Cliff Lee pitched his second straight shutout to guide the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-0 win over the St Louis Cardinals in Wednesday’s Major League Baseball action.
Jimmy Rollins homered, then Ryan Howard followed with a two-run shot as Philadelphia powered ahead in the fourth inning. Chase Utley added an eighth-inning sacrifice fly for the National League East-leading Phillies, who have won 10 of 12.
The Cardinals have totaled just two runs in their first two games without star slugger Albert Pujols, who is expected to miss six weeks with a fractured left wrist. It didn’t help that they’ve faced two of the game’s best pitchers in Roy Halladay and Lee, with Roy Oswalt to come next as the Phillies go for the sweep.
Photo: AFP
St Louis starter Kyle Lohse (7-4) worked eight innings to match his -season best, allowing three runs and failing to get a single strikeout.
RAYS 6, BREWERS 3
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Kelly Shoppach hit a two-run homer in the second and Elliot Johnson added a three-run shot in the seventh to power the Tampa Bay Rays over Milwaukee.
Rays starter David Price (8-6) struck out 10 in eight innings, giving up two runs and one walk. He threw 120 pitches and was still hitting 96mph on the radar gun in the eighth.
B.J. Upton’s RBI single gave Tampa Bay the lead in the sixth inning.
Brewers starter Shaun Marcum went only three innings after leaving his most recent start with a hip flexor injury. Reliever Marco Estrada (1-5) lost.
YANKEES 4, REDS 2, 1ST GAME
REDS 10, YANKEES 2, 2ND GAME
In Cincinnati, Ohio, Jorge Posada ended the second-longest homer drought of his career, connecting on a two-run shot that helped New York down the Cincinnati Reds in the opening game of a double-header.
Posada’s tiebreaking homer in the sixth off Mike Leake (6-4) ended his stretch of 126 at-bats without one.
New York matched its season high with four straight wins.
Yankees starter Freddy Garcia (6-6) gave up two unearned runs in seven innings.
In the second game, Reds leadoff hitter Chris Heisey homered three times, getting Cincinnati’s slumping lineup going.
Heisey hit his first career leadoff homer. He also had two-run shots off Brian Gordon (0-1) and Hector Noesi in his first multi-homer game.
He became the third Reds player to homer three times in the leadoff spot, joining Pete Rose and Jay Bruce.
Cincinnati starter Johnny Cueto (5-2) gave up two runs and pitched out of a bases-loaded threat in the seventh, retiring Posada on a groundout to preserve a 4-1 lead.
BRAVES 5, BLUE JAYS 1
In Atlanta, Georgia, Brandon Beachy had a career-high 11 strikeouts in his return from the disabled list as the Atlanta Braves completed a sweep of Toronto.
Beachy (2-1) had been on the disabled list for almost six weeks with a strained left oblique. After one rehab appearance in the minors, the rookie returned to the Braves with a flourish, eclipsing his previous best of nine strikeouts.
He had the Blue Jays completely baffled over his six-inning stint, getting all but one of his Ks on swinging strikes.
Dan Uggla and Brian McCann hit two-run homers for Atlanta.
Toronto starter Jo-Jo Reyes (3-6) took the loss.
INDIANS 4, ROCKIES 3
In Cleveland, Ohio, Josh Tomlin came through with another quality outing to direct Cleveland to a tight win over Colorado.
Tomlin (9-4) allowed five hits in 6-1/3 innings. He has gone at least six innings in 14 of 15 starts and a minimum of five in all 27 as a major leaguer.
Indians designated hitter Travis Hafner, sorely missed by the Indians when he was on the disabled list, hit a two-run homer in the sixth off Jason Hammel (4-7).
Cleveland closer Chris Perez retired Ty Wigginton — who earlier hit a two-run shot in the seventh to get the Rockies close — to end the game with the potential tying run on second, notching his 18th save.
PADRES 5, RED SOX 1
In Boston, San Diego overcame Boston in a game delayed four times by rain then eventually stopped before the bottom of the eighth.
Will Venable hit a leadoff home run for the Padres, who entered the game with the league’s worst batting average. They made the most of their seven hits, and benefited from wildness by Red Sox starter John Lackey (5-6).
San Diego starter Clayton Richard (3-9) lasted through both of the delays during the game, giving up one run over five innings to snap a personal five-game losing streak.
In other baseball action, it was:
‧ Tigers 7, Dodgers 5
‧ Nationals 2, Mariners 1
‧ Diamondbacks 3, Royals 2
‧ Giants 5, Twins 1
‧ Pirates 5, Orioles 4
‧ Mets 3, Athletics 2, 13 innings
‧ Angels 6, Marlins 5, 10 innings
‧ Astros 5, Rangers 3
‧ White Sox 4, Cubs 3
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