Mark Prior pitched six scoreless innings for his first win in more than a month Thursday as the Chicago Cubs won their fourth straight by completing a three-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies with a 5-1 victory.
Derrek Lee and Corey Patterson each hit a solo home run off Jason Jennings (10-9) for the Cubs, who moved a season-high 12 games over .500 (60-48) and swept Colorado at Coors Field for the first time.
PHOTO: REUTERS
"It just goes to show you how strong our starting rotation is," said catcher Paul Bako, who had a two-run single. "We're just happy to have everybody healthy. He looked great. I think he's had great stuff since he's come back."
Prior (3-2) got his first win since beating the White Sox 7-4 on June 25, a span of six starts. Glendon Rusch pitched 2 1-3 solid innings for his first save. He allowed a two-out triple in the ninth by pinch-hitter Kit Pellow, who scored when Sammy Sosa bobbled the ball in right for an error.
"It's a tough feat to sweep them here," Chicago manager Dusty Baker said. "We got some key hits and played a great series. ... It starts at one [win] and then it goes from there. We've got to keep rolling."
Prior allowed six hits, struck out eight and walked two. He threw a season-high 108 pitches.
Dodgers 8, Pirates 3
In Los Angeles, Milton Bradley hit two home runs, including one of three straight by Los Angeles in the first inning, as Dodgers beat Pittsburgh to finish their first season sweep of any National League team since moving to the West Coast in 1958.
Jayson Werth, Adrian Beltre and Jose Hernandez also homered for the NL West-leading Dodgers, who outscored the Pirates 30-16 in their six meetings.
Jeff Weaver (9-10) allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings, pitching the Dodgers to their 24th win in 30 games to put them a season-high 21 games over .500. They are 22-5 against Pittsburgh the last four seasons.
Rookie Sean Burnett (5-4) was charged with six runs and eight hits in four-plus innings, including four of Los Angeles' season-high five homers. Werth, Bradley and Beltre hit consecutive homers in the first.
Reds 12, Giants 3
In San Francisco, Aaron Harang pitched seven innings of four-hit ball, and Sean Casey went 4-for-5 with four RBIs in Cincinnati's victory over slumping San Francisco.
Adam Dunn's three-run homer capped the Reds' 10-run rally in the eighth inning against San Francisco's miserable bullpen. Dunn hit his third homer in two days, and Casey had a two-run single for his 1,000th career hit as Cincinnati padded its second straight victory after losing 11 of 12.
It was the Reds' biggest inning since they scored 12 times in the sixth on Aug. 7, 1998, against Milwaukee.
Harang (7-3) was outstanding in his third victory in five starts.
Kirk Rueter (6-9) couldn't get through the sixth inning.
Mets 11, Brewers 6
In Milwaukee, David Wright homered and drove in six runs, helping Victor Zambrano win his New York debut in a victory over Milwaukee.
Wright, who entered with only four career RBIs, hit a three-run homer in the first inning and a three-run double in the fourth as the Mets completed a three-game sweep. The highly touted third baseman finished one short of the team record for RBIs by a rookie, set by Jeromy Burnitz on Aug. 5, 1993, against Montreal.
The Mets sent prized pitching prospect Scott Kazmir to Tampa Bay on July 30 in a trade for Zambrano (1-0), who was 9-7 with the Devil Rays and 0-3 in his last four starts.
The right-hander won despite allowing six runs -- four earned -- and eight hits in 5 1-3 innings. He struck out seven and walked three in his first win since July 3 at Florida.
Milwaukee starter Victor Santos (9-7) lasted just 3 2-3 innings.
Marlins 11, Diamondbacks 5
In Phoenix, Carl Pavano pitched into the eighth inning on three days' rest and hit an RBI single, leading Florida past Arizona.
Paul Lo Duca and Miguel Cabrera homered for the Marlins, who snapped a four-game losing streak.
Pavano (12-4) won his third straight to match his career high for wins, allowing five runs and seven hits in 7 1-3 innings. He pitched three innings in a rainout on Sunday against Montreal and threw 43 pitches, but still started Thursday in place of A.J. Burnett, whose start was pushed back a day.
Guillermo Mota got four outs for his second save.
Florida scored five runs against Arizona rookie Lance Cormier (1-3), who lasted five innings.
Cardinals 2, Expos 1
In St. Louis, Scott Rolen hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning, and Chris Carpenter (12-4) allowed one run and four hits in eight innings as St. Louis edged Montreal.
Jim Edmonds also connected for the Cardinals, who have won 13 of 17 to move a season-high 31 games over .500. Jose Vidro had an RBI double for Montreal.
Rolen hit his 26th homer over the center-field fence on a 2-1 pitch from Luis Ayala (3-7) leading off the eighth. It was Rolen's major league-leading 98th RBI, and his first home run at home since May 27.
The home run snapped Ayala's scoreless streak at 26 2-3 innings.
Jason Isringhausen pitched the ninth for his 28th save in 33 chances.
Braves 6, Astros 5
In Houston, pinch-hitter Marcus Giles' sacrifice fly drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth to lead Atlanta past Houston.
With the game tied at 5, J.D. Drew hit a leadoff single and Chipper Jones doubled off reliever Dan Miceli (4-6). After an intentional walk to Andruw Jones loaded the bases, Giles hit a lazy fly to right that scored Drew.
Eli Marrero hit a two-run homer and Julio Franco also drove in two runs for the Braves, who have won seven of their last eight and 11 of 13.
Juan Cruz (4-0) pitched a perfect eighth for the win, and John Smoltz threw a scoreless ninth for his 27th save in 29 opportunities.
Phillies 5, Padres 3, 10 innings
In San Diego, David Bell hit a two-run single off Trevor Hoffman in the 10th to lead Philadelphia over San Diego for its third straight win.
With two outs and the bases loaded, Bell singled to right field in front of a diving Brian Giles to score Jimmy Rollins and Placido Polanco. The win kept the Phillies 4 1/2 games behind first-place Atlanta in the NL East.
Felix Rodriguez (4-5) pitched a hitless inning for the win, and Tim Worrell got three outs for his 13th save.
In the 10th, Rollins hit a one-out infield single off Hoffman (2-2) and Polanco followed with a ground-rule double. Hoffman intentionally walked Bobby Abreu to load the bases and then struck out Jim Thome, bringing up Bell.
San Diego dropped to a season-high 6{ games behind Los Angeles in the NL West.
Phillies starter Kevin Millwood left after two innings with inflammation in his right elbow.
The Padres received a solid start from Sterling Hitchcock, who made his first appearance in more than 10 months. He allowed three runs on four hits in six innings.
Kevin Brown threw four-hit ball over eight shutout innings to beat Barry Zito, and newly signed John Olerud went 3-for-3 with a two-run double on his 36th birthday in the New York Yankees' 5-1 win over the Oakland Athletics on Thursday.
"That's the Kevin Brown we knew was in there somewhere, and he knew was in there somewhere," Yankees manager Joe Torre said.
Looking sharp in his second appearance since coming off the disabled list, Brown (9-1) struck out seven and walked two, matching the longest outing by a Yankees starter this season. It was just the 10th time a New York pitcher threw eight innings, the first in 19 starts since Jose Contreras beat Detroit on July 15.
"He was overpowering. His stuff was moving all over the place. Hs sinker was just unhittable," catcher Jorge Posada said.
Oakland, which lost for just the third time in 12 games, dropped into second place in the AL West, a half-game behind Texas.
Zito (7-8) has struggled since winning the 2002 American League Cy Young pitching award. He allowed five runs -- four earned -- and 11 hits in 6 2-3 innings.
Rangers 2, Tigers 1
In Detroit, Alfonso Soriano hit a tiebreaking homer, Ryan Drese pitched six strong innings and Texas completed a three-game sweep of Detroit.
Drese (8-6) allowed one run and six hits to win for the fourth time in five starts. Ron Mahay and Carlos Almanzar each pitched a scoreless inning before Francisco Cordero got three outs for his 33rd save in 35 tries, sending the Tigers to their fourth consecutive loss.
Detroit loaded the bases in the eighth, but Almanzar retired Bobby Higginson to end the inning.
Esteban Yan (1-3) lost in relief of starter Wilfredo Ledezma, who pitched five innings.
Soriano finished 3-for-4, adding a single and a triple.
Angels 8, Twins 3
In Minneapolis, Aaron Sele won his seventh straight decision with another fine performance against Minnesota, and Jose Guillen drove in three runs for Anaheim.
Sele (7-0) allowed three runs and five hits in seven innings, running his record against the Twins to 16-4 with a 3.36 ERA in 22 career starts. He matched his longest outing of the year and became the first pitcher in Angels history to win his first seven decisions in a season.
Garret Anderson had four of Anaheim's 15 hits. Josh Paul went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs.
Torii Hunter hit his 14th homer for the AL Central-leading Twins, who had won four in a row.
Terry Mulholland (3-4) gave up seven runs _ five earned _ and nine hits in 3 2-3 innings.
Indians 6, Blue Jays 3, 10 innings
In Toronto, Grady Sizemore hit a two-run double in the 10th inning to help Cleveland beat Toronto.
John McDonald and Matt Lawton homered for the Indians, who have won two straight following a four-game skid. Ben Broussard and Jody Gerut singled in the 10th before Sizemore doubled off Kerry Ligtenberg (1-4).
McDonald followed with an RBI single.
Rafael Betancourt (5-5) pitched a scoreless ninth for the win. Bob Wickman worked the 10th for his second save.
Royals 6, White Sox 4
In Kansas City, Missouri, Zack Greinke allowed one run in seven innings, and Matt Stairs homered twice in a game that was delayed 24 minutes by a power outage in the ninth inning as Kansas City beat Chicago.
The teams were just about to start the top of the ninth when the Kauffman Stadium lights brightened momentarily before going out in two-thirds of the stadium. The scoreboard and videoboard also lost power, which returned moments later before going out again.
After about 13 minutes, the game was ready to resume and Royals reliever D.J. Carrasco was in his windup set to throw a pitch to Paul Konerko when power went out yet again before returning about 11 minutes later.
The Royals said the outages at the ballpark and surrounding areas were due to a problem with a transformer outside the stadium.
Greinke (4-8) allowed just three hits for his second straight win. Jon Garland (7-8) gave up six runs on seven hits in seven innings for Chicago, which lost for the ninth time in 11 games.
Mariners 4, Devil Rays 2,
11 innings
In St. Petersburg, Florida, Randy Winn and Bret Boone each hit RBI singles during a three-run 11th as Seattle beat Tampa Bay to snap a six-game losing streak.
Miguel Olivo drew a leadoff walk from Tampa Bay closer Danys Baez (3-2) in the 11th and went to second on Justin Leone's sacrifice bunt. Olivo advanced to third on a single by Jose Lopez and scored when third baseman Geoff Blum misplayed Ichiro Suzuki's grounder for an error. Suzuki was credited with an RBI.
Winn and Boone followed with consecutive run-scoring singles to make it 4-1, sending Seattle to just its second win in 23 road games.
Scott Atchison (1-0) pitched two innings for his first major league win.
The Arizona Diamondbacks traded 12-time All-Star second baseman Roberto Alomar to the Chicago White Sox on Thursday for a player to be named and cash.
Alomar batted .309 with three home runs and 16 RBIs in 39 games for the Diamondbacks this season. The Puerto Rican missed 56 games with a broken right hand after being hit by a pitch in Milwaukee on April 20.
Alomar, 36, joined the Diamondbacks in the offseason after the White Sox chose not to offer him arbitration and left him a free agent. The Mets traded Alomar to Chicago last summer after the 10-game Gold Glove winner slumped in New York. He hit .253 in 67 games for Chicago last year.
The trade reunited Alomar with his brother, Sandy, a catcher for the White Sox. Roberto Alomar will join the White Sox on Friday for their home game against Cleveland.
The White Sox were six games behind Minnesota in the AL Central going into Thursday's game at Kansas City, and also in the wild-card chase.
Arizona has the worst record in the majors, and Alomar had been mentioned previously as a possible trade candidate as the Diamondbacks looked to unload some veterans. Steve Finley and Brent Mayne were traded to Los Angeles last weekend, although ace Randy Johnson remained with the team.
The switch-hitting Alomar is a career .301 hitter with 209 home runs, 1,126 RBIs and 474 stolen bases in 17 seasons with San Diego, Toronto, Baltimore, Cleveland, the Mets, the White Sox and Arizona.
Much ado
Roger Clemens received an emphatic apology on Thursday for "unjustly" being ejected from his 10-year-old son's baseball game last weekend in Colorado.
David King, president of tournament organizer Triple Crown Sports, said "Mr. Clemens was a non-aggressor and a victim of mistaken identity and confusion" by an upset umpire.
Clemens was asked to leave son Kacy's game on Saturday in Craig, Colorado, when a 22-year-old ump said the Houston Astros pitcher spit a sunflower seed at him. Moments earlier, Kacy was called out on a stolen base attempt -- the fielder later admitted he missed the tag -- and the Rocket watched the rest of the contest from a parking lot.
"Mr. Clemens never raised his voice, never physically confronted our official, nor was he ever on the field of play," King said in a written statement, underlining those words.
"Mr. Clemens was unjustly asked to leave the field of play," King said. "For all of this, we apologize to Mr. Clemens."
King spoke to the future Hall of Famer by telephone to apologize personally.
"I'm pleased with their statement," Clemens said through agent Alan Hendricks before Houston played Atlanta.
Earlier this week, Clemens became upset when discussing the episode, saying, "This is a shame and it's not even an issue."
Clemens was watching the Katy (Texas) Cowboys in a 10-and-under tournament, sitting on a bucket behind a fence near the first base dugout, when Kacy was called out at second base in a game the Bakersfield (California) Curve won 11-5.
The Katy coaches and fans complained about the call, but witnesses said Clemens never said a word. The umpire came over to quiet the ruckus, and said he was hit a sunflower seed spit by Clemens.
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