Albert Pujols hit a two-run homer to snap out of a 1-for-17 slump and Kip Wells outpitched college teammate Jason Jennings as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Houston Astros 10-1 on Sunday.
Scott Rolen had a three-run double and Yadier Molina added a two-run double in the ninth inning off Houston closer Brad Lidge. Rolen and Molina also had RBI singles earlier.
Wells (1-1), a Houston native, allowed one hit and struck out seven in seven innings. He retired the last 16 batters he faced after hitting Chris Burke in the second.
PHOTO: AP
Jennings (0-1), who played with Wells at Baylor, gave up five hits, including Pujols' homer, and struck out five in five innings.
Pirates 6, Reds 3
In Cincinnati, Freddy Sanchez had two hits and an RBI in his first game since coming off the disabled list and Zach Duke pitched the Pirates over the Reds.
Jason Bay, Jack Wilson and Brad Eldred homered to help the Pirates avoid their first three-game sweep in Cincinnati since September 1998. Wilson hit a two-run shot, while Eldred connected for the first time since 2005 and drove in two runs.
Braves 3, Mets 2
In Atlanta, Brian McCann and Jeff Francoeur hit consecutive RBI doubles in the eighth inning to rally the Braves over the Mets.
Chipper Jones led off the inning with a double to center off Aaron Heilman (0-1) and scored one out later on McCann's double to tie the game. Francoeur followed with a hit to right to drive in pinch-runner Brayan Pena.
Diamondback 3, Nationals 1
In Washington, Livan Hernandez added to his old team's woes as he took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and the Diamondbacks beat the Nationals to complete a four-game sweep.
Arizona outscored Washington 21-6 in the series as the Nationals dropped to 1-6, the majors' worst record.
Brewers 9, Cubs 4
In Milwaukee, Geoff Jenkins and Gabe Gross hit consecutive homers and the Brewers got to old nemesis Wade Miller early in a victory over the Cubs.
Miller (0-1) came in with a 6-0 record at Miller Park and an 11-1 mark against Milwaukee.
Padres 2, Rockies 1
In San Diego, Jose Cruz Jr. homered in the eighth inning to tie it and rookie Kevin Kouzmanoff singled with one out in the 10th to snap out of a 2-for-20 slump and give the Padres a victory over the Rockies.
It was San Diego's second consecutive win against the Rockies and both came late. On Saturday night, Adrian Gonzalez doubled in Cruz with one out in the ninth for a 3-2 victory.
Dodgers 10, Giants 4
In San Francisco, Luis Gonzalez hit his first two home runs in Dodger Blue and Randy Wolf gave Los Angeles a third straight standout pitching performance to pull off a three-game sweep of the Giants.
Gonzalez connected for a solo shot and three-run homer in his 26th career multihomer game, and Wolf (1-1) outpitched US$126 million left-hander Barry Zito (0-2) in the Dodgers' eighth consecutive victory in San Francisco.
Marlins 6, Phillies 4
In Miami, the struggling Phillies walked 11 times, but stranded 14 runners and lost to the Marlins.
Touted as title contenders in the NL East, the Phillies are 1-5 for the third time in four seasons and the second year in a row.
Johan Santana allowed one hit over seven scoreless innings and the Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox 3-1 on Sunday.
Justin Morneau hit a three-run homer off rookie John Danks in the fourth to support Santana.
Tigers 3, Royals 2
In Kansas City, Missouri, Ivan Rodriguez hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning and Detroit rallied to beat Kansas City.
Rodriguez hit the first pitch from David Riske (0-1) over the left-field fence after Magglio Ordonez led off the inning with a double and Carlos Guillen walked.
Orioles 6, Yankees 4
In New York, Paul Bako put Baltimore ahead with his first home run since 2004, a three-run drive that led the Orioles past New York on a snowy afternoon.
Erik Bedard (1-1) gave up a two-run homer to Alex Rodriguez in a three-run first and then rebounded to retire his next 11 batters and 20 of 22.
Athletics 2, Angels 1
In Anaheim, California, Joe Blanton beat Los Angeles for the first time in seven career decisions, and Oakland got RBI doubles from Shannon Stewart and Nick Swisher to earn a four-game split.
Blue Jays 6, Devil Rays 3
In St. Petersburg, Florida, Roy Halladay won for the first time since last August and Reed Johnson hit a three-run homer to lead Toronto past Tampa Bay.
Halladay (1-0) had gone winless in seven starts since beating Baltimore on Aug. 20. He gave up three runs, seven hits and three walks in seven innings. He struck out seven.
Red Sox 3, Rangers 2
In Arlington, Texas, David Ortiz snapped out of a 2-for-18 slump with his first two home runs and Curt Schilling bounced back from his horrendous season debut to help Boston beat Texas and avoid a sweep.
Ortiz hit a solo homer in the first inning and added a two-run shot in the third off Vicente Padilla (0-2) that put the Red Sox ahead to stay.
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