Chris Woodward, Mike Cameron and David Wright homered, and Mike Piazza went 4-for-4 as the New York Mets beat the Cincinnati Reds 10-6 on Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep.
Cincinnati hasn't won its last 11 series. Woodward's second-inning homer off Eric Milton (2-5) marked the 17th straight game the Reds allowed a home run, matching the team record in June 2001. Danny Graves allowed two homers in a four-run eighth.
Cincinnati made a season-high four errors and manager Dave Miley was ejected for arguing a close call at first base in the fifth inning.
PHOTO: AP
Sean Casey was just about the lone bright spot for Cincinnati, going 5-for-5 with a home run, a double and four RBIs. Ken Griffey Jr. hit a two-run homer in the ninth, his sixth of the year.
Two-time Cy Young pitching-award winner Tom Glavine (3-4) won consecutive starts for the first time in more than a year, allowing two runs and nine hits in six innings to improve to 26-12 against the Reds.
Following an offseason overhaul, New York was swept by the Reds in a season-opening three-game series en route to an 0-5 start.
Cubs 3, Pirates 2
At Pittsburgh, Jose Macias' sacrifice fly drove in the go-ahead run, and the Chicago Cubs rallied with two runs in the ninth against Pittsburgh closer Jose Mesa for the second time in less than 20 hours, ruining Kip Wells' solid start.
The Pirates had won 40 consecutive games when leading after eight innings and Mesa had converted 23 successive save opportunities, until the Cubs rallied in the ninth two days in a row. Chicago came into the two-game series with 10 losses in 14 games.
Michael Barrett doubled against Mesa (0-3), and pinch-hitter Todd Hollandsworth singled off first baseman Daryle Ward's glove to score Barrett for the tying score.
Michael Wuertz (1-2) pitched a scoreless eighth for the victory before new Cubs closer Ryan Dempster pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth for his second save in two days.
Padres 8, Braves 4
At San Diego, Khalil Greene hit a pair of three-run homers for a career-high six RBIs and Adam Eaton won his fourth consecutive start for the Padres' first three-game sweep of the Braves since May 1991.
The Padres won for the 16th time in 19 games, a span that's vaulted them from fourth in the National League (NL) West to sole possession of the division lead.
Greene, the runner-up in last season's National League Rookie of the Year voting, homered in the second and third off Horacio Ramirez (2-3).
Eaton (6-1) held the Braves to two runs and seven hits in 6 1-3 innings. He struck out five and walked none.
Marlins 8, Dodgers 3
At Los Angeles, Carlos Delgado, Miguel Cabrera and Damion Easley homered in a five-run sixth inning, powering Florida over Los Angeles.
Josh Beckett (6-3) allowed two runs and five hits in six innings and singled home a run for the Marlins, who took two of three from the defending NL West champions after getting swept in a three-game series at San Diego.
All three Florida homers came off Jeff Weaver (4-3), who was charged with six runs and 10 hits in 5 2-3 innings and is 0-2 in four career starts against the Marlins.
Nationals 1, Brewers 0
In Washington, Jeffrey Hammonds singled home the winning run for the Nationals with one out in the ninth inning.
Hammonds, in an 0-for-13 slump entering the game, took advantage of a rare start to go 2-for-4, winning the game when he pulled a grounder down the third-base line with the bases loaded and the infield in.
Chris Capuano (3-3) hit Brad Wilkerson on the right shoulder with a 1-2 pitch in the ninth, and Jamey Carroll bunted Wilkerson to second. Milwaukee manager Ned Yost then pulled Capuano and brought in Mike Adams to face Vinny Castilla, who hit a weak dribbler that turned into a hit when third baseman Russell Branyan tried and failed to barehand the ball.
Nick Johnson was walked intentionally to load the bases, setting up Hammonds' first RBI of the season.
Gary Majewski (1-0) worked the ninth inning to get the win for the Nationals, who once again failed to provide run support during another superb outing by Esteban Loaiza.
Giants 3, Rockies 2
In Denver, Deivi Cruz hit a tiebreaking triple in the ninth inning of the lowest-scoring game at Coors Field this season as San Francisco edged Colorado.
Pedro Feliz led off the ninth with a single against Brian Fuentes (0-3), then Cruz lofted a drive over right fielder Brad Hawpe's head. Hawpe got the ball in quickly, but the relay throw was late after first baseman Todd Helton couldn't get the ball out of his glove.
Colorado had plenty of chances in the late innings. The Rockies put at least two on in four straight innings, starting with the fifth, but stranded eight of their 10 runners in those frames.
Jim Brower (2-1) worked the eighth while Tyler Walker the ninth for his fourth save, ending what started as a tight pitching duel between Brad Hennessey and Shawn Chacon.
Cardinals 8, Phillies 4
In Philadelphia, Yadier Molina hit a three-run homer and Albert Pujols added a two-run shot, helping St. Louis overcome another homer by Bobby Abreu to beat Philadelphia.
Chris Carpenter (6-2) allowed three runs and five hits, striking out seven in six innings for his second straight win.
Abreu hit a three-run drive in the sixth inning, giving him homers in nine of the last 10 games. By that time, the Phillies already trailed 8-0.
Abreu had a chance to tie the game in the ninth after the Phillies loaded the bases against Jason Isringhausen, but he struck out to end it.
Pujols gave the Cardinals a 2-0 lead in the third when he sent a 2-2 pitch from Jon Lieber (5-3) deep into the left-center field seats for his 10th homer. Molina made it 5-0 with a three-run shot later in the inning.
Diamondbacks 7, Astros 6
In Houston, Troy Glaus hit a two-run homer, Russ Ortiz pitched well enough to win and the Arizona roughed up Andy Pettitte to beat Houston.
Glaus finished 3-for-5, helping the Diamondbacks match a season high with 14 hits against an Astros team that had won three straight, including consecutive shutouts.
Brian Bruney pitched the ninth for his third save, sending Arizona to its sixth win in eight games. He allowed Craig Biggio's fifth homer in six games, a solo shot, but retired Adam Everett on a liner to third with the bases loaded to end it. The Diamondbacks (24-17) remained a game behind NL West-leading San Diego.
Pettitte (2-5) allowed seven runs and 11 hits -- both the most since he came to Houston -- in losing his third straight start, matching a career worst.
Ortiz (4-2) allowed four runs and nine hits in 5 1-3 innings.
Bartolo Colon pitched eight strong innings and the Los Angeles Angels rallied for two runs in the ninth off Jake Westbrook for a 2-1 win over the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday.
Colon (5-3) allowed just four hits but appeared to be on his way to a tough loss before the Angels finally figured out Westbrook (1-7), who took a two-hitter into the ninth.
Westbrook had retired 21 straight and was two outs away from his second career shutout when the Angels, who hadn't gotten a hit since the second, strung together three straight singles off the right-hander to tie it 1-1. Then pinch-hitter Bengie Molina hit a sacrifice fly ball off reliever Arthur Rhodes to score Chone Figgins.
Jody Gerut, making his season debut in Cleveland's outfield, drove in the Indians' only run with an RBI double in the fourth inning off Colon, who was pitching on just three days' rest.
White Sox 7, Rangers 0
At Chicago, Mark Buehrle won his sixth straight decision and Jermaine Dye doubled three times, once with the bases loaded, to help Chicago beat Texas.
A.J. Pierzynski homered in his fourth consecutive game, and Paul Konerko also connected.
Buehrle (7-1) allowed nine hits over 7 1-3 innings and got out of two early jams to run his career record against Texas to 7-0. The quick-working left-hander walked none and struck out two, leaving after giving up two singles in the eighth.
The White Sox will take a major league-best 29-12 record into today's interleague opener with the Cubs at Wrigley Field. The Cubs will pitch Greg Maddux, Carlos Zambrano and Mark Prior, while the White Sox counter with Freddy Garcia, Jose Contreras and Orlando Hernandez.
Athletics 13, Red Sox 6
In Oakland, California, Eric Chavez hit a three-run homer, David Wells flopped in his first start in three weeks and Oakland routed Boston.
Seth Etherton (1-0), called up from Triple-A Sacramento on Sunday to make his first major-league appearance since 2003, pitched 7 1-3 strong innings a day before his wife was scheduled to deliver their first child.
The right-hander retired 15 of his first 17 batters, and the A's batted around in the first two innings. Eric Byrnes had four of Oakland's 19 hits and scored three runs. Mark Kotsay had a two-run double and Chavez drove in four runs as the Athletics established season highs for hits and runs.
They were the only team in the majors that hadn't scored 10 or more in a game.
Wells (2-4) lasted only 1 1-3 innings, his shortest outing since June 2001 with the White Sox. The A's tagged him for seven runs and nine hits in his first start since April 25 because of a sprained right foot.
Twins 3, Blue Jays 2
In Minneapolis, Jacque Jones and Michael Cuddyer homered to lift Minnesota over Toronto.
Cuddyer was 3-for-3 and Kyle Lohse (3-2) pitched six solid innings to give the Twins their second win by a starting pitcher in the last nine games.
Dave Bush (0-4) rebounded from a rough outing against Kansas City.
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
LONG TIME COMING: With the addition of Marcus Smart, the Washington Wizards finally held a team to under 100 points, the last team this season to do so The Detroit Pistons on Monday won their seventh straight game in the NBA with in-form Cade Cunningham making 32 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a 106-97 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. The Pistons, who are in the playoff position, moved to 32-26, their best record at this stage of a season for 17 years. It was an all-round effort from Detroit with Tobias Harris adding 20 points and Jalen Duren making 19 rebounds along with his 12 points. It was a tight contest until Detroit pulled away late in the third quarter to tie their longest winning streak since the 2014-2015
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
RSS