Brad Lidge put two on in the ninth but worked out of the jam by getting pinch-hitter Gary Bennett on a grounder. Lidge has 11 saves in 13 opportunities.
Reds 7, Rockies 1
At Denver, Adam Dunn and Jason LaRue homered, and Aaron Harang won for the fifth straight time in Cincinnati's victory over Colorado.
Harang (5-1) struck out a career-high 12, scattered seven hits and walked two in 8 1-3 innings. He also singled twice but broke his lucky bat with a grounder in the eighth.
LaRue's three-run shot was his first homer of the season and came during a four-run second inning. Dunn led off the fifth with his 11th homer. Both came off Josh Fogg (2-2), who allowed five earned runs and eight hits in 6 1-3 innings.
Diamondbacks 6, Cubs 0
At Phoenix, Chad Tracy homered for the third straight game, Damion Easley drove in three runs and Arizona beat Chicago to move into a first-place tie with its fifth victory in a row.
Former Cubs pitcher Juan Cruz (1-0), who opened the season in the bullpen, went five strong innings in his second start.
Rookie Rich Hill (0-1) lost his first start for the Cubs, who have dropped three straight games and have been shut out three times in its last five games.
Easley had an RBI grounder in the second, a 452-foot homer to left leading off the fourth and a sacrifice fly in the eighth. Johnny Estrada also had a sacrifice fly and Eric Byrnes added an RBI double.
Padres 3, Dodgers 0
At Los Angeles, Khalil Greene hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning to lead San Diego over Los Angeles for its fifth straight win.
Padres starter Clay Hensley was hit in the back of the head by a broken bat in the second inning but stayed in the game and pitched two-hit ball over six scoreless innings.
Takashi Saito (2-2) entered the game after seven innings of five-hit ball by Dodgers starter Brett Tomko, surrendering a walk to Brian Giles and a single by Mike Piazza. Greene then drove a 2-2 pitch into the left field bullpen with two out for his fifth home run and first since April 11.
Alan Embree (1-0) pitched a perfect seventh inning for the Padres, who have rebounded after an 8-15 start. Trevor Hoffman got three outs for his fifth save in as many attempts and 441st of his career, 37 behind Lee Smith's major league record.
The Boston Red Sox optioned South Korean first baseman Choi Hee-seop to Triple-A Pawtucket on Thursday after activating him from the disabled list.
Choi went on the 15-day DL on April 1, retroactive to March 29, with a left hamstring strain and was sent to Pawtucket on 20-day rehabilitation assignment on April 14. He batted .313 with three homers and 12 RBIs in 19 games at Pawtucket.
RSS