Paul Wilson held Sammy Sosa to a harmless single in seven strong innings on Thursday before being bloodied and ejected during Cincinnati's second brawl in a week as the Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 3-1.
Wilson and Kyle Farnsworth went after each other in the bottom of the seventh, after the hard-throwing Cubs reliever threw him an inside fastball as he tried to bunt. Wilson whirled and yelled at the mound, and the two pitchers charged each other.
Farnsworth tackled Wilson with his right shoulder, knocking the Reds pitcher on his back, then threw a punch that appeared to miss his face. They were quickly engulfed by teammates.
PHOTO: AP
The two pitchers were the only ones ejected. Wilson (5-4), who gave up only three hits, had a cut on the bridge of his nose that left blood spattered across his white jersey.
Scott Williamson got the final three outs for his 17th save in 18 chances. The Cubs loaded with the bases with one out before pinch-hitters Lenny Harris and Troy O'Leary struck out.
Mark Prior (8-3) couldn't get comfortable on the mound, which pitchers complain is flat. He allowed seven hits and two runs in six innings.
Phillies 3, Braves 2
In Philadelphia, Jimmy Rollins' RBI single with one out in the ninth inning beat John Smoltz and Atlanta to complete a Philadelphia rally after the Phillies were kept hitless into the eighth inning by Mike Hampton.
Marlon Byrd looped a single to right field to end Hampton's no-hit bid after 7 1-3 innings. Placido Polanco's two-run single off Smoltz tied it.
Smoltz (0-1) blew just his second save in 28 opportunities. Pat Burrell opened the ninth with a double and, after David Bell flied out, Rollins singled home pinch-runner Jason Michaels.
Jose Mesa (2-4) pitched a scoreless ninth.
Phillies manager Larry Bowa was ejected with one out in the top of the ninth for arguing balls and strikes with plate umpire Terry Craft.
Cardinals 8, Brewers 4
In Milwaukee, Albert Pujols hit his 20th homer and Bo Hart doubled and tripled in his major league debut as St. Louis Cardinals beat Milwaukee.
Jason Isringhausen got the final out for his first save of the season. The Cardinals' closer was activated June 10 after missing 61 games as he continued his rehabilitation from shoulder surgery.
Hart, whose contract was purchased from minor league team Memphis before the game, doubled his first time up and hit a two-run triple to cap a five-run fifth inning. The second baseman was brought up when Miguel Cairo, who had been subbing for Fernando Vina (injured hamstring), went on the 15-day disabled list with a broken left pinky.
Brett Tomko (3-5) allowed two earned runs on nine hits in 6 1-3 innings for the win.
Expos 5, Pirates 2
In Pittsburgh, Brad Wilkerson and Edwards Guzman drove in runs in an infrequent multi-run inning for Montreal, as the Expos finished their demanding three-and-a-half-week trip by beating Pittsburgh.
The Expos stopped a season-worst six-game losing streak, winning for only the eighth time on a 22-game trip that covered 18,201km, 25 days and ranged from Seattle to San Juan, Puerto Rico, their part-time home.
Wilkerson had a sacrifice fly and Guzman added an RBI single in a go-ahead, two-run seventh inning against Pittsburgh's bullpen, only the second multi-run inning for the Expos in 70 innings, or nearly eight games.
Japanese pitcher Tomo Ohka (5-7) got the victory. Rocky Biddle pitched the ninth for his 18th save in 21 chances. Salomon Torres (4-2) took the loss.
Marlins 5, Mets 1
In Miami, Tommy Phelps pitched seven shutout innings and Mike Lowell hit a three-run homer as Florida defeated New York.
Lowell hit his 22nd home run, tying Toronto's Carlos Delgado and Cincinnati's Adam Dunn for the major league lead.
Phelps (3-2) gave up three hits in his longest outing of the year. He struck out a season-high six and walked two.
Mike Bacsik (1-2) took the loss after allowing five runs on seven hits in 4 2-3 innings.
Diamondbacks 4, Astros 2
In Houston, Luis Gonzalez hit a two-run homer and Miguel Batista pitched into the ninth inning to lead Arizona past Houston.
Batista (5-3) gave up seven hits, struck out seven and walked one, lowering his ERA to 2.60 -- second in the National League behind Los Angeles Dodgers ace Kevin Brown (1.97).
He was lifted after allowing Morgan Ensberg's leadoff double in the ninth. Jose Valverde got three straight outs for his fifth save in five chances.
Tim Redding (4-6) allowed four runs on seven hits and a walk in seven innings. He struck out six.
Rockies 10, Padres 5
In Denver, Chris Stynes hit his first career grand slam and Brent Butler and Jay Payton added solo homers to help Darren Oliver remain undefeated at home for Colorado.
Todd Helton and Preston Wilson had four hits each for the Rockies, who salvaged a split in the four-game series. Wilson also had three RBIs.
It was the 200th career start for Oliver (4-5), who allowed three runs and five hits in 6 2-3 innings.
He improved to 4-0 with a 3.08 ERA in six starts at home. He is 0-5 with a 6.91 ERA in eight starts away from Coors Field.
Brian Lawrence (4-8) gave up six runs and eight hits in four innings.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
RSS