and Robb Quinlan had RBIs as Anaheim beat Texas after the teams scuffled during batting practice.
Colon (9-8) pitched seven innings of one-hit ball, and Troy Percival got his 299th career save.
Before the game, a fight broke out between Angels second baseman Adam Kennedy and Rangers catcher Gerald Laird, a carry-over from their dispute the night before. Laird thought Kennedy attempted to be hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, and said something to Kennedy the next time he came to bat.
They clashed near the batting cage Tuesday, and soon every player from each team was involved. It was unclear whether any punches were thrown.
Athletics 5, Mariners 3
In Oakland, California, Bobby Crosby and Eric Chavez homered, Mark Redman won for the first time in six starts as Oakland handed Seattle its 14th straight road loss.
Erubiel Durazo hit an RBI double and Eric Byrnes had a sacrifice fly in support of Redman (7-8), who pitched into the seventh inning. He beat Ryan Franklin (3-9) to give Oakland its fourth straight victory with Octavio Dotel getting the save.
Ichiro Suzuki extended his hitting streak to 19 games with a first-inning single. Suzuki's tear is the longest run in the majors after the 22-game streak of Atlanta's J.D. Drew ended Tuesday night. The Mariners matched a 16-year-old franchise record for consecutive road losses.
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