NATIONAL LEAGUE
Aramis Ramirez hit a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth inning, capping a three-run rally against Brewers closer Francisco Cordero and leading the Chicago Cubs over Milwaukee 6-5 for their seventh straight win on Friday.
The National League Central-leading Brewers took a 5-0 lead in the first inning on Kevin Mench's three-run blast. They still led 5-3 going into the ninth before Alfonso Soriano and Mike Fontenot singled with one out off Cordero (0-2).
PHOTO: AP
After Derrek Lee hit a sacrifice fly, Ramirez hit the next pitch into the left-center field bleachers for his 15th homer.
It was Cordero's third blown save in 30 chances. Bob Howry (5-4) pitched one inning and got the win.
Astros 9, Rockies 8
At Houston, Mark Loretta hit a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth to lift Houston over Colorado, the second night in a row the Astros hit a walk-off home run off Rockies closer Brian Fuentes.
It was the fourth blown save in eight days for Fuentes and the Rockies have lost eight straight.
With two outs, Fuentes (0-4) walked Carlos Lee, who hit a grand slam in the 11th off Fuentes on Thursday night. Loretta followed, homering to the Crawford Boxes in left for his second home run of the season.
Ryan Spilborghs' pinch-hit single to center field scored Brad Hawpe in the seventh inning and put Colorado up 8-7.
Dave Borkowski (2-3) allowed one hit and walked one in the ninth for the win.
Mets 6, Phillies 5, 1st game
Mets 5, Phillies 2, 2nd game
At Philadelphia, Carlos Beltran hit two homers and John Maine dominated the Phillies again, helping New York complete a sweep of a day-night doubleheader.
Damion Easley also connected for the NL East-leading Mets, who moved five games ahead of the Phillies.
In the opener, Carlos Delgado and Jose Reyes homered, Orlando Hernandez pitched six innings and the Mets held on for a 6-5 win.
Maine (9-4) allowed two runs -- one earned -- and four hits in eight-plus innings to improve to 4-0 with a 2.13 ERA in six career starts against Philadelphia.
In the opener, J.D. Durbin (0-1) made his first appearance with the Phillies, allowing six runs and eight hits in four innings. Hernandez gave up two runs and three hits.
Pirates 3, Nationals 2
Jose Bautista's second sacrifice fly of the game drove in the winning run in the ninth inning and Pittsburgh rallied from two runs down to beat slumping Washington in Pittsburgh.
The Nationals have been limited to five runs while losing four in a row. They have dropped five of six and 10 of 13.
Ronny Paulino started the Pirates' ninth with a single to left against Jon Rauch (3-2). After an intentional walk to Nate McLouth and a walk to pinch-hitter Ryan Doumit, Bautista worked the count to 3-0 before hitting a full-count pitch to left against a drawn-in outfield, allowing Castillo to score.
Cardinals 4, Reds 2
At Cincinnati, Juan Encarnacion's tiebreaking single in the eighth inning helped St. Louis rally past Cincinnati, giving reliever Troy Percival a triumphant return to the majors.
The 37-year-old Percival was in position for his first victory since April 22, 2005, after he pitched a perfect seventh inning. He watched from the bench as the Cardinals pulled it out with three runs in the eighth.
Percival signed a minor league deal with St. Louis on June 8, made six appearances in Triple-A, then was added to the roster on Tuesday.
Braves 12, Marlins 3
At Miami, Chuck James held Florida to a run and four hits and had two hits of his own for Atlanta.
James (7-7) went six innings and struck out five to win for the second time in three starts.
It was the fourth consecutive win for the Braves, after a five-game losing streak. Kelly Johnson had three singles and reached base in all five plate appearances. Jeff Francouer had four hits and an RBI.
Marlins starter Josh Johnson pitched four innings, allowing two runs and five hits. He walked five and struck out six.
Diamondbacks 4, Giants 3
At San Francisco, Barry Bonds hit his 750th career home run, pulling within five of tying Hank Aaron's record, before Miguel Montero hit a solo homer off Brad Hennessey (1-3) in the 10th to give Arizona a win over San Francisco.
Tony Pena pitched a perfect ninth and Jose Valverde finished for his 26th save in 29 chances. Valverde got Bonds to ground out to first to end it.
Bonds' solo shot off D-Backs starter Livan Hernandez tied the game at 3 and came an inning after getting a startling hug from a fan.
In the seventh inning, a fan jumped out over the short fence along the left-field line and ran over to Bonds while Orlando Hudson was batting. Bonds didn't flinch, putting his arm around the man and walking him off the field.
Padres 7, Dodgers 6
At Los Angles, Kevin Kouzmanoff's three-run homer broke a tie in a six-run fourth inning and San Diego won a matchup of NL West rivals separated by a game.
Chris Young (8-3) allowed two runs and seven hits, struck out nine and walked one in winning his fourth straight decision for the two-time defending division champions, who have won three in a row.
Trevor Hoffman gave up a run in the ninth and Jeff Kent's two-out double put the winning run at the plate. But Hoffman got Luis Gonzalez to pop out for his 22nd save in 24 chances.
Kuo Hong-chih (1-4) gave up seven runs on six hits, struck out three and walked three in losing his third in a row.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Manny Delcarmen struck out Sammy Sosa on a full-count fastball with bases loaded on Friday to give Boston a 2-1 win over Texas.
That preserved the win for Tim Wakefield (8-8), who gave up one run and seven hits, striking out four and walking four. Delcarmen relieved him with two on and two out in the seventh, walked the bases full and then fanned Sosa to end the threat.
Hideki Okajima pitched a perfect eighth for the Red Sox, but then Jonathan Papelbon made things interesting in the ninth.
The win snapped a three-game Boston losing streak, taking their record last month to .500, their worst month this season.
Texas pitcher Jamey Wright (1-2) left with nobody out in the sixth, allowing two runs and six hits, three walks and a hit batter while striking out three.
Yankees 2, Athletics 1
At New York, Mike Mussina pitched seven sharp innings as New York beat Oakland for its first win in a week.
Alex Rodriguez had three hits as the Yankees opened a big 10-game homestand after a disastrous 1-7 road trip. New York has won nine of its past 10 games at Yankee Stadium.
For Oakland, Shannon Stewart went 3-for-3 and Eric Chavez doubled and scored, but the Athletics have now lost seven of eight.
Indians 2, Devil Rays 1
At Cleveland, Ben Francisco led off the bottom of the ninth inning with his first major league home run to give Cleveland victory over Tampa Bay.
The homer off Shawn Camp came on a 2-2 pitch and landed in the left-field bleachers. Francisco, who was making the first start of his career, also got his first major league hit in the fourth inning.
The Devil Rays have lost five straight.
Tampa Bay's baserunning proved costly in the ninth. With two outs, Josh Wilson was picked off at first by Cleveland pitcher Joe Borowski.
Twins 11, Tigers 1
At Detroit, Joe Mauer hit his first career grand slam as Minnesota defeated Detroit.
The anticipated pitching duel between the Twins' Johan Santana and the Tigers' Justin Verlander never materialized. Verlander gave up two runs in the first inning and Mauer broke the game open with his grand slam in the fifth.
Verlander (9-3) walked five batters, four of which scored, in five innings. He gave up four hits and struck out five.
Santana (9-6) allowed one run, striking out six and walking one.
Angels 9, Orioles 7
At Baltimore, Aubrey Huff hit for the cycle, but Los Angeles got a tiebreaking two-run homer from Howie Kendrick in the ninth inning to beat Baltimore.
Kendrick connected off Chris Ray (4-6) with two outs. The Angels blew a five-run lead to trail 7-5 in the seventh before rallying to end a three-game losing streak.
Angels pitcher Scot Shields got the final two outs in the eighth and Francisco Rodriguez worked the ninth for his 23rd save.
Huff tripled in the second inning -- his 1,000th career hit -- doubled in the fourth, hit a three-run homer in the fifth and singled in the seventh.
Royals 8, White Sox 1
At Kansas City, Shane Costa and Esteban German drove in two runs each as Kansas City won five straight games for the first time in two years.
Royals starter Brian Bannister (5-4) went six strong innings, giving up a run and four hits and winning for the fifth time this month. Zack Greinke held the White Sox to one hit in the last two-and-two-thirds innings to earn his first save.
Mariners 5, Blue Jays 3
At Seattle, Jose Guillen hit in all his first three at-bats, Seattle scored all of its runs with two outs, and the surging Mariners won their sixth straight by downing Toronto.
Jarrod Washburn (7-6) pitched six innings as Seattle improved to 43-33, the first time they've been 10 games above .500 since the end of the 2003 season. The Mariners' six-game streak is their longest since last August.
Seattle's J.J. Putz got out of a jam in the eighth and finished off the ninth for his 23rd save.
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