National LeaguePossibly playing his final home game in DC, Alfonso Soriano homered in his first at-bat on Thursday, and the Washington Nationals beat the San Francisco Giants 6-5 for their season-high sixth consecutive victory.
Soriano's 32nd homer was his sixth leadoff shot of the season, tying for the major league lead. He's at the center of talks as Monday's trade deadline approaches, and the Nationals now embark on a nine-game road trip.
Also a candidate to leave via trade in the coming days is Livan Hernandez (8-8). He retired the last 10 batters he faced and allowed three runs and six hits over seven innings.
PHOTO: AP
Chad Cordero recorded his 17th save despite giving up Eliezer Alfonzo's second homer of the game, a two-run shot in the ninth.
Giants starter Matt Cain (7-7) allowed six runs on five hits and five walks over 6 2-3 innings. The Giants have lost four in a row.
Phillies 5, Diamondbacks 2
PHOTO: AP
At Philadelphia, Chase Utley extended his hitting streak to 27 games and Cory Lidle (8-7) boosted his trade value with four-hit ball over eight innings.
Mike Lieberthal homered for the first time since last September for the Phillies, who won the last two games of the three-game series.
Utley hit a soft liner to center leading off the fifth inning against Diamondbacks starter Claudio Vargas (8-7) to extend the longest hitting streak in the major leagues this season and equal the third-longest streak in team history.
Marlins 6, Braves 1
At Atlanta, Scott Olsen pitched six shutout innings, Matt Treanor hit his second career homer and Florida won a series in Atlanta for the first time since 2002.
Olsen (9-4) allowed only two hits and retired the last 12 hitters he faced on a sweltering day. He also had two singles at the plate, including a run-scoring hit in the sixth when the Marlins scored three runs to break open the game.
Florida won two of three, ending a streak of 10 straight series in Atlanta that were either lost or split. The Marlins' last series win at Turner Field in 2002.
Treanor, batting just .212 coming into the game, hit a two-run homer off Jason Shiell (0-2) in the second to give Florida a 3-0 lead. The drive over the left-field wall followed a two-out, run-scoring single by Josh Willingham that kept the inning going.
Reds 8, Astros 4
At Houston, Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey, Jr homered and Cincinnati starter Elizardo Ramirez struck out seven straight hitters.
Dunn went 3-for-3 with four RBIs and Ramirez (4-6) went 6 2-3 innings to win for the first time since June 25, allowing six hits and striking out eight. He struck out seven in a row from the third to fifth innings.
Dunn and Rich Aurilia added RBI singles in the ninth off Brad Lidge, ending the Houston bull-pen's scoreless streak at 27 innings, the longest in the majors this season.
Astros starter Taylor Buchholz (6-9) lasted only two innings.
Cubs 5, Cardinals 4
At Chicago, Todd Walker and Michael Barrett hit back-to-back homers, the fourth time Chicago did it this week. The Cubs used six relievers and they combined for 5 2-3 scoreless innings. Ryan Novoa (1-0) won it, with Ryan Dempster closing for his 18th save.
The Cubs sent nine batters to the plate in the sixth inning when they took advantage of an error by third baseman Scott Rolen to score three runs and take a 5-4 lead.
Juan Encarnacion hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs for the Cardinals. Tyler Johnson (0-2) took the loss.
Before the game, Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said Dusty Baker will be the manager for the rest of the season. Baker is in the fourth and final year of his contract for the Cubs (40-61).
Rockies 9, Padres 8, 10 innings
At Denver, Jamey Carroll singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th after Yorvit Torrealba had tied it with a two-out homer off Trevor Hoffman an inning earlier, and Colorado beat San Diego.
Choo Freeman doubled off the wall in left with one out off Scott Williamson (2-4). On a 1-1 pitch, Carroll slapped the ball to right. Freeman dived under the tag of catcher Rob Bowen.
Torrealba had three hits and three RBIs and Clint Barmes had two hits and an RBI each for Colorado, which won for the fourth time in 17 games. Brian Fuentes (3-3) worked two scoreless innings for the win.
San Diego's Woody Williams worked into the sixth inning, allowing five runs and eight hits. Hoffman pitched the ninth and allowed the tying homer to Torrealba, his fourth blown save in 31 chances.
Josh Barfield hit two homers and drove in a career-high four runs for the Padres. The rookie second baseman was 2-for-5 in his first multihomer game.
Brian Giles had a homer and two RBIs and Mike Piazza added three hits, including a two-run homer, for the Padres.
American League
Fernando Tatis, starting in the major leagues for the first time since June 13, 2003, had two hits, drove in a run and scored two runs to lead the Baltimore Orioles to a 6-4 victory over Kansas City on Thursday night.
Tatis, who was released by Tampa Bay in spring training in 2004 and did not play professional baseball the past two seasons, doubled in the seventh and scored on a fielding error by third baseman Mark Teahen.
In the Orioles' two-run eighth, Javy Lopez led off with a double, advanced on Corey Patterson's bunt single and scored on pinch-hitter Nick Markakis' groundout. Tatis drove in the second run with a groundout to make it 6-3.
Jeff Conine had a two-run single in the third as the Orioles took a 2-0 lead.
The Royals opened the fifth with consecutive singles by Mark Grudzielanek, Teahen, Matt Stairs and Emil Brown. Brown's single drove in one run and Kansas City tied it on Angel Berroa's sacrifice fly.
Kevin Millar homered to left with one out in the sixth off reliever Brandon Duckworth (1-5) to put the Orioles ahead 3-2.
Teahen's error gave the Orioles a 4-2 lead and Berroa's second sacrifice fly made it a one-run game in the seventh.
Grudzielanek had an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth.
Baltimore's Rodrigo Lopez, who entered the game with a 6.73 ERA, the second-highest in the American League, allowed two runs and 11 hits in 5 2-3 innings, but the Royals stranded 10 runners in the first six innings. Lopez (7-11) lowered his ERA to 6.59.
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