Baseball

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 »

Ryan Braun hit a pair of solo home runs, Jeff Suppan pitched seven solid innings and the Milwaukee Brewers' new closer by committee held on for a 5-3 win over St. Louis. Suppan (2-2) gave up six hits and walked five, but struck out four to pick up the first win for a Milwaukee starter other than Ben Sheets since April 5. More »

Brian Bannister allowed two singles in eight innings and Kansas City beat Baltimore 4-0 Sunday to end its 12-game skid against the Orioles. Bannister struck out five and walked two to end a personal four-game losing streak. He did not allow a runner to reach second. Joakim Soria tossed a perfect ninth to finish the Royals’ fourth shutout of the year. 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 »

Brian Anderson and Carlos Quentin each homered and combined for five RBIs in the second inning to lead the Chicago White Sox to an 8-4 victory over the slumping Seattle Mariners last night. Javier Vazquez (4-3) allowed six hits and four runs in 5 2/3 innings as the White Sox moved into a first-place tie with Minnesota in the American League Central. 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 »

Kevin Millar hit a three-run homer and finished with three hits to help the Baltimore Orioles beat Kansas City 6-5 last night on a rainy night for their 12th straight victory over the Royals. Millar, who entered hitting just .186 in his previous 15 games, homered just inside the left-field foul pole on a 2-1 pitch from Brett Tomko (1-4) with two out in the first. More »

Milton Bradley homered and drove in three runs as the Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics 6-4 tonight for their fifth straight win, despite having their shutout streak end at 33 innings. Texas pitchers had posted three shutouts in a row and the scoreless streak was the second-longest in franchise history. Oakland ended it with an unearned run in the third inning. More »

The Boston Red Sox got an unexpected power surge from the bottom of their lineup to help Daisuke Matsuzaka remain undefeated with a 5-2 victory over Minnesota on Saturday. Coco Crisp and Jed Lowrie hit back-to-back homers to lead off the seventh inning and Matsuzaka (6-0) gave up two runs and six hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings for the Sox. More »

Scott Kazmir pitched six scoreless innings and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Los Angeles Angels 2-0 tonight to hand Joe Saunders his first loss of the season. Kazmir (1-1) held the Angels to a single and two doubles in his second start of the year. Evan Longoria drove in the only run off Saunders (6-1). More »

Grady Sizemore homered twice and drove in five runs, Aaron Laffey pitched seven sharp innings and the Cleveland Indians routed Toronto 12-0 Saturday night to hand the Blue Jays their fourth straight loss. Sizemore had three hits, including a leadoff homer to start a six-run first inning against Dustin McGowan (2-3). Sizemore added a three-run shot in the fifth. 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 »

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 »