Stories related to: National League

With the help of modern air travel, Major League Baseball should seriously consider expanding across the Pacific, writes Jim Caple for ESPN. Such a move could be both profitable and intriguing, and keep Japan from hemorrhaging its best talent. Though, as Red Sox manager Terry Francona points out, "Saying it would be fun and making it work are two different things." More »

Pinch-hitter Daryle Ward delivered a two-run double in the eighth inning, and the Chicago Cubs rallied again to beat Arizona 6-4 Sunday after the anticipated showdown between Carlos Zambrano and Randy Johnson got wiped out. Carlos Marmol (1-0) struck out two in a perfect eighth and Kerry Wood pitched the ninth to earn his seventh save and finish off Chicago's three-game sweep. More »

Dan Uggla's second home run on Sunday was a go-ahead drive in the eighth inning that lifted the Florida Marlins to their seventh straight win, 5-4 over the Washington Nationals. Uggla drove in two runs and has seven RBIs and three homers in two games; he hit a grand slam Saturday and has 11 homers this season. More »

Chris Sampson pitched three-hit ball over seven innings, Darin Erstad and Miguel Tejada each drove in two runs and the Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-0 last night. Sampson (2-3) struck out three and walked one in his Dodger Stadium debut, matching his longest outing of the season. The right-hander had given up 18 earned runs in 15 1/3 innings over his previous four starts. More »

Greg Maddux became the ninth pitcher in big league history to win 350 games, reaching the plateau in his fifth try and leading the San Diego Padres to a 3-2 win over the Colorado Rockies last night. With Adrian Gonzalez hitting a three-run homer and the Padres ending a five-game losing streak, Mad Dog held the Rockies to an unearned run and three hits in six innings. More »

Bronson Arroyo pitched eight dominant innings to win a matchup of struggling pitchers and Jeff Keppinger had a career-high five hits, lifting the Cincinnati Reds over the New York Mets 7-1 yesterday for a split of their day-night doubleheader. In the opener, Carlos Beltran hit a bases-loaded triple and drove in five runs to back Johan Santana's first home win for the Mets in a 12-6 victory. More »

Tom Gorzelanny shook off Mark Teixeira's two-run homer in the first inning to shut out Atlanta during the rest of his 7 1-3 innings, Jason Bay homered and the Pittsburgh Pirates extended the Braves' road woes with a 5-2 victory tonight. Gorzelanny (3-3), skipped over for a start because of a lower back problem, allowed just five hits after a difficult first inning. More »

Alfonso Soriano had four hits, including a go-ahead double in a six-run seventh inning, and showed some flair on the bases to help the Cubs beat Arizona 7-2. Kosuke Fukudome's first homer since opening day capped the seventh-inning rally as the Cubs won their second straight against the team that swept them in the first round of the playoffs last October. More »

Ryan Ludwick hit a two-run single with two outs in the ninth inning, and St. Louis' shaky bullpen held today for a 5-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers that snapped the Cardinals' season-long three-game skid. Ben Sheets set a franchise record for strikeouts with 1,086. Still, the slumping Brewers lost for the seventh time in eight games. More »

Tim Lincecum threw strikes all day, and San Francisco's entire offense clicked in Omar Vizquel's season debut. Randy Winn hit his first home run of the year, while Aaron Rowand connected against his former club for the second time in just more than a week and the Giants ended a season-worst five-game skid with an 8-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies today. More »

Carlos Beltran hit a bases-loaded triple and drove in five runs to back Johan Santana's first home victory for the Mets, and New York beat Cincinnati 12-6 in the first game of a day-night doubleheader Saturday. Carlos Delgado and Brian Schneider hit New York's first back-to-back homers this season, helping the Mets score 12 runs for the second consecutive game. More »

Rickie Weeks hit a bases loaded, two-run single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to give Milwaukee a 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals last night and snap the Brewers' six-game losing streak. After looking lethargic most of the game, the Brewers came alive after Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen recorded two outs on the first two pitches in the ninth. More »

Ricky Nolasco joined the first-place Florida Marlins' win parade with six strong innings, and Luis Gonzalez passed the 1,400 career RBIs mark with a bases-loaded double last night in a 7-3 victory over the Washington Nationals. Nolasco (2-3) broke a personal three-game losing streak, getting his first win in nearly a month, as the Marlins ran their winning streak to a season-high five games. More »

Freddy Sanchez singled home Brian Bixler with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the Pittsburgh Pirates a 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves tonight. Sanchez went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and is 9-for-17 in four games since being moved to the top of the Pirates' lineup. John Grabow (2-1) struck out one in a scoreless ninth to earn the win. More »

Ted Lilly kept his glove on his hand this time. Lilly gave up another homer to Chris Young, but instead of throwing a tantrum the left-hander led the Chicago Cubs over Arizona 3-1 today in the first meeting between the teams since the Diamondbacks' sweep in last year's playoffs. Young homered off Lilly in Game 2 last October during Arizona's 8-4 win, prompting Lilly to slam his glove down. More »

Jake Peavy won for the first time in more than three weeks and Tadahito Iguchi hit the go-ahead two-run double to help the San Diego Padres defeat the Florida Marlins 7-2 on last night. Peavy (4-1) allowed two runs, five hits, walked two and struck out eight in 5 2/3 innings. It was the 2007 National League Cy Young Award winner's first win since April 11. More »

The Atlanta Braves made it easy for Jo-Jo Reyes to win his 2008 debut. Reyes gave up one run in 5 1/3 innings, and Atlanta broke open a close game with a six-run seventh to beat the Cincinnati Reds 9-1 last night. Reyes (1-0), recalled from Triple-A Richmond for the start in place of the injured John Smoltz, gave up four hits and one run in 5 1/3 innings. More »

Bengie Molina singled in the go-ahead run in the 10th inning to lift the San Francisco Giants to a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies last night. Chase Utley hit his major league-leading 13th homer and Geoff Jenkins had a solo shot for the Phillies. Fred Lewis had a solo homer for the Giants, who already are 7 1/2 games behind Arizona in the NL West. More »

Pitcher Brandon Backe and Michael Bourn hit back-to-back home runs in a five-run fifth inning and the Houston Astros beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-2 last night. It was the second night in a row the Astros have hit consecutive home runs, after they hit three straight in the series opener. Backe (2-3) pitched 5 2/3 solid innings for his first win since April 12. More »

Brandon Webb became the majors' first seven-game winner, Augie Ojeda drove in a career-high six runs and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the New York Mets 10-4 today. Webb (7-0) matched Randy Johnson in 2000 for the fastest start by a Diamondbacks pitcher. Starting in place of injured second baseman Orlando Hudson, Ojeda entered with two RBIs. More »