Carlos Delgado's three-run homer led New York to a 7-1 win over Atlanta on Friday that stopped the National League East-leading Mets' losing streak at five games.
The only run New York starter John Maine (14-8) allowed came in the sixth after he loaded the bases with no outs.
Braves starter Tim Hudson (15-7) had dominated the Mets this season, but surrendered four runs in six innings to record the loss.
PHOTO: AP
Phillies 9, Marlins 2
In Miami, Kyle Kendrick was hit by a fastball on his pitching arm in the second inning, but he still pitched seven innings and helped Philadelphia extend its winning streak to a season-best six games by downing Florida.
The Phillies closed within two games of wildcard race leaders Arizona.
Brewers 3, Pirates 2
In Milwaukee, Yovani Gallardo (6-4) pitched seven sharp innings and hit his second homer of the season, helping Milwaukee inch closer in the National League Central race with victory over Pittsburgh.
Francisco Cordero got three outs to earn his 38th save in 44 chances.
Astros 6, Cubs 1
In Chicago, Hunter Pence homered twice and had a career-high five RBIs as Houston downed Chicago.
The defeat sliced the Cubs' lead in the National League Central to one-and-a-half games over Milwaukee.
Pence's first career multihomer game featured a three-run shot in the fourth off Sean Marshall (7-7) and two-run drive in the sixth, giving the standout rookie 14 for the season.
Cardinals 8, Reds 5
In St. Louis, Rick Ankiel hit a go-ahead grand slam in the sixth inning, helping St. Louis down Cincinatti and pushing Tony La Russa past Red Schoendienst for the most wins by a manager in Cardinals history.
The victory moved St. Louis within two games of Chicago in the National League Central.
Rockies 7, Diamondbacks 3
In Phoenix, Cory Sullivan hit a two-run single in the eighth inning, then scored the go-ahead run on a 10th-inning error as Colorado dropped Arizona out of first place in the National League West.
Sullivan tripled off Tony Pena (5-3) leading off the 10th. Kazuo Matsui followed with a grounder back to the mound, but Pena threw the ball wildly to first, allowing Sullivan to score. Brad Hawpe then hit a two-run single.
Padres 6, Dodgers 4
In San Diego, Josh Bard singled in the go-ahead run in the sixth and San Diego downed Los Angeles.
The Dodgers dropped to four games off the lead in the National League West and the wildcard.
Giants 3, Nationals 2
In Washington, Kevin Correia had his longest outing as a starter in more than two years as San Francisco edged Washington.
Rajai Davis' broken-bat double capped a three-run second inning for the Giants.
Garret Anderson hit a two-run homer and scored the winning run in the 10th inning as Los Angeles beat Texas 7-6 on Friday to extend its lead atop the American League West.
The Angels' fifth straight win, coupled with Seattle's loss at Toronto, put them six-and-a-half games ahead in the league with less than 30 games remaining.
Blue Jays 7, Mariners 5
In Toronto, slumping Seattle lost its seventh straight game as Troy Glaus hit a two-run homer for Toronto.
Blue Jays starter Shaun Marcum (12-5) allowed four runs in five innings to win for the eighth time in 10 starts.
Athletics 5, Tigers 4
In Oakland, California, Dan Johnson lined the game-winning single to right in the 10th inning, giving Oakland victory over Detroit and dropping the Tigers a season-high five-and-a-half games behind American League Central leaders Cleveland.
Detroit is now more likely to qualify as the wildcard than win its division and is three games behind New York in the wildcard race.
Devil Rays 9, Yankees 1
In New York, Carlos Pena homered twice as Tampa Bay ended New York's winning streak at three games.
Devil Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine (4-9) pitched eight innings of two-hit ball, retiring his final 14 batters faced.
Tampa Bay roughed up an ineffective Phil Hughes (2-3) who gave up five runs in four innings.
Orioles 9, Red Sox 8
In Boston, Nick Markakis hit a three-run homer and Baltimore broke a nine-game losing streak by edging Boston.
Indians 8, White Sox 5
In Cleveland, Casey Blake's three-run double capped Cleveland's six-run eighth inning as the Indians rallied past Chicago.
Twins 5, Royals 0
Royals 9, Twins 4
In Minnesota, Scott Baker came within three outs of a perfect game and two outs of a no-hitter, falling short of history but still leading Minnesota over Kansas City 5-0 in the second game of a doubleheader.
Baker (8-6) struck out a career-high nine and threw 111 pitches in just his second complete game in 44 major league starts.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later