By JAY LeBLANC
July 1, 2008
NATIONAL LEAGUE
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Marlins 6, Nationals 5
Nats closer Jon Rauch allowed a game-tying home run to Hanley Ramirez in the bottom of the ninth and the game-winner to Josh Willingham to lead off the following inning as the Nats fell to the Marlins. Willingham’s walk-off shot was his second longball of the game and made a winner out of Kevin Gregg, who held Washington scoreless in the top of the 10th. Elijah Dukes and Dmitri Young hit solo shots for the Nats in the loss, while Cristian Guzman and Willie Harris had two hits a piece and Ronnie Belliard scored a pair of runs.
Cardinals 7, Mets 1
Kyle Lohse allowed just an unearned run on five hits in his seven innings of work to improve to 10-2 on the season. Chris Duncan slugged his fifth home run for St. Louis, while Aaron Miles had three hits and scored two runs and Albert Pujols chipped in with two hits and a pair of ribbies. John Maine allowed five runs (three earned) over four innings to fall to 8-6.
Reds 4, Pirates 3
Ken Griffey Jr. connected for a walk-off, two-run bomb off Pirates closer Matt Capps in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Reds to victory. Capps wasted little time in blowing the save, allowing a double to David Ross to open the inning before serving up Griffey’s blast. Adam LaRoche had three hits - including his eighth home run of the season - and three RBI for Pittsburgh. Jerry Hairston went deep for Cincinnati in the win.
Astros 4, Dodgers 1
Roy Oswalt fanned nine while limiting the Dodgers to a run on six hits in his six innings of work to pick up his seventh win of the season. Lance Berkman took L.A. starter Eric Stults deep for a solo shot in the first and the Astros added three more runs in the fourth on an RBI single by Mark Loretta and a two-run single by Brad Ausmus. Jose Valverde slammed the door in the ninth for his 22nd save.
Padres 15, Rockies 8
The offensively inept Padres busted out in a big way last night against Colorado, putting up 15 runs on 22 hits at Coors Field. Edgar Gonzalez left the yard twice and knocked in three runs in total, Jody Gerut had a homer and knocked in four runs and Kevin Kouzmanoff had a longball among his three hits on the night. Brian Giles also had four hits for San Diego. Brad Hawpe and Chris Iannetta knocked in three runs each for Colorado. Incredibly, future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux and San Diego starter didn’t pick up the victory, as he allowed all eight Rockies runs before departing after 4 2/3 innings.
Diamondbacks 6, Brewers 3
Mark Reynolds went 3-for-3 with a home run, two doubles and three RBI to lead the D-Backs past the Brew Crew. Augie Ojeda and Stephen Drew each chipped in with two hits and two runs scored. Doug Davis allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings of work to pick up his third win, and Brandon Lyon fanned two in the ninth en route to his 17th save. J.J. Hardy had three hits for Milwaukee.
Cubs 9, Giants 2
Mark DeRosa hit a grand slam and added a two-run shot for good measure to provide Ted Lilly with all the support he’d need on the way to his ninth win of the year. Lilly allowed two runs on seven hits in his eight innings of work while fanning five. Geovany Soto had two hits and scored three runs for Chicago, while Matt Murton had two base knocks and scored twice. Barry Zito allowed five runs (four earned) in five innings to fall to 3-12.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Royals 6, Orioles 5
George Sherrill blew a save for the second straight night, this time serving up a game-tying solo shot to Miguel Olivo on an 0-2 pitch with two outs in the top of the ninth. Jose Guillen then singled in the game-winner in the top of the 11th off Chad Bradford, and Royals closer Joakim Soria set the O’s down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the frame to pick up his 22nd save. Ramon Hernandez went yard for Baltimore and Alex Citron, Nick Markakis, Aubrey Huff and Kevin Millar each had RBI hits during a four-run O’s fourth. Brian Burres pitched five innings of one-run ball in the no-decision.
Rays 5, Red Sox 4
James Shields allowed two runs on five hits while striking out five in his 6 1/3 innings of work, and the Tampa Bay bullpen came close to letting the lead slip away but didn’t. Troy Percival entered a 5-2 game in the ninth and allowed two runs on three hits before giving way to J.P. Howell, who retired Julio Lugo to pick up his second save. B.J. Upton and Gabe Gross homered for the Rays. Mike Lowell had three hits for the Red Sox, Brandon Moss had two and J.D. Drew slugged his 16th home run of the year.
Rangers 2, Yankees 1
Scott Feldman allowed an Alex Rodriguez solo home run in the fourth but just three other hits and no other runs in his 5 1/3 innings of work and the Rangers bullpen held the Bronx Bombers scoreless the rest of the way. Texas scored its runs on a Josh Hamilton RBI single in the third and a David Murphy RBI double the following inning. Mike Mussina allowed two runs and fanned eight in six innings of work but ended up the tough-luck loser. Michael Young had three hits for the Rangers.
Tigers 5, Twins 4
Detroit fought back from an early deficit with two runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth, capped by an RBI single from Curtis Granderson, to top the Twins. Granderson finished with three hits on the night, while Gary Sheffield and Placido Polanco had two apiece and Marcus Thames smacked his 15th home run of the year. Carlos Gomez, Alexi Casilla, Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Denard Span had each had two base knocks for Minnesota.
White Sox 9, Indians 7
Nick Swisher had two jacks and five RBI to lead the White Sox past their division rivals. Jim Thome chipped in with a longball of his own and drove in three runs, while Orlando Cabrera had two hits and scored a pair of runs. Gavin Floyd allowed four runs (three earned) in his six innings of work, but fanned 10 en route to his ninth victory. Jhonny Peralta made countless fantasy owners happy despite the Tribe’s loss, going 5-for-5 with a home run, three doubles, three RBI and three runs scored. Cleveland starter Jeremy Sowers was tagged for eight runs in three innings as he fell to 0-4.
Athletics 6, Angels 1
Greg Smith went the distance for the victory, allowing just one run on a Mike Napoli solo shot and fanning three. Rookie Carlos Gonzalez had three hits and a run scored for Oakland, while teammates Ryan Sweeney, Kurt Suzuki, Mark Ellis and Daric Barton had two apiece. Eric Chavez knocked in a pair of runs in the win. Angels starter Jon Garland allowed four runs (two earned) over six innings to fall to 7-5.
Blue Jays 2, Mariners 0
Roy Halladay tossed a complete-game gem, blanking the Mariners on just four hits - all singles - while striking out six to improve to 9-6 on the year. Marco Scutaro singled in David Eckstein, who had doubled, to put the Jays up 1-0 in the fifth, and they scored their second run on a Rod Barajas RBI fielder’s choice an inning later. Scott Rolen had three hits in the win for Toronto.
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