NATIONAL LEAGUE
REUTERS AND AP, NEW YORK
Omir Santos hit the first grand slam home run of his career as the New York Mets scored six runs in the first inning to hand the Florida Marlins their seventh consecutive defeat, a 7-1 loss, on Monday.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The four-run homer off loser Anibal Sanchez cleared the left-center field fence and was the first grand slam in the Mets’ new stadium, Citi Field.
“It was a great, great moment,” said Santos, who celebrates his 28th birthday today. “I knew it would at least hit the wall. But this is a big park.”
Gary Sheffield and David Wright had run-scoring singles before rookie catcher Santos’ big hit for the Mets (9-10).
New York starter John Maine (1-2) allowed one hit — a first-inning RBI single by Florida’s Jorge Cantu — over six innings for the win. He struck out four and walked three.
Florida did not get another hit until the eighth inning as relievers Sean Green, J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriguez combined with Maine for a two-hitter.
“It’s good to get the first win,” Maine told reporters. “But I’ve still got to keep working. There’s still a lot of areas to improve on.”
The Marlins (11-8) have not won a game since April 19 when they beat the Washington Nationals for their 11th victory in 12 games. The hot start had them leading the National League, but they have now slumped to fourth place.
Sanchez gave up four hits and two walks in the first inning as the Mets sent nine batters to the plate. He yielded eight hits while striking out four in six innings.
New York scored its final run on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Church in the eighth.
CARDINALS 3, BRAVES 2
At Atlanta, Georgia, Rick Ankiel drove in two runs for St Louis to back another strong outing by Joel Pineiro, who equaled the best start of his career when the Cardinals edged Atlanta.
Ankiel had a pair of two-out, run-scoring singles — one in the second inning to push the Cardinals to a 2-0 lead and another in the seventh for a 3-1 edge.
Pineiro (4-0) went six-and-two-third innings, allowing seven hits and a pair of runs while walking none. He also won his first four decisions for Seattle in 2001.
ASTROS 4, REDS 1
At Cincinnati, Ohio, Lance Berkman hit his 20th homer at Great American Ball Park, the most by any visiting player, and Hunter Pence hit a tiebreaking double in the ninth inning to lead Houston to a victory over Cincinnati.
Pence’s two-run double off Francisco Cordero (0-1) broke a 1-all tie and sent the Astros to their 10th straight win at Great American Ball Park, a streak that started near the end of the 2007 season and is the longest in the majors.
Naturally, Berkman had a hand in it, hitting a solo homer in the sixth off Johnny Cueto. The opposite-field shot snapped his 0-for-16 slump and gave him more career homers (46) and RBIs (127) against Cincinnati than any other team.
PHILLIES 13, NATIONALS 11
At Philadelphia, Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez each hit a grand slam to rally Philadelphia past Washington for its fourth straight win.
Howard’s shot to center in the fifth inning tied the score at 6.
After the Nationals scored four times in the eighth to go up 11-7, Ibanez capped a six-run surge in the bottom half with a two-out drive to right off Joel Hanrahan (0-1).
With star closer Brad Lidge nursing a sore knee, Ryan Madson got three outs for his first save this season. Lidge is day-to-day with inflammation in his right knee, the Phillies said.
In other NL action it was:
• Brewers 10, Pirates 5
• Rockies 12, Padres 7
• Diamondbacks 7, Cubs 2
• Giants 5, Dodgers 4
AMERICAN LEAGUE
AP, CLEVELAND
Jason Bay hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning to give the Boston Red Sox a 3-1 win over the Cleveland Indians on Monday for their 11th straight victory.
Bay fell behind 0-1 before hitting a fastball from Kerry Wood (0-1) into the left-field seats as Boston extended its longest winning streak since 2006.
Bay’s third hit sent the Red Sox to another drama-filled win.
They were coming off an emotional three-game sweep at Fenway Park over the rival New York Yankees, a series that began with Bay connecting for a two-run, two-out homer in the ninth off Mariano Rivera. In his last four games, Bay has nine hits with two homers and nine RBIs.
TIGERS 4, YANKEES 2
At Detroit, Michigan, Justin Verlander had a season-high nine strikeouts and Magglio Ordonez hit a two-run homer off CC Sabathia to lead Detroit over New York.
The Central Division-leading Tigers have won three straight, matching a season high.
New York has lost a season-high four in a row, equaling the most consecutive losses it had last season.
Verlander (1-2) pitched seven-plus scoreless innings, allowing seven hits and no walks and resembled the rising star he was in his first two seasons, not the pitcher who struggled last year and in his first four starts this season.
Sabathia (1-2) gave up four runs on six hits in another lackluster performance.
RANGERS 6, ORIOLES 4
At Baltimore, Michael Young homered and David Murphy broke a tie with a two-run single in the sixth inning as Texas rallied to beat Baltimore.
Matt Harrison (1-2) gave up four runs in the first two innings, then retired 16 straight batters before Robert Andino hit a two-out single in the seventh.
The left-hander allowed seven hits in seven innings to earn his first win in four starts.
In other AL action, it was:
• Royals 7, Blue Jays 1
• Rays 7, Twins 1
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