National League
Steve Finley sure knows how to break out of a slump.
PHOTO: AP
Finley hit a game-winning two-run homer against St. Louis on Friday, a day after hitting two home runs to end an 0-for-19 skid.
What slump?
"I love being in those situations," Finley said. "That's what being in baseball is all about."
The Dodgers, who are a season-high 24 games over .500, have a six-game lead in the National League West.
Finley was 3 for 3 and hit his game-winning home run in the seventh. He wasn't the only Dodger to homer. Shawn Green and Jayson Werth hit consecutive home runs in the second inning for a 2-1 Dodgers lead, which didn't last long. Adrian Beltre hit a three-run homer, his 45th home run of the season, in the third inning off Jason Marquis for a 5-4 Dodger lead.
They've been chanting MVP at Dodger Stadium for the last two homestands, but never like they did while Beltre was rounding the bases on Friday.
Perhaps it was because another MVP candidate, St. Louis third baseman Scott Rolen, was in the house. Or, perhaps, it's because this could be a playoff preview.
Beltre's homer gave him his 106th RBI, second-most by a third baseman in club history. Ron Cey had 110 RBI in 1977.
There were post-game fireworks, but there were plenty of fireworks during the game, too.
Eric Gagne got the final five outs to record his 39th save, but it wasn't without a bit of controversy. Gagne threw a foul ball he didn't like back into the Dodgers' dugout and got a new ball during pinch hitter Marlon Anderson's at-bat in the eighth inning.
Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa came on to the field to talk with first-base umpire Charlie Reliford. Gagne said he thought it was because he wanted to check the baseball, so after the last out, he flipped the ball into the Cardinals dugout.
Someone in the St. Louis dugout threw it over to the Dodger dugout. Milton Bradley threw it back over to the St. Louis dugout.
"I had a legitimate question," La Russa said. "I get to manage my club. I thought that was a (expletive) response [from the Dodgers]."
Asked why he rolled the ball toward the St. Louis dugout, Gagne said: "He thought it needed to get checked out."
The Cardinals tied it at 5 in the bottom of the fifth against reliever Wilson Alvarez. Hector Luna, in the game for Rolen, who left the game with a left knee injury, drew a leadoff walk, Edgar Renteria flew out to center and Jim Edmonds singled to right. Reggie Sanders hit a pop fly to shallow left field, which Cesar Izturis caught and Luna scored on. Izturis made a good throw home, just a bit wide but catcher Brent Mayne couldn't tag Sanders, who slid and touched the bag with his left hand.
Starter Kazuhisa Ishii had little control again, and Tracy had little patience for it. After Ishii loaded the bases and allowed a three-run double to Rolen with one out in the third, he was yanked in favor of Alvarez.
Rolen had a big game -- he was 2 for 2 with four RBI -- but he left the game after the third inning. Rolen fouled off a ball off his left shin and then hit a three-run double in that at-bat to give the Cardinals a 4-2 lead at the time.
"We showed we can beat the best team in baseball and that's a good sign," Alvarez said. "It's a good test for us. We find out we can beat anybody. We feel better and more confident. There's two more games. We'll see what happens."
Florida 7, Cubs 0, game 1
Cubs 11, Florida 2, game 2
Carl Pavano got his 17th victory with a seven-hit shutout to help the Florida Marlins beat the Chicago Cubs 7-0 on Friday in the first game of a doubleheader -- their first meeting since Game 7 of last year's NLCS.
Eleven months ago, the Marlins marched into Wrigley Field and won the final two games to earn a trip to the World Series, rallying with eight eighth-inning runs in a stunning Game 6 victory in which the Cubs become unglued.
The 2004 Cubs, who have lost 7 of 10, committed three errors on Friday and heard an earful of boos when another fly ball dropped between two outfielders.
And the Marlins, who've won 18 of 24, rocked Kerry Wood (7-7) for 11 hits and six runs, four earned, in six innings.
The doubleheader served as makeup of one game of a three-game set that was wiped out by Hurricane Frances last weekend in Miami. After playing Saturday and Sunday at Wrigley Field, the teams must also play a twinbill on Sept. 20.
And once they leave Chicago's north side, the Marlins aren't going too far -- about 12km across town where they will play the Montreal Expos on Monday and Tuesday at US Cellular Field, a move made because of Hurricane Ivan.
Pirates 6, Astros 1
In Pittsburgh, rookie John Van Benschoten allowed five hits in eight innings for his first major league win.
Houston, which had won 12 straight before losing the opener of Thursday's doubleheader, has lost two of three for the first time since Aug. 20-22 against the Chicago Cubs. The Astros began the day tied with San Francisco for the wild-card lead, a half-game ahead of the Cubs.
Pete Munro (4-6) allowed four runs and nine hits in five innings.
Van Benschoten (1-3), a first-round pick in the 2001 amateur draft, made his fifth major league start. The 24-year-old right-hander, who had relieved injured Kip Wells in the first inning last Sunday, gave up one run, struck out three and walked one, lowering his ERA from 6.64 to 5.08.
Jack Wilson and Tike Redman each had three hits for the Pirates.
Phillies 9, Mets 5
In New York, Jason Michaels went 4-for-5 with a homer and four RBIs to lead Philadelphia past New York.
Placido Polanco also homered and Jimmy Rollins hit a two-run single for the Phillies, who got another dominant effort from their bullpen to win their fourth straight and seventh in eight games. David Bell had three hits, including two doubles, and reached base four times.
American League
Brian Roberts and Larry Bigbie had two hits apiece in an eight-run third inning, and the Baltimore Orioles ended the New York Yankees' five-game winning streak with a 14-8 victory Friday night.
Miguel Tejada and Melvin Mora homered, and B.J. Surhoff had a season-high four RBIs for the Orioles, who have won eight of 11.
Baltimore trailed 3-2 before sending 13 batters to the plate in the third against Javier Vazquez (13-9) and two relievers. Bigbie had two singles and scored twice, and Roberts had a bunt single and a two-run double.
Rodrigo Lopez (12-8) beat New York for the second time in eight days despite allowing five runs and eight hits in 5 2-3 innings.
Derek Jeter and Ruben Sierra homered for the Yankees, who began the night 3 1/2 games ahead of second-place Boston in the AL East.
Twins 4, Tigers 1
In Detroit, Carlos Silva won for the first time in more than a month, and Jacque Jones drove in two runs to lead Minnesota.
Silva (11-8) allowed one run and nine hits in six innings, struck out six and walked none for his first victory in seven starts since Aug. 3 against Anaheim.
J.C. Romero extended his scoreless streak to 35 2-3 innings, and Joe Nathan finished for his 40th save in 43 chances. Minnesota, heading to its third straight AL Central title, has won three straight and eight of 10.
Mike Maroth (10-11) dropped to 0-3 against the Twins this season, allowing four runs, eight hits and four walks in 6 2-3 innings.
Royals 8, Devil Rays 5
In Kansas City, Dee Brown and Desi Relaford doubled during a six-run seventh inning, and Kansas City rallied from a five-run deficit to send Tampa Bay to its 12th straight loss.
The Devil Rays, on the second-longest skid in team history, led 5-0 in the sixth and Mark Hendrickson was working on a one-hitter before Kansas City closed on Ken Harvey's RBI groundout and Joe Randa's run-scoring single.
Red Sox 13, Mariners 2
In Seattle, Curt Schilling became the first 19-game winner in the major leagues this year and Manny Ramirez homered twice, including his second grand slam of the season, to lead Boston over Seattle.
David Ortiz hit a go-ahead homer in a five-run sixth inning, and Johnny Damon had three RBIs for the Red Sox, who cut the New York Yankees' AL East lead to 2 games.
Ramirez tied Ted Williams and Jimmie Foxx for fifth on the career grand slam list at 17, passing Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth. The only players ahead of Ramirez are Lou Gehrig (23), Eddie Murray (19), and Willie McCovey and Robin Ventura (18 each).
Ramirez, who hit a solo homer in the fourth off Ryan Franklin (3-15) and the grand slam in the seventh against Aaron Taylor, reached 40 homers for the fourth time in his career.
Schilling (19-6) won his sixth straight start, his longest winning streak since he won six in a row with Arizona from June 30 to July 27, 2002.
Angels 7, White Sox 5
In Anaheim, Garret Anderson hit a tiebreaking two-run single in the eighth inning and Vladimir Guerrero had a three-run homer, leading Anaheim over the Chicago White Sox.
The Angels, who entered two games behind Oakland in the AL West, rallied to win for the 38th time this season. They remained five games behind Boston in the wild-card race.
David Eckstein led off the eighth with a single against reliever Jeff Bajenaru (0-1). He was sacrificed to second before Damaso Marte came in and intentionally walked Guerrero with two outs and Eckstein at third.
Guerrero moved up to second without a throw and was not credited with a stolen base. Anderson drove in both runners, lining a 2-2 pitch off the glove of third baseman Joe Crede.
Guerrero gave the Angels a 5-2 lead in the seventh with his 30th home run, but the White Sox tied it with three in the eighth against reliever Francisco Rodriguez (3-1) after second baseman Adam Kennedy made an error on Carlos Lee's leadoff grounder.
Troy Percival pitched a scoreless ninth for his 28th save in 33 attempts.
Indians 4, A's 3
In Oakland, Casey Blake's 12th-inning homer sent the A's to their fifth straight loss. Oakland's lead in the AL West dwindled to one game over the Angels despite plenty of chances to snap the skid, which has threatening the A's run for a fifth straight postseason trip.
Coco Crisp tied it with a home run in the eighth inning off Mark Mulder. The Indians got 6 2-3 scoreless innings from seven relievers, and Ryan Ludwick also homered in Cleveland's sixth victory over Oakland in seven meetings this season.
After Oakland couldn't score with the bases loaded and one out in the 11th, Blake -- hitless in his first five at-bats -- hit his 26th homer off rookie Justin Duchscherer (5-6), Oakland's fifth of sixth relievers.
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