NATIONAL LEAGUE
REUTERS AND AP, DENVER, COLORADO
PHOTO: AP
Andre Ethier belted two home runs to help lift the Los Angeles Dodgers to a crucial 6-1 win over the in-form Colorado Rockies on Wednesday, the victory pushing their National League West Division lead back to three games.
Ethier’s 26th and 27th homers of the season provided the impetus for a Dodgers team reeling from Tuesday’s 10th-inning loss to the Rockies (72-55), who are making a strong run at the division lead after trailing by as much 15.5 games on June 3.
“I think last night was a little disheartening ... we lost that game ourselves and couldn’t get the job done,” Ethier told reporters. “Today was a gut-check and we had to come out and get this one. For me, I just had to stay with the plan and put good swings on the ball.”
Backed by plenty of offensive support, Randy Wolf (9-6) continued his good form on the mound with five strikeouts in 7-1/3 innings for his fourth straight victory.
The tough left-hander allowed a solo blast to Ryan Spilborghs in the third inning where the Rockies pulled back to 2-1 but Wolf settled in and allowed just five hits on the night.
Los Angeles (75-52) put the game out of reach with four runs in the fourth to chase Colorado starter Josh Fogg from the mound after he allowed three home runs.
A regular reliever, Fogg was starting his first game of the season in place of Aaron Cook, out with a shoulder injury.
Ethier, who finished with three hits including a first-inning homer, belted a ball over the right-field fence to put the Dodgers up 3-1 and James Loney followed up with a three-run smash later in the inning.
CARDINALS 3, ASTROS 2
In St Louis, pitcher Joel Pineiro worked eight strong innings to win his seventh straight decision, steering St Louis past Houston.
The Cardinals scored all their runs in the first inning against Houston ace Roy Oswalt.
Also on Wednesday, it was:
• Phillies 4, Pirates 1, 10 innings
• Marlins 5, Mets 3
• Giants 4, Diamondbacks 3
• Padres 12, Braves 5
• Reds 4, Brewers 3, 10 innings
• Cubs 9, Nationals 4
AMERICAN LEAGUE
AP, BOSTON
David Ortiz hit his second homer of the game to break a ninth-inning tie and give the Boston Red Sox a 3-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday.
It was Ortiz’s 10th career game-ending homer and franchise-record ninth with the Red Sox. Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx had eight.
All-Star Tim Wakefield pitched seven strong innings in his return from the disabled list, but the 43-year-old knuckleballer was deprived of a win when Jayson Nix homered off reliever Ramon Ramirez to make it 2-2 in the eighth.
Daniel Bard (1-1) earned his first career victory with 1-1/3 innings of scoreless relief.
Tony Pena (1-2) struck out Kevin Youkilis to start the ninth, then gave up the homer to Ortiz, who also went deep in the second.
Alex Gonzalez also homered for Boston, which beat Chicago for the third straight time and dropped the White Sox (63-64) below .500 for the first time since June 28.
Also on Wednesday, it was:
• Yankees 9, Rangers 2
• Blue Jays 3, Rays 2
• Orioles 5, Twins 1
• Angels 4, Tigers 2
• Indians 4, Royals 2
• Mariners 5, Athletics 3
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