NATIONAL LEAGUE
REUTERS AND AP, NEW YORK
Tim Redding pitched seven solid innings for his first win of the season as the injury-riddled New York Mets beat the St Louis Cardinals 6-4 on Monday.
PHOTO: AFP
Omir Santos had four hits and Daniel Murphy homered for the Mets, who were missing center fielder Carlos Beltran after he was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a badly bruised knee.
The Mets are already without shortstop Jose Reyes, first baseman Carlos Delgado and three pitchers, but got a morale-boosting win despite their make-shift lineup.
“That was a huge win for us,” New York manager Jerry Manuel told reporters. “We got some great pitching when we needed it and a lot of different guys stepped up in a tough situation.”
Redding (1-2) allowed four runs on five hits with four strikeouts and one walk.
“I told myself we had to get off to a good start, show we’re not just going to lay down,” Redding said of his mindset with all of the injuries in the clubhouse. “Nobody is expecting a lot right now with all the injuries we have but we have to keep going.”
New York also pounded out 14 hits and managed to keep red-hot St Louis slugger Albert Pujols in check to move to within one-and-a-half games of the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East.
“We’re not as bad as people think we are,” said Mets shortstop Alex Cora, who hit two RBI singles. “As long as your mind and your effort is consistent, we’re going to be fine.”
Ryan Ludwick and Brendan Ryan both homered for the Cardinals, who had their lead in the NL Central cut to just one game over the Milwaukee Brewers with the loss.
Todd Wellemeyer (6-7) allowed five runs on 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings to take the loss.
BRAVES 2, CUBS 0
INTERLEAGUE
At Atlanta, Georgia, Javier Vazquez and three Atlanta relievers combined to shut out the Chicago Cubs.
In a makeup game caused by a June 4 rainout, the Braves won a series for the first time since completing a three-game sweep of Toronto on May 24. The Braves had gone 0-5-3 in their last eight series. Atlanta and Chicago split the first two games of the original series June 2-3.
Atlanta, which snapped a two-game slide, ended the Cubs’ four-game winning streak.
Vazquez (5-6) gave up nine hits and two walks with five strikeouts. The right-hander’s victory snapped a five-start streak in which he went 0-3 despite a 3.44 ERA.
Rafael Soriano, who gave up a single and a walk, struck out the side for his sixth save in seven chances.
At Oakland, California, Bobby Crosby drove in three runs and rookie Trevor Cahill won his third straight decision as the Athletics ended a five-game losing streak in the Bay Bridge Series with a 5-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants.
Travis Ishikawa hit a solo home run in the second inning to put San Francisco ahead, but that’s all the offense the Giants could muster.
Orlando Cabrera doubled in a run in the fourth for Oakland to tie the game at 1-1, and then Ryan Sweeney’s RBI groundout two batters later gave the A’s the lead.
Crosby hit a two-run double in the sixth and had an eighth-inning RBI groundout in Oakland’s third win in four games.
ROCKIES 11, ANGELS 1
At Anaheim, California, Brad Hawpe celebrated his 30th birthday with a three-run homer and Seth Smith also went deep as Colorado beat the Angels for their 17th victory in 18 games and club-record ninth straight on the road.
The Angels tied a club record with six wild pitches — all with Jeff Napoli behind the plate. One was by Rafael Rodriguez in the seventh inning that allowed Troy Tulowitzki to score, one by Jason Bulger in the ninth that enabled Ian Stewart to come home.
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