NATIONAL LEAGUE : Cubs top Cardinals as Wood outduels Pujols in 9th
Posted on Friday, September 12, 2008
ST. LOUIS — Rich Harden worked six solid innings and Kerry Wood got Albert Pujols to pop up with two men on for the final out in a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night. Ryan Theriot, Derrek Lee and Mike Fontenot had RBI for the Cubs, who lead the Milwaukee Brewers in the National 1 League Central by 5 / 2 games with 16 to play after taking 2 of 3 with two one-run
1 decisions. The Cardinals remained 4 / 2 games behind the Brewers for the NL wild card. Pujols drove in his 100 th run with a sixth-inning double, becoming only the third major league player to reach the milestone in his first eight seasons. Al Simmons did it his first 11 seasons, and Ted Williams also did it his first eight. Pujols extended his major league-record streak of reaching 30 home runs and 100 RBI in his first eight seasons, two more than any player.
Harden (5-1 ) allowed two runs and five hits in his first appearance since working five innings Aug. 29 and then skipping a turn because of arm discomfort. He’s won five consecutive decisions over his past eight starts.
Carlos Marmol escaped a basesloaded jam in the eighth with the help of two defensive gems: left fielder Alfonso Soriano’s diving grab on a sinking liner by Pujols and right fielder Kosuke Fukudome’s leaping grab at the wall to rob Felipe Lopez of extra bases. Pinch hitter Josh Phelps struck out for the final out.
Wood worked around two ninth-inning hits to earn his 30 th save, his second in two nights against the Cardinals, bouncing back after suffering the loss in his two most recent appearances before the St. Louis series.
The Cubs capitalized on three walks, a wild pitch and a fielding error to go ahead 2-0 in the fifth against Todd Wellemeyer (12-7 ). Theriot walked with the bases loaded for the first run.
Pujols botched Reed Johnson’s grounder with a man on first, dropping the ball while pivoting to make a forceout throw at second. Lopez, the third baseman filling in for Troy Glaus, appeared to get the ball stuck in his glove on Lee’s bases-loaded RBI grounder, settling for a throw to first instead of a shot at a force at the plate.
Consecutive doubles by Mark DeRosa and Fontenot in the sixth made it 3-0. ASTROS 6, PIRATES 0 Roy Oswalt (15-9 ) pitched his second consecutive complete-game shutout, set a Houston record for consecutive scoreless innings and drove in two runs, beating visiting Pittsburgh. The Astros have won six consecutive games and 14 of 15, and their 36-16 record since the All-Star break is the best mark in the majors. They have won nine in a row at Minute Maid Park. Oswalt hasn’t allowed a run in 32 1 / 3 innings, passing the record of 31 set by J. R. Richard in 1980. He needed only 90 pitches to finish his sixth career shutout and 15 th complete game. Oswalt retired 20 in a row after Luis Rivas’ one-out single in the first inning on his way to winning for the ninth time in 10 decisions. He finished with a three-hitter. Oswalt was coming off a one-hitter in Colorado on Saturday. PHILLIES 6, BREWERS 3 Ryan Howard hit his major league-leading 43 rd home run, a two-run shot, and Jamie Moyer (14-7 ) pitched 5 2 / 3 effective innings as host Philadelphia beat Ben Sheets (13-8 ) and Milwaukee, which lost for the eighth time in 11 games. The 45-year-old Moyer, pitching on three days’ rest for the first time since 2004, allowed 3 runs and 4 hits, improving to 7-1 in his past 13 starts. The left-hander moved past Hall of Famer Juan Marichal and into a tie with Jack Powell for 49 th on the career list with 244 victories. BRAVES 8, ROCKIES 4 Yunel Escobar, who had three hits and a walk, hit a three-run home run to cap a five-run sixth inning as host Atlanta handed Colorado its fifth consecutive loss.
American League ROYALS 3, TWINS 2 David DeJesus hit the winning single in the 10 th as Kansas City beat Minnesota. Matt Guerrier (6-8 ) got one out in the 10 th before surrendering two consecutive singles and leaving runners at the corners for Dennys Reyes. DeJesus hit his first pitch into left field. BLUE JAYS 6, WHITE SOX 4 Shaun Marcum (9-6 ) allowed 2 runs, 5 hits and 1 walk with 6 strikeouts in 7 1 / 3 innings and Toronto broke a scoreless tie with six runs in the eighth against Chicago for its 11 th victory in 12 games. The White Sox have lost 4 of 5. ORIOLES 6, INDIANS 3 Nick Markakis, who was in a 1-for-13 slump, had two hits and scored the go-ahead run in the fifth as host Baltimore beat Cleveland. Thursday’s games
NATIONAL LEAGUE Philadelphia 6, Milwaukee 3 Atlanta 8, Colorado 4 Houston 6, Pittsburgh 0 Chicago Cubs 3, St. Louis 2 San Francisco at San Diego, (n ) AMERICAN LEAGUE Kansas City 3, Minnesota 2, 10 innings Baltimore 6, Cleveland 3 Toronto 6, Chicago White Sox 4 Texas at Oakland, (n ) Seattle at LA Angels, (n )
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