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Cardinals win two of three in NYC

Starter Matt Morris of the Cardinals pitches against the Mets at Shea Stadium in New York on Sunday. St. Louis defeated New York 4-2, winning the series 2-1. PHOTO: AFP

Matt Morris pitched effectively into the eighth inning, and John Mabry homered and drove in three runs to lead the St. Louis Cardinals over the New York Mets 4-2 Sunday.

Playing at first base to give All-Star slugger Albert Pujols his first day off this season, Mabry also turned two double plays.

Reggie Sanders hit his 10th home run for the NL Central-leading Cardinals, who took two of three at Shea Stadium and improved to 12-4 on the road.

Nationals 5, Cubs 4

In Washington, Chicago second baseman Neifi Perez's two errors helped Washington score the go-ahead run in the sixth, and Nick Johnson hit a two-run homer to lead the Nationals.

Johnson's homer came in the fifth off Greg Maddux, who walked the preceding batter, Jose Guillen, and complained about the landing area on the pitcher's mound.

It was Johnson's fifth homer and put Washington ahead 4-3. That was the last inning for Maddux, who allowed four runs and seven hits.

Pirates 4, Brewers 2

In Pittsburgh, Daryle Ward homered and drove in two runs, and Dave Williams repeatedly pitched out of trouble to lift Pittsburgh to its ninth victory in 12 games.

Ward homered in the second inning and added a run-scoring single in the fifth after Matt Lawton's leadoff double against Gary Glover (2-2), who saw the Brewers win his last four starts.

The Brewers took the series opener Friday night for their 11th victory in 14 games, but were held to two runs in the final two games by Pittsburgh starters Mark Redman and Williams.

Phillies 4, Reds 3

In Philadelphia, Vicente Padilla pitched six scoreless innings for his first win of the season and was backed by solo homers from Chase Utley and Bobby Abreu.

Padilla (1-4) tossed four-hit ball in his longest outing of the season to earn his first win since last Sept. 29. Padilla tied a career high with six walks, but he worked out of a couple of jams to help the Phillies split the four-game series.

Abreu homered for the seventh time in eight games and has 10 this season. He has a nine-game hitting streak and an RBI in eight straight games.

Diamondbacks 5, Rockies 4

In Denver, Craig Counsell hit his first homer since last July and Brian Bruney converted a rare save opportunity to lead Arizona.

Counsell homered off Jason Jennings (1-5) in the seventh for a 4-3 lead. Alex Cintron had an RBI double, one of his two hits, to make it 5-3 in the eighth.

Bruney allowed a walk and a single in the ninth inning but retired Clint Barmes and Aaron Miles to earn his second save in three tries this season.

Braves 5, Dodgers 2

In Los Angeles, Chipper and Andruw Jones each homered for the second straight game, Tim Hudson pitched six innings, and Atlanta knocked the Dodgers out of first place for the first time since April 28.

The National League East Division-leading Braves won for the 10th time in 14 games. The Dodgers lost their fourth in five to fall one game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL West.

Roy Halladay pitched 7 2-3 innings and Vernon Wells hit a three-run homer as the Toronto Blue Jays avoided a series sweep with a 5-2 win over the Cleveland Indians.

Halladay (6-2) allowed five singles and got 14 outs on grounders. He walked three and struck out six in improving to 4-0 in eight career starts against Cleveland.

Wells' shot in the eighth inning was off C.C. Sabathia (2-3). Alex Rios hit a solo homer in the third as the Blue Jays snapped a seven-game losing streak against Cleveland.

Angels 9, Tigers 3

In Detroit, Bengie Molina's three-run double capped a six-run third inning and John Lackey won for the third time in four starts for Los Angeles.

The Angels hadn't scored more than five runs since beating Oakland 9-5 on April 23, a span of 18 games.

Lackey (4-2) allowed three runs and eight hits in 7 2-3 innings. He walked a season-high five batters.

Twins 5, Rangers 2

In Minneapolis, Shannon Stewart snapped a tie game with a three-run homer in the sixth inning, lifting Brad Radke and Minnesota.

Stewart drove in four runs for the Twins, who avoided their first three-game sweep of the season. Radke (4-3) won his third straight decision, yielding seven hits and two runs in seven innings while striking out two.

Kevin Mench homered for the Rangers, whose five-game road winning streak ended with more struggles by their bullpen. Ron Mahay (0-2) surrendered Stewart's homer.

Yankees 6, Athletics 4

In Oakland, California, Tino Martinez hit two more homers to give him eight in eight games, and slumping Jason Giambi doubled home the go-ahead run in the seventh inning of New York's eighth straight victory.

Randy Johnson earned his 250th victory even though he failed to strike out a batter for the first time in nearly five years. The Yankees (19-19) roared back to .500 by overcoming an early three-run deficit and rallying in the seventh.

They sent spiraling Oakland to its eighth straight loss.

Orioles 6, White Sox 2

In Chicago, the White Sox didn't lead for the first time this season, as Sal Fasano and David Newhan hit their first home runs in Baltimore's victory.

Chicago set a Major League Baseball record by having a lead in 37 straight games to begin a season. That also tied the 1934 Yankees and 1942 Cardinals for the third-longest overall streak with a lead.

Mariners 5, Red Sox 4

In Seattle, Miguel Olivo had three hits, including his first homer of the season, and Seattle overcame Manny Ramirez's 400th home run.

Ramirez became the 39th player in MLB history to reach 400 when his three-run shot with two outs in the fifth brought Boston within a run. He flied out with the tying run on second to end the game as the Red Sox lost a series for the first time this month.

Olivo had been hitless in 27 at-bats, but his RBI infield single sparked a four-run second inning.
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