Jason Bergmann took a bid for a no-hitter into the eighth inning and got his first major league win as a starter to lead the Washington Nationals over the Atlanta Braves 2-1 on Monday night.
Bergmann cruised through the first seven innings but Brian McCann hit a leadoff homer in the eighth. The right-hander responded by retiring the next three to get out of the inning.
He came out for the ninth inning and departed after pinch-hitter Matt Diaz singled. Jesus Colome got two outs before Edgar Renteria singled to bring up Andruw Jones, who struck out after getting ahead 3-0. It was Colome's first save of the season.
PHOTO: AP
Bergmann (1-3) struck out 10 and walked one to get his first win since Sept. 15, 2005, and first in 15 major league starts.
The Nationals have won four straight, all at home, following an eight-game skid on the road.
John Smoltz, who turned 40 yesterday, pitched well for the Braves before he hurt his pitching hand tagging Austin Kearns during a rundown in the bottom of the seventh. Smoltz (5-2) worked six-and-two-thirds innings, allowing two runs and four hits. He walked two and struck out five in his first loss since April 12, also against Washington.
Pirates 7, Marlins 0
At Pittsburgh, Tom Gorzelanny limited slumping Florida to five singles over seven shutout innings to outpitch Dontrelle Willis.
The Marlins began the game leading the NL with 136 extra-base hits, but didn't have one against Gorzelanny (5-2), who struck out five, walked none and has allowed only one run in his last two starts.
Freddy Sanchez went 4-for-5 with two RBIs. Ronny Paulino hit a long solo home run in the sixth, his fourth of the season, and the Pirates added five runs against Florida's bullpen in the eighth.
Willis (5-3) allowed five hits and two runs, walking four in six innings. The Marlins lost their fourth straight.
Phillies 8, Brewers 6
At Philadelphia, pinch-hitter Wes Helms hit a tiebreaking single during a six-run eighth inning to rally Philadelphia past Milwaukee.
Pat Burrell hit a two-run homer, Chase Utley had a key two-run single and the Phillies won for the fourth time in five games. They're 14-9 since a 4-11 start.
J.J. Hardy his NL-leading 12th homer and Johnny Estrada also connected, but the Brewers' bullpen blew a four-run lead in the eighth. Derrick Turnbow (1-1) took the loss, allowing four runs and four hits in two-thirds of an inning.
Mets 5, Cubs 4
At New York, Chicago's Michael Wuertz walked three straight batters in the bottom of the ninth inning to force home the winning run.
Slugger Carlos Delgado drew the game-ending walk on a 3-2 pitch that was high and David Wright hit a two-run homer to help New York win for the fifth time in six games. The Mets, who overcame an early four-run deficit, have won nine of 12 overall.
Jose Reyes singled off Wuertz (0-2) with two outs in the ninth to start the winning rally.
With a runner on second, winner Aaron Heilman (4-2) retired Cesar Izturis on a grounder back to the mound with his only pitch.
Padres 7, Reds 1
At San Diego, Greg Maddux pitched a five-hitter for his first complete game in two years and the Padres handed Cincinnati its fourth straight loss.
Maddux retired the first 16 batters he faced, struck out five and walked none in his 109th career complete game. He needed only 96 pitches to complete the gem.
Mike Cameron and Josh Bard each had two hits and two RBIs for San Diego, which led 7-0 after five innings.
Maddux (3-2) carried a three-hit shutout into the ninth but Ken Griffey Jr. hit a sacrifice fly with one out. Maddux struck out Brandon Phillips to finish off his first complete game since Sept. 27, 2005, for the Chicago Cubs in a 5-3 loss at Pittsburgh.
Cardinals 8, Dodgers 4
At Los Angeles, David Eckstein had three hits, Chris Duncan hit St. Louis' first homer since May 1 and the Cardinals beat Los Angeles for their 10th straight victory over the Dodgers going back to 2005.
The Cardinals entered with the majors' lowest batting average (.234), fewest runs (110) and fewest homers (17), but had 10 hits and eight runs in the first three innings to make it easy for Brad Thompson in his third major league start.
Thompson (2-0) allowed eight hits and three runs in a career-high 6 2-3 innings.
Jason Isringhausen got the final two outs for his 10th save in 11 chances.
Brett Tomko (1-4) allowed nine hits and eight earned runs in two innings. Jeff Kent hit his 350th career homer and Wilson Betemit also connected for Los Angeles.
Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched his first major league complete game to start a four-game series between the AL's two top teams and the Boston Red Sox took their biggest lead in the standings in 12 seasons with a 7-1 win over the Detroit Tigers on Monday night.
Matsuzaka (5-2) was outstanding for his second consecutive outing after three straight mediocre starts. He allowed just six hits, struck out five and walked none. He was dominant after Curtis Granderson's solo homer in the third. No other runners made it past second base.
The AL East-leading Red Sox improved to 26-11, while the AL Central-leading Tigers fell to 23-14 with their second straight loss. Both teams are 11-3 in their last 14 games.
The Red Sox tied it on David Ortiz's RBI single in the third off Nate Robertson (3-3). Coco Crisp singled home the go-ahead run in the fourth and Manny Ramirez added a run-scoring single in the fifth.
Angels 7, Rangers 2
At Arlington, Texas, Kevin Millwood came off the disabled list for Texas, gave up a first-inning grand slam to Casey Kotchman, then left after five outs with an aggravated hamstring.
Millwood (2-4), who had been out since April 28 with a strained left hamstring, allowed four runs on three hits and three walks.
Angels starter Jered Weaver gave up six hits in his longest outing of the season. In seven innings, he walked two, struck out five and threw 57 of 87 pitches for strikes. He allowed Hank Blalock's fourth homer of the season in the fourth inning.
Blue Jays 5, Orioles 3
At Toronto, Troy Glaus hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning and Toronto rallied for a victory.
Frank Thomas drew a one-out walk and was replaced by pinch-runner Jason Smith before Glaus drilled a 1-0 pitch from Danys Baez (0-2) into the second deck.
Casey Janssen (1-0) got two outs to get the win and Jeremy Accardo pitched the ninth for his second save in as many chances.
Royals 2, Athletics 1
At Oakland, California, John Buck broke up a scoreless game with a two-run homer in the ninth inning against Justin Duchscherer and Kansas City Royals won consecutive games for just the third time this season.
For the second time in six days, Oakland's Dan Haren and Kansas City's Gil Meche pitched well against each other with neither getting a decision. And just like last week in Kansas City, a late home run against Duchscherer (3-3) decided the game.
Jimmy Gobble (2-1) escaped a jam in the eighth and Joakim Soria pitched the ninth for his seventh save in nine chances. Pinch-hitter Shannon Stewart hit an RBI single in the ninth before Soria struck out Travis Buck to end the game.
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Shohei Ohtani on Thursday delivered his first two-homer game of the season and had six RBIs as the Los Angeles Dodgers poured it on with five long balls in a 19-2 victory over the visiting Athletics. Max Muncy, Andy Pages and James Outman also hit home runs for the Dodgers, who left no doubt by taking a 13-2 lead following a seven-run third inning. Muncy and Kim Hye-seong each had three hits for Los Angeles. Dodgers right-hander Matt Sauer led off a bullpen game by allowing two runs in four innings. Left-hander Justin Wrobleski (1-1) finished with four scoreless innings after he
RSS