Tim Hudson gave up one run in seven innings for his 100th career win, while Andruw Jones homered twice, including a grand slam, and the Atlanta Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-1 on Saturday.
Hudson (8-6) struck out four, walked one and allowed six hits to earn his first victory since July 16, thanks to the return of his split-finger fastball.
"I've been afraid to use it, but all of a sudden, there it was," Hudson said. "I haven't had a good one in three years, but it was there today."
PHOTO: AFP
Acquired in an offseason trade with Oakland, Hudson is 100-45 for his Major League Baseball career.
"I'm happy about it. It's a milestone, and I hope there are more to come," he said of win No. 100. "It's one of the first milestones a starting pitcher can come across."
Jones' grand slam in the sixth inning was the fourth of his career and came in his fourth multihomer game of the season and 26th of his career. He leads the majors with 35 home runs.
Mets 2, Cubs 0
In New York, South Korea's Seo Jae, recalled from the minor leagues to make the start, outpitched Greg Maddux and New York sent Chicago to its fourth straight loss and fifth in the last six games.
Seo (3-1) allowed just four hits in 7 1-3 innings. He struck out four and walked one.
Tired of the inconsistent pitching of Kaz Ishii, the Mets sent the Japanese left-hander to Triple-A Norfolk and brought back Seo for the second time this season. He was 2-1 in his earlier stint, including pitching seven innings of one-hit ball against Philadelphia on May 4.
Giants 5, Astros 2
In San Francisco, Noah Lowry allowed one hit in seven scoreless innings to help San Francisco beat Houston and win a home series for the first time since May.
Edgardo Alfonzo added a pair of RBI singles and Mike Matheny hit a solo homer for the Giants, who have won three straight games for the first time since a four-game winning streak June 28-July 1.
San Francisco, which has the worst home record in the National League, has won its first series at SBC Park since taking two of three from the Los Angeles Dodgers from May 24-26.
Pirates 9, Dodgers 4
In Pittsburgh, Zach Duke became only the second rookie in Pirates history to win his first five decisions as a starter, giving up more than one run for only the second time in his short career in pitching Pittsburgh past Los Angeles.
Duke (5-0) gave up four runs and 10 hits in 7 1-3 innings, the first time he has allowed more than one run since giving up three in 7 2-3 innings in his July 2 debut against Milwaukee.
His ERA may have jumped from 0.92 to 1.54, but the 22-year-old is the first Pirates rookie since Whitey Glazner in 1921 to start 5-0.
Center fielder Chris Duffy had four hits for the second time in his 17 career starts, scored three runs and had an RBI, and first baseman Brad Eldred doubled in a run to help the Pirates bounce back from losses of 12-7 (San Diego) and 12-6 (Dodgers) the previous two days.
Odalis Perez (6-6) gave up nine hits and six runs -- five earned -- in six innings to lose for the first time in six starts.
Reds 4, Marlins 3
In Cincinnati, Ken Griffey Jr. doubled to start a two-run sixth inning and Cincinnati rallied past Florida.
Adam Dunn followed Griffey's double to right off Brian Moehler (6-9) with a walk, and Sean Casey singled to load the bases. Guillermo Mota relieved Moehler and Austin Kearns' slow groundout to third allowed Griffey to score the tying run.
Javier Valentin was walked to reload the bases, and Rich Aurilia drove in Dunn with a forceout grounder to second baseman Luis Castillo.
The last five runs of the game were scored on wild pitches or outs, including one on a double play.
Luke Hudson (3-5) went six innings, allowing four hits and three runs with two walks and five strikeouts.
Padres 3, Nationals 2
At Washington, the Nationals held a closed-door clubhouse meeting for more than 1 hours, then went out and lost another one-run decision on Joe Randa's RBI double in the seventh inning.
The NL West-leading Padres raised their record back to .500 (55-55), while the Nationals fell to 6-16 since the All-Star break. The Nationals were 24-8 in one-run games on July 8; they're 0-13 since in such contests.
Pedro Astacio (1-2), who had lost five straight decisions for Texas and San Diego, earned his first victory for the Padres, giving up two runs on four hits and three walks over six innings. Trevor Hoffman pitched the ninth for his 29th save.
Nationals starter Ryan Drese (3-5), also with Texas earlier this season, lost his fourth start in a row. He allowed three runs on seven hits and a walk.
Phillies 8, Brewers 2
In Philadelphia, Jon Lieber pitched seven strong innings for his 10th win and Jimmy Rollins homered among his three hits and scored three runs as Philadelphia beat Milwaukee.
Chase Utley drove in three runs and Todd Pratt homered for the Phillies, who have won three of four.
Russell Branyan homered for Milwaukee, which had its three-game winning streak snapped.
Lieber (10-10) gave up two runs on seven hits, striking out seven and walking one.
Milwaukee starter Chris Capuano (12-7) lost for the first time since June 13 -- a span of 10 starts.
Rockies 14, Diamondbacks 7
In Phoenix, Ryan Shealy drove in four runs and Dustan Mohr hit a two-run homer to highlight a five-run fourth inning as Colorado downed Arizona.
Conor Jackson hit his first two career home runs for the Diamondbacks, who have lost four of five to fall three games behind San Diego in the NL West.
Jeff Francis (11-7) struggled but earned the win for the Rockies, who have won four of five on their current six-game road trip. Francis allowed six runs and eight hits with two walks and a strikeout in five innings.
Mohr homered off Michael Gosling (0-3).
Shea Hillenbrand homered, stole home and drove in three runs to lead the Toronto Blue Jays an 8-5 victory over Randy Johnson and the New York Yankees.
Hillenbrand stole home in the third when Johnson tried to pick off Alex Rios at first. Hillenbrand broke for the plate and first baseman Jason Giambi threw the ball into Toronto's dugout, the first of three New York errors.
"Every year you have a couple of bad games, but this year has been very frustrating," said Johnson, who has a 4.29 ERA. "The lack of consistency, and what I expect every fifth day has been few and far between."
Johnson (11-7) lasted just four innings, allowing six runs -- five earned -- on 10 hits. The 41-year-old left-hander also gave up six runs in his last start against Anaheim.
Yankees manager Joe Torre thinks the Big Unit has a back injury.
"He felt his back a little bit, but that's an ongoing situation," Torre said. "He's got some physical things to deal with."
Hillenbrand hit an RBI single off Johnson in the first, and his two-run homer off Scott Proctor in the sixth made it 8-4.
Rangers 10, Orioles 3
In Arlington, Texas, David Dellucci hit a grand slam, Mark Teixeira reached the 30-homer mark in Major League Baseball for the second straight season and Texas handed Baltimore its first loss under interim manager Sam Perlozzo.
Hank Blalock also homered for Texas, and emergency starter John Wasdin (1-1) gave the Rangers' rotation a lift, pitching into the seventh inning.
Perlozzo had won both games since replacing the fired Lee Mazzilli on Thursday.
White Sox 4, Mariners 2
At Chicago, Mark Buehrle pitched seven strong innings and Paul Konerko hit a two-run homer, leading Chicago over Seattle.
Buehrle (13-4) outpitched Jamie Moyer, scattering seven hits, striking out three and walking none. Dustin Hermanson earned his 27th save in 28 opportunities.
Konerko's 26th homer highlighted Chicago's three-run first inning against Moyer, who has been bothered by back stiffness and made his first start since July 27.
Ichiro Suzuki had two hits for Seattle, snapping a career-worst 0-for-22 slump with an infield single leading off the game. Willie Bloomquist was 3-for-4 with a double.
Moyer (9-4) retired 16 of the next 17 batters after Konerko's homer. He pitched 7 2-3 innings, allowing four runs -- three earned -- and four hits.
Indians 4, Tigers 2
At Detroit, Jake Westbrook won his fourth straight start, Jhonny Peralta homered and Grady Sizemore had an RBI triple to lead Cleveland.
Westbrook (10-12) allowed four hits -- including Magglio Ordonez's two-run homer -- in seven innings. He was dominant early, striking out five of the first seven Detroit batters. Overall, Wetsbrook walked one and struck out eight as the Indians won for the seventh time in nine games.
Bob Wickman pitched the ninth for his 30th save in 35 chances.
Detroit's Jeremy Bonderman (13-8) went six innings for the Tigers, who have dropped eight of 11. He walked two and struck out six.
Twins 4, Red Sox 3
At Minneapolis, Reliever Mike Timlin threw wildly to first base on a sacrifice bunt attempt in the ninth -- Boston's second throwing error in the inning -- allowing Minnesota to score the winning run in a 4-3 victory.
Michael Cuddyer led off the ninth with an infield single off Timlin (4-2), but third baseman Bill Mueller bounced his throw past first allowing Cuddyer to move to second. Nick Punto bunted the next pitch back to Timlin, who fired his throw past first baseman Roberto Petagine.
Joe Nathan (4-3) pitched a perfect ninth for the victory and Joe Mauer drove in two runs for Minnesota, which won the first two games of the series. The Twins have won only three times in the last 10 games.
Johnny Damon and Jason Varitek both had three hits for Boston, which lost for the second straight game after winning eight in a row. The Red Sox maintained a 3-game lead over New York in the AL East.
Athletics 16, Royals 1
At Kansas City, Missouri, rookie Dan Johnson homered for the fourth consecutive game, Mark Ellis had three hits and drove in four runs, and Oakland routed Kansas City.
Nick Swisher hit a three-run homer in an eight-run seventh, when the A's sent 12 men to the plate. Swisher leads American League rookies with 16 home runs and 57 RBIs.
Johnson scored four runs for Oakland, which had 18 hits and matched its highest-scoring game of the season.
Joe Blanton (7-9) held the Royals to three hits in six shutout innings to pick up his second straight road victory. He was 0-6 on the road before winning twice on this trip.
The A's have won nine of 10 and 16 of 18. The Royals have lost nine straight, matching their longest losing streak of the season.
Jose Lima (4-10) gave up seven runs on nine hits and four walks in 4 2-3 innings. He is 0-4 lifetime against the A's with a 12.32 ERA, his highest against any team.
Devil Rays 6, Angels 4
At Anaheim, California, Julio Lugo had a pair of RBI singles among his three hits to lead Tampa Bay past Los Angeles.
Mark Hendrickson (6-7) allowed four runs and nine hits in five-plus innings after being staked to a 6-1 lead. The 2.06m former NBA player has won consecutive starts for the first time since June of last season.
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