Baseball

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 »

Derek Jeter hit his first homer of the season, Darrell Rasner pitched six-plus strong innings and the New York Yankees ended a six-game losing streak to the Detroit Tigers with a 5-2 victory Saturday. Rasner (2-0) gave up two runs and four hits, departing after Magglio Ordonez's leadoff single in the seventh. 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 »

Aubrey Huff and Melvin Mora homered, Steve Trachsel earned his first victory since April 4 and the Baltimore Orioles beat Kansas City 7-4 last night for their 11th straight victory over the Royals. Huff, who has hit safely in 18 of his past 20 games, hit a three-run homer with two out in the fifth to snap a 2-2 tie. More »

Struggling Mike Lamb lifted the Minnesota Twins past the Boston Red Sox 7-6 last night with a two-run single in the ninth against Jonathan Papelbon, who blew his second consecutive save opportunity. Delmon Young led off the ninth with a single, and advanced on a sacrifice by Matt Tolbert. Adam Everett popped out, Young stole third without a throw, and Carlos Gomez walked and moved up on a steal. More »

Scott Feldman and three relievers combined for Texas' third consecutive shutout and Brandon Boggs drove in three runs to help the Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics 4-0 last night. Boggs recovered from an early hard crash into the wall to go 3-for-4 with a homer as Texas ended the A's four-game winning streak. Feldman (1-1) pitched six innings, stretching Texas' scoreless streak to 28 consecutive innings. 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 »

Kenny Rogers pitched into the seventh inning and Ivan Rodriguez had three hits and drove in a pair of runs to help the Detroit Tigers beat the New York Yankees 6-5 tonight. Rodriguez drove in a pair of runs and Rogers (3-3) held the Yankees to two runs on nine hits before New York scored three runs off Todd Jones in the ninth. 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 »

James Shields pitched a one-hitter and Evan Longoria's two-run, ninth-inning homer snapped a scoreless tie and gave the Tampa Bay Rays a 2-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels last night. Shields (4-2) rebounded from the second-shortest outing of his career to post his second shutout in his past three starts. The 26-year-old right-hander limited the Angels to Brandon Wood's one-out single in the third. More »

Casey Blake and Ben Francisco hit two-run doubles in a six-run seventh inning to help C.C. Sabathia and the Cleveland Indians defeat Roy Halladay and the Toronto Blue Jays 6-1 in a duel of Cy Young Award winners last night. Blue Jays center fielder Vernon Wells jammed his left wrist while making a diving catch and left in the sixth inning. More »

Josh Beckett got eight strikeouts, including the 1,000th of his career and Kevin Youkilis hit another home run at spacious Comerica Park to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 5-1 win over the Detroit Tigers. Beckett gave up six hits and a run in seven innings and Youkilis hit his third home run in two games. More »

Brandon Webb became the first pitcher to win his first eight starts in three years, tossing his 13th career complete game to help the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Philadelphia Phillies 8-3 on Thursday. The 2006 NL Cy Young Award winner struck out four and didn't walk a batter in his first complete game of the year. More »

The Atlanta Braves finally won a one-run game when Matt Diaz hit a bases-loaded single in the ninth to beat the San Diego Padres 5-4. Atlanta was the first team since the 2000 Houston Astros to lose its first nine one-run games. The Braves were the only team in the major leagues without such a victory. More »

Adam LaRoche hit a go-ahead single in a three-run seventh inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied to beat the San Francisco Giants 5-4 for a three-game sweep. Pittsburgh has won 13 of its last 15 games against San Francisco and swept three-game series from the Giants in three straight seasons, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. More »

Pinch-hitter Greg Norton broke a seventh-inning tie with a bases-loaded single and the Atlanta Braves beat the San Diego Padres 5-2 on Wednesday night for their fifth straight win. Tim Hudson (5-2) gave up six hits and two runs in seven innings. He walked three and struck out three. Manny Acosta recorded the final two outs for his third save. More »

John Maine became the first New York Mets starter this year to reach the eighth inning, taking a shutout into the ninth Wednesday during a 12-1 rout of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Brad Penny. Maine (4-2) hit a two-run single and was two outs from his third shutout and complete game in the majors when Matt Kemp hit an RBI single, extending his hitting streak to 12 games. More »