NATIONAL LEAGUE
Infielder Wilson Valdez became the winning pitcher early yesterday when the Philadelphia Phillies needed 19 innings to outlast the Cincinnati Reds 5-4.
A dwindling crowd at Citizens Bank Park saw Raul Ibanez hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to decide the longest major league game of the season. It ended at 1:19am after 6 hours, 11 minutes.
The teams were set to play again yesterday at 1:05pm.
Valdez threw a hitless 19th inning in his first professional pitching appearance to become the first position player to become a winning pitcher since Colorado catcher Brent Mayne on Aug. 22, 2000, STATS LLC said.
Valdez threw one pitch to the backstop and hit Scott Rolen, but the Phillies’ newest right-hander then retired Jay Bruce on a fly ball and got down Reds reliever Carlos Fisher (0-1) on a popup.
Fisher finally wore down when Jimmy Rollins singled to open the 19th, Domonic Brown walked and Placido Polanco sacrificed.
Thousands of fans derisively chanted “Fisher! Fisher!” before he intentionally walked Ryan Howard to load the bases.
Ibanez hit a fly to deep center to win it.
Bruce homered in the 10th for the Reds, then Howard went deep and tied it in the bottom half. They ended up playing the longest game in the eight-season history of the ballpark.
MARLINS 7, GIANTS 6, 12 INNS
In San Francisco, Scott Cousins scored the winning run in a hard collision with catcher Buster Posey at home in the 12th inning as Florida beat San Francisco after blowing a four-run lead in the ninth.
Emilio Bonifacio hit a short fly ball to right-center off Guillermo Mota (2-1) for the second out. Cousins tagged from third base, beating the throw from Nate Schierholtz and lowering his shoulder to slam into Posey for a clean hit. Posey lay dazed, writhing in pain and curling up in a ball for several minutes. He was helped off the field by two team trainers holding his left leg and looking stunned.
In other NL play, it was:
‧ Brewers 6, Nationals 4
‧ Astros 2, Dodgers 1
‧ Braves 4, Pirates 2, 11 innings
‧ Diamondbacks 2, Rockies 1
‧ Mets 7, Cubs 4, 7 innings
‧ Padres 3, Cardinals 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
AP, ARLINGTON, TEXAS
C.J. Wilson pitched into the seventh inning and Ian Kinsler’s RBI single produced the deciding run as the Texas Rangers hung on to beat the Chicago White Sox 2-1 on Wednesday.
Wilson (5-3) gave up one run and five hits in 6-1/3 innings to help the Rangers win for the third time in four games. The left-hander struck out five.
Neftali Feliz issued consecutive one-out walks in the ninth, but got A.J. Pierzynski to fly out with runners on first and third for his 10th save in 12 chances as Texas took the deciding game of the three-game series.
Gavin Floyd (5-4) allowed two runs and three hits with five strikeouts and one walk in seven-plus innings and 110 pitches.
MARINERS 3, TWINS 0
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, Erik Bedard threw six shutout innings and Franklin Gutierrez hit his first home run of the season, sending Seattle past Minnesota.
David Pauley tossed two scoreless innings in relief, Brandon League pitched a perfect ninth for his 12th save in 15 attempts and the Twins managed only seven singles on their way to their fifth shutout this season. They have the worst record in the majors at 16-32 and the fewest runs with 164.
Bedard (3-4) had a lot to do with that, stretching his scoreless innings streak to 14. After missing last year with a bad shoulder, the Canadian left-hander has bounced back in a big way on his US$1 million, one-year contract.
He allowed six hits and one walk while striking out four.
In other AL play, it was:
‧ Yankees 7, Blue Jays 3
‧ Red Sox 14, Indians 2
‧ Orioles 9, Royals 2
‧ Angels 4, Athletics 1
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