PHILADELPHIA Chase Utley homered twice and drove in three runs, Pedro Feliz added a three-run shot and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Washington Nationals 7-1 Tuesday night for their fifth straight victory.
Raul Ibanez also went deep for the Phillies, who won despite losing ace Cole Hamels early for the second consecutive start. The left-hander came out in the fifth inning after spraining his left ankle trying to field John Lannans bunt.
Hamels, making his fourth start, appeared to be on his way to his first win. He allowed four hits and struck out four in 4 1-3 innings, leaving with a 5-0 lead.
Marlins 7, Mets 4=
NEW YORK – Jorge Cantu homered twice and drove in five runs and the Marlins ended one of the wilder rides in baseball history, beating the Mets to snap a seven-game losing streak.
The Marlins skid started immediately after theyd won seven in a row. Florida became the first NL team to win at least seven straight and also lose at least seven straight in April, the Elias Sports Bureau said.
Cantu hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning, then lined a tiebreaking, three-run drive in the seventh.
Florida won minus All-Star shortstop Hanley Ramirez, who was hit by a pitch in the right hand the previous night. The Mets were missing first baseman Carlos Delgado and second baseman Luis Castillo, both nursing recent injuries.
Braves 2, Cardinals 1=
ATLANTA – Matt Diaz drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single off Kyle McClellan in the eighth inning, rallying the Braves to a win over the Cardinals.
Kyle Lohse pitched six scoreless innings and left with a 1-0 lead, but he was denied his fourth straight win as the Braves took advantage of McClellans shaky eighth.
McClellan (1-1) walked Omar Infante, Chipper Jones and Jeff Francoeur to set the stage for Diazs go-ahead hit with two outs.
McClellan threw ball three behind Diazs back before giving up the two-run single up the middle on the 3-2 pitch.
Peter Moylan (1-1) pitched a perfect eighth after Jo-Jo Reyes allowed only three hits, one walk and one run in seven innings.
Astros 8, Reds 3=
CINCINNATI – Wandy Rodriguez allowed one run in seven innings and Ivan Rodriguez homered and doubled, helping the Astros extend their three-year winning streak at Great American Ball Park over the Reds.
The Astros have won their last 11 games in Cincinnati, a streak that started late in the 2007 season and is the longest current run of dominance in the majors. Houston is 32-15-1 at the hitter-friendly ballpark that opened in 2003.
Its not only their hitters who like it.
Wandy Rodriguez (2-2) leads a staff that has prospered at Great American, going 3-0 at the ballpark. His batterymate, Ivan Rodriguez, homered off Aaron Harang (2-3), who lasted only five innings.
Brewers 6, Pirates 5=
MILWAUKEE – Trevor Hoffman saved his first game with the Brewers and Bill Hall and Rickie Weeks homered in the sixth inning to rally Milwaukee to a victory over the Pirates.
The Brewers trailed 5-1 before they scored two runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth on Halls solo homer to start the inning off Pirates starter Paul Maholm and Weeks go-ahead, two-run shot off Jesse Chavez.
The 41-year-old Hoffman, the all-time saves leader who signed a one-year deal with Milwaukee in the offseason, got his first save with the Brewers and 555th of his career one night after making his first appearance with Milwaukee.
Padres 4, Rockies 3=
DENVER – Luis Rodriguez laced a run-scoring pinch-hit single through a drawn-in infield in the ninth, lifting the Padres to a win over the Rockies.
Nick Hundley began the inning with a triple into the corner off reliever Manuel Corpas (0-2), scoring easily when Rodriguezs one-out hit scooted through the right side of the infield.
Before his game-winning hit, Rodriguez had struggled in his career as a pinch hitter, going 1-for-19 since the start of 2007.
Duaner Sanchez (1-0) earned the win despite a rocky eighth and Heath Bell pitched his way around Todd Heltons two-out double in the ninth for his major-league leading eighth save in as many chances.
Cubs 11, Diamondbacks 3=
PHOENIX – Carlos Zambrano fell a triple shy of the cycle and pitched seven sharp innings, and the Cubs routed the Diamondbacks.
Alfonso Soriano and Mike Fontenot also homered for the Cubs, who won for only the second time in seven games.
Zambrano is a career .235 hitter who opened the season 0 for 9. He snapped out of the slump with a single in the third, then added an RBI double off the top of the wall in right-center field in the fifth.
In the seventh, Zambrano hit an 0-2 pitch from Esmerling Vasquez into the first row of the left field stands for his 17th career homer, most by a Cubs pitcher.
Zambrano (2-1) allowed three runs and eight hits, walking two and striking out three.
Dodgers 5, Giants 3=
SAN FRANCISCO – Andre Ethier doubled in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning and the Dodgers beat the Giants, avoiding their longest losing streak of the season.
Manny Ramirez had three doubles and James Loney drove in two runs for the Dodgers, who had lost their previous two games.
Jonathan Broxton (2-0) blew his first save after six straight successful chances when he walked pinch-hitter Rich Aurilia with the bases loaded in the eighth.
Chad Billingsley pitched 7 1-3 innings, allowing three runs and seven hits, striking out eight.
Pablo Sandoval and Travis Ishikawa, who had two hits, drove in runs for the Giants, who have won six of eight.
