Scott Rolen homered and drove in four runs, giving him a major league-leading 49 RBIs on Thursday as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-3.
"The guy is amazing," catcher Mike Matheny said. "He's been carrying us for a while. We can't rely on only him."
PHOTO: AFP
Jeff Suppan (4-4) worked six solid innings to help the Cardinals end a three-game losing streak.
Pittsburgh's Daryle Ward, who hit for the cycle and tied his career best with six RBIs on Wednesday, went 1-for-4.
Rolen's 11th homer was a three-run shot off a hanging breaking ball from Ryan Vogelsong (1-4) in the third, and he added a sacrifice fly in the fourth.
"He's been the MVP, I'll put it that way," St. Louis right fielder Reggie Sanders said.
Jason Isringhausen worked the ninth for his ninth save in 11 chances.
Marlins 5, Reds 2
In Cincinnati, struggling Alex Gonzalez drove in a pair of runs and Brad Penny won his third straight start as Florida defeated Cincinnati.
Marlins reliever Armando Benitez earned his 18th save and set a team record of 26 2-3 innings without allowing an earned run. Luis Aquino held the previous mark of 26 1-3 innings in 1994.
Florida has won six of its last eight.
Gonzalez, batting only .208, had an RBI single and drove in another run with one of Florida's five doubles off Aaron Harang (4-2).
Penny (6-2) allowed six hits and two runs in eight innings.
Brewers 3, Dodgers 1
In Milwaukee, Ben Sheets outdid Jeff Weaver, allowing one run on four hits over seven innings, as Milwaukee sent Los Angeles to its 11th loss in 13 games.
The Brewers took two of three and won a home series against the Dodgers for the first time since April 1998, when Milwaukee did it at old County Stadium.
Weaver (3-6) allowed just three hits and struck out eight over seven solid innings. But he was charged with two unearned runs in the first when the Dodgers made two errors.
Sheets (5-3) didn't walk a batter for the sixth time this year and he struck out eight. Dan Kolb pitched the ninth for his 12th save.
Padres 4, Rockies 3
In Denver, Rookie Khalil Greene hit a tying, two-run homer in the ninth inning and Phil Nevin had a sacrifice fly in the 10th to lift the San Diego over Colorado.
The Rockies fell to 0-5 in extra innings this season. San Diego outhit Colorado 13-4.
Greene connected with one out off Shawn Chacon for his second home run of the season. Greene doubled earlier and finished with three RBIs.
Mark Loretta singled to open the 10th against Vladimir Nunez (3-3) and Brian Giles also singled, setting up Nevin.
Akinori Otsuka (4-2) got the win. Trevor Hoffman pitched the 10th for his 12th save in 13 chances.
Braves 6, Phillies 1
In Philadelphia, Andruw Jones hit a grand slam and Jaret Wright took a shutout into the eighth inning, leading Atlanta to a victory over the Phillies.
Kevin Millwood (4-3) allowed six runs in four innings, falling to 0-5 with an 8.66 ERA in five starts against his former team since coming to the Phillies before last season. Millwood issued a career-high six walks in his shortest outing this season.
Wright (3-5) gave up one run and six hits in 7 1-3 innings, his longest outing of the season. He lost his shutout bid when Chipper Jones and shortstop Rafael Furcal allowed Chase Utley's one-out pop-up in the eighth inning to land for an RBI single.
Giants 5, Diamondbacks 4
In San Francisco, Damon Minor singled in Barry Bonds with one out in the 10th inning to lead San Francisco past Arizona for its season-high sixth straight win.
Tyler Walker (4-0) pitched a perfect 10th with two strikeouts for the win. Minor, called up on Tuesday when first baseman J.T. Snow went on the disabled list, singled to right field off Jose Valverde (0-2) to score Bonds, who was intentionally walked, for the winning run.
Minor went 2-for-3 with two walks -- getting his first hit in the majors since the 2002 season when he doubled in the fourth.
Arizona tied it on Danny Bautista's solo home run off closer Matt Herges with two outs in the ninth.
The Detroit Tigers smacked 27 hits to tie a team record, with Carlos Pena going 6-for-6 with two home runs in a 17-7 rout over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday.
Pena matched the club mark for hits in a game, sharing the accomplishment with Ty Cobb and two others. The Tigers last got 27 hits on Sept. 29, 1928, against the New York Yankees.
"Things like this never happen. Very, very seldom do they happen," Pena said.
Detroit also clubbed eight doubles in easily setting the major league high for hits this season, eclipsing the 23 the White Sox got against Minnesota on May 23.
The Tigers had the most hits in the majors since Boston got 28 in a 25-8 rout of Florida at Fenway Park last June 27.
Pena hit a solo homer in the eighth inning, added a three-run shot in the ninth against Nate Field and finished with five RBIs.
Alex Sanchez and Omar Infante each had four hits and Ivan Rodriguez drove in three runs. The Tigers scored in every inning except the fourth and seventh.
Four Royals pitchers set a team record for hits allowed, breaking the mark of 26 against the Yankees in 1972.
Nate Robertson (4-3) pitched five innings for the win. Brian Anderson (1-7), who had been 5-0 lifetime against the Tigers, leads the league in losses.
"There's not much to say," Anderson said. "That game pretty much speaks for itself. There's not much I'm going to add to it."
Devil Rays 5, Twins 4
In St. Petersburg, Florida, Rocco Baldelli hit a go-ahead, three-run homer and reliever John Halama threw 3 1-3 scoreless innings to lead Tampa Bay over Minnesota.
Baldelli's first homer since May 2 overcame a 4-2 deficit in the fourth, and Tampa Bay went on to win for the sixth time in seven games. His drive hit a catwalk support pole approximately 37.5m above the field.
Halama (1-1) entered in the fourth and gave up two hits. Danys Baez pitched a perfect ninth for his seventh save in seven chances.
Corey Koskie and Jacque Jones homered for Minnesota. Carlos Silva (5-3) lost his third consecutive start.
Yankees 18, Orioles 5
In Baltimore, Alex Rodriguez homered and Hideki Matsui had two hits during an eight-run fifth as New York had a season-high 21 hits and completed a three-game sweep of Baltimore.
Enrique Wilson homered and drove in four runs, and Tony Clark also had four RBIs for the Yankees, who outscored the Orioles 41-17 in the series. Derek Jeter, who came to Baltimore batting .190, added 21 points by going 7-for-15.
Miguel Tejada, Rafael Palmeiro and Jose Leon homered for the Orioles, who have lost seven straight.
Jose Contreras (2-2) allowed three runs and eight hits in six-plus innings for his first win since April 28. Sidney Ponson (3-5) gave up eight runs and 10 hits in 4 2-3 innings.
Athletics 15, Red Sox 2
In Boston, Eric Chavez and Scott Hatteberg homered to lead Oakland's best offensive game of the season.
Mark Mulder (6-2) allowed two runs and four hits in 5 2-3 innings, issuing a career-high seven walks.
Boston's winning streak ended at five games after it allowed a season-high 17 hits and its most runs since a 15-9 loss to Tampa Bay on July 24.
Bronson Arroyo (2-2) gave up nine runs -- six earned -- and seven hits in 3 1-3 innings.
Blue Jays 3, Angels 2
In Toronto, Roy Halladay (5-4) took a three-hit shutout into the ninth, and Toronto completed a three-game sweep of Anaheim.
Jarrod Washburn (7-2) lost for the first time in eight starts since April 12, allowing all three runs and eight hits in seven-plus innings.
After Anaheim scored in the ninth on third baseman Dave Berg's throwing error, and Jeff DaVanon hit an RBI single. Jason Frasor got last out for his second save.
Frank Menechino hit a two-run triple for the Blue Jays, who have won 10 of their last 12 against Anaheim.
Indians 9, Mariners 5
In Cleveland, Jake Westbrook (4-2) managed to make it through five innings, allowing four runs and seven hits in five innings as Cleveland beat Seattle to end its season-high losing streak at seven.
Rick White, Cliff Bartosh, Rafael Betancourt and Jose Jimenez did their jobs, combining to hold the Mariners to one run and one hit.
Travis Hafner and Casey Blake had two RBIs apiece off Gil Meche (1-5).
White Sox 9, Rangers 0
In Chicago, Mark Buehrle scattered nine hits over seven innings, and Juan Uribe homered twice as Chicago blanked Texas for the second straight game.
Buehrle (5-1) won his fourth straight start and once again got big run support from his teammates, including a three-run homer from Jose Valentin in the first and solo shots from Uribe in the fifth and seventh innings. The White Sox have scored 43 runs in Buehrle's last four starts.
Jon Adkins pitched a perfect eighth and Billy Koch finished to end the game.
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