NATIONAL LEAGUE
Elijah Dukes drove in three runs and Ryan Zimmerman had three hits as the Washington Nationals won their eighth straight game with a 9-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday.
The Nationals’ eight-game run is the second longest in their five seasons in the nation’s capital. They won 10 straight from June 2 to June 12, 2005.
PHOTO: AFP
J.D. Martin (1-2) became the fifth Nationals pitcher to record their first win as a starter — and the second in two games. On a sultry afternoon, Martin allowed one run and five hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out one.
MARLINS 12, PHILLIES 3
At Philadelphia, Josh Johnson pitched six impressive innings, helping the Marlins complete a three-game sweep over the Phillies.
PHOTO: AP
Florida moved within four games of the NL East-leading Phillies with their first sweep in Philadelphia since April 2004.
The Phillies fell to 3-8 since acquiring reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee in a blockbuster deal with Cleveland on July 29.
Johnson (11-2) allowed one run and four hits, striking out six.
Jamie Moyer (10-9) gave up three runs and 11 hits in five-plus innings, failing to strengthen his case to stay in Philadelphia’s crowded rotation.
ASTROS 2, BREWERS 0
At Houston, Texas, Wandy Rodriguez pitched seven shutout innings and Geoff Blum hit a two-run homer in the Astros’ win over the Brewers.
Rodriguez (11-6) allowed five hits and struck out three in his first start since leaving his outing eight days ago with a strained right hamstring. He won his sixth straight decision and gave up one earned run or fewer for the seventh consecutive appearance.
Jose Valverde got the final four outs for Houston to earn his 15th save of the season and second of the series.
CARDINALS 7, PIRATES 3
At Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Skip Schumaker’s first career pinch-hit home run started a five-run eighth-inning rally for St Louis that included Pirates pitcher Matt Capps’ ejection for hitting Albert Pujols, as the Cardinals finished off a three-game sweep.
REDS 5, GIANTS 2
At San Francisco, Aaron Harang ended the worst winless stretch of his career with his first victory since late May, while Brandon Phillips and Adam Rosales each homered as the Reds beat the Giants.
The Giants, who had won six straight home series, fell into a tie with Colorado for the NL wild card lead after the Rockies beat the Chicago Cubs 11-5 at Coors Field.
ROCKIES 11, CUBS 5
At Denver, Colorado, Todd Helton had three hits to extended his hitting streak to 14 games and Dexter Fowler scored three times. Carlos Gonzalez also had three hits for Colorado, which had 14 hits.
METS 5, PADRES 1
At San Diego, California, Johan Santana threw eight strong innings and tied his career high with two hits and an RBI as the New York Mets avoided a four-game sweep with a win over the Padres.
BRAVES 8, DODGERS 2
At Los Angeles, Javier Vazquez won his fifth straight decision with eight solid innings as the Braves beat the Dodgers to take three of the four games in their weekend series.
Vazquez (10-7) reached double digits in wins for the 10th consecutive season, handing the NL West-leading Dodgers their 10th loss in 15 games.
In AL action, it was:
• Tigers 8, Twins 7
• Blue Jays 7, Orioles 3
• Indians 8, White Sox 4
• Athletics 6, Royals 3
• Rangers 7, Angels 0
• Mariners 11, Rays 2
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