A 40-year-old Greg Maddux won his fifth straight start to be 5-0 starting the season for the first time in his distinguished career as the Chicago Cubs beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-2 Friday.
Twice facing bases-loaded jams, Maddux escaped to earn his 323rd victory, one win shy of tying Nolan Ryan and Don Sutton, for 13th place all-time in Major League Baseball.
He gave up eight hits and two runs in six innings and was backed by a homer and a strong defensive play from shortstop Ronny Cedeno.
Jacque Jones also homered for the Cubs.
Maddux is 13-3 against the Brewers, representing his best winning percentage against any National League team.
Dave Bush (2-2) lasted six innings, giving up 10 hits and five runs.
Pirates 3, Phillies 1
At Pittsburgh, Ian Snell allowed an unearned run over seven innings and Jack Wilson drove in the go-ahead run to help Pittsburgh beat Philadelphia and snap a seven-game losing streak.
Craig Wilson and Jason Bay also drove in runs for the Pirates, who won for only the sixth time in 24 games during their worst start since 1957.
Snell (1-2) struck out seven and allowed five hits in his 11th career start and second victory. Mike Gonzalez pitched the ninth for his third save in as many opportunities.
Brett Myers (2-1) gave up nine hits and three runs in seven innings to get the loss.
Reds 5, Astros 4
At Cincinnati, Brandon Phillips had three hits and two RBIs and Cincinnati beat finally beat Roy Oswalt and Houston.
With their eighth victory in nine games, the Reds moved into first place in the NL Central, a half-game ahead of the Astros. Cincinnati (16-7) also matched its club record for most victories in April, with two chances left to top it.
Oswalt (4-1) was the only pitcher in major league history to go 15-0 against a team but the Reds got to him for eight hits and three runs in six innings.
Left-hander Brandon Claussen (2-2) gave up two runs in 5 1-3 innings. David Weathers gave up a two-run homer in the ninth to Lance Berkman before finishing it for his seventh save in eight chances.
Mets 5, Braves 2
At Atlanta, Pedro Martinez allowed four hits in seven innings and the New York Mets strengthened their hold on first place in the NL East, getting two homers from David Wright to beat Atlanta.
John Smoltz also went seven innings, striking out 10 and hanging around long enough to throw 122 pitches. But he left trailing 3-2, and Chris Reitsma gave up two more runs in the ninth to clinch the Braves' fourth straight loss.
Wright homered off Smoltz (1-2) in the fifth and went deep on Reitsma in the ninth. He also had a sacrifice fly.
Martinez's only slip-up came in the sixth, when he surrendered a two-run homer to Chipper Jones on an 0-2 pitch. Martinez (5-0) helped the Mets stretch their lead over the Braves to six games in the division race.
Nationals 8, Cardinals 3
At St. Louis, Albert Pujols tied the major league record with his 13th home run in April, but Nick Johnson and Ryan Zimmerman homered in the first inning to lead Washington past St. Louis for the win.
Pujols' drive in the eighth inning came off a 2-0 pitch from Felix Rodriguez and matched the mark shared by Ken Griffey Jr. in 1997 with Seattle and Luis Gonzalez in 2001 with Arizona. It was Pujols' first homer in four games and left him with two games this month to break the record.
Tony Armas (2-2) worked six solid innings for Washington, which ended a five-game losing streak.
Jason Marquis (3-2) allowed seven runs and eight hits in five innings for the Cardinals.
Dodgers 3, Padres 0
At San Diego, Jae Seo and three relievers combined on a two-hitter and J.D. Drew drove in two runs to as Los Angeles blanked San Diego.
San Diego entered the game last in the majors in home batting average, .210, and lost for the 10th time in 13 games at Petco Park this season. They've been shut out twice in three games and have been held to two or fewer runs in seven of their last eight games, all at home.
Seo (1-2) came in with a 7.64 ERA and lasted only 3 2-3 innings in his previous start, a 5-4 loss to Arizona last Saturday.
All he needed to get better was a crack at the Padres, who wasted a nice effort by Chris Young (2-2).
Kevin Mench homered in his seventh straight game for Texas, but Cleveland beat the Rangers 7-6 Friday for their third straight victory.
Mench was 0-for-3 before hitting an 0-2 pitch from Guillermo Mota just over the left-field wall to open the eighth inning after Cleveland had scored twice in the seventh to take a 6-4 lead.
Don Mattingly, Dale Long and Ken Griffey Jr. share the major league record with homers in eight straight games.
Victor Martinez drew a bases-loaded walk off Ron Mahay to snap a 4-4 tie in the seventh and Eduardo Perez followed with an RBI on a fielder's choice to put Cleveland ahead by two. Rick Bauer (1-1) put the first two runners on before Mahay came on with one out and walked Travis Hafner and Martinez to force in a run.
Jason Davis (1-0) pitched a perfect seventh for the victory and Bob Wickman got his fifth save.
Blue Jays 7, Yankees 2
At New York, Shea Hillenbrand hit two home runs for Toronto -- a three-run homer in the sixth and added a solo shot in the ninth -- to down New York.
Russ Adams drew a leadoff walk and Frank Catalanotto followed with his second home run of the season off Jaret Wright (0-2).
Toronto's Roy Halladay (3-1) allowed seven hits over 5 1-3 innings but worked his way out of trouble several times, leaving six Yankees runners stranded.
Halladay left after retiring the first batter in the sixth with his 99th pitch. Scott Schoeneweis relieved and after walking Hideki Matsui with two outs, allowed Bernie Williams' first home run of the season.
Orioles 5, Mariners 2
At Baltimore, Daniel Cabrera pitched seven innings of four-hit ball and Corey Patterson and Miguel Tejada homered as Baltimore downed Seattle.
Tejada went 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored. He has hit in 13 straight games, and his 41 hits in April is a club record. He is 27-for-51 (.529) with five homers and 13 RBIs during his hitting streak.
Cabrera (2-2) struck out six and walked one. The right-hander is 4-0 with a 2.62 ERA in five career starts against the Mariners.
Jose Lopez homered for the Mariners.
Devil Rays 5, Red Sox 2
At St. Petersburg, Florida, Tampa Bay's Casey Fossum took a three-hit shutout into the seventh inning and Ty Wigginton supported him with a two-run double to beat Boston.
Fossum (1-1) limited the Red Sox to two singles and a triple that rightfielder Jonny Gomes lost in the lights, but he also walked five and hit two batters. Shawn Camp gave up an RBI double to Trot Nixon and a run-scoring single to pinch-hitter J.T. Snow. Tyler Walker, whom the Devil Rays acquired from San Francisco earlier Friday, came on in the ninth with two runners on and got a double-play grounder and a strikeout for the save.
Athletics 5, Royals 3
At Kansas City, Missouri, Mark Ellis homered and drove in four runs, leading Oakland to its 11th straight win at Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium.
Dan Haren (1-2) allowed two runs and eight hits in eight innings. He walked one, hit two batters and struck out six in his first victory since a 6-1 decision over the Los Angeles Angels last Sept. 28.
Kirk Saarloos relieved with one out and the bases loaded in the ninth and gave up one run in earnings his first career save.
White Sox 8, Angels 5
At Anaheim, California, Jermaine Dye hit a two-run homer and Scott Podsednik and Tadahito Iguchi both added two RBIs for Chicago.
Freddy Garcia (4-1) allowed three runs and four hits over six innings and struck out five, helping the defending World Series champions win for the 10th time in 12 games.
The White Sox beat the Angels in five games last October for their first pennant since 1959.
Vladimir Guerrero sliced the deficit to 8-4 in the seventh with an RBI single against Brandon McCarthy. Garret Anderson followed with an RBI single against Neal Cotts. Guerrero, who drove in four runs, hit a two-run homer in the first.
Colorado Rockies pitcher Jose Mesa was suspended for four games by Major League Baseball on Friday for intentionally throwing at San Francisco shortstop Omar Vizquel.
Mesa appealed the suspension and was available for this weekend's series against the Florida Marlins. He threw at Vizquel's head during the eighth inning of last Saturday's game at Denver.
Giants pitcher Matt Morris and pitching coach Dave Righetti were fined undisclosed amounts for their actions during a game the following day.
Morris was fined for intentionally throwing at Colorado's Matt Holliday in the first inning. Righetti was fined for throwing his pitch counter onto the field and yelling at umpire Travis Reininger after being ejected.
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