Marshall hurls Cubs past Cards - Sports

Marshall hurls Cubs past Cards

Monday, Jul 07, 2008 - 12:08 AM

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From Wire Reports

ST. LOUIS - Richmonder Sean Marshall won his first game of the season yesterday, and Aramis Ramirez had two hits and three RBI as the Chicago Cubs pounded the St. Louis Cardinals 7-1.

Marshall (1-2), a former Manchester High and VCU standout, allowed one run on six hits in six innings. He struck out four and waked one. Besides Ryan Ludwick's 17th home run with one out in the sixth, the Cardinals had only two other runners in scoring position against the left-hander.

Geovany Soto hit his 15th homer, and Derrek Lee had three hits and an RBI for the NL Central leaders, who took two of three from the Cardinals and won for only the fourth time in 11 games.

The Cubs scored single runs in the second, third and fifth, peppering Todd Wellemeyer (7-4) with nine hits. Mark DeRosa had an RBI single in the first, and Ramirez added an RBI single in the third and a sacrifice fly in the fifth.

AROUND THE MAJORS

Teixeira wins it for Braves in 17th

ATLANTA - Mark Teixeira singled off the wall in left-center with the bases loaded in the 17th inning, giving Atlanta a 7-6 victory over Houston in the longest game in Turner Field history. Rain delayed the start of the game by 1 hour, 50 minutes, and solid pitching extended it much longer. The Braves rallied with two runs in the eighth inning to tie it, and each team had several chances to score the go-ahead run. Gregor Blanco finally did, after singling off Tim Byrdak (2-1) to lead off the 17th. Yunel Escobar followed with a bunt single and Chipper Jones loaded the bases with a base hit to right, before Teixeira's ball went over the head of a drawn-in outfield for the winning hit.

Tatis' blast boosts Mets past Phillies

PHILADELPHIA - Fernando Tatis hit a two-run homer in the 12th inning as the New York Mets edged Philadelphia. Jayson Werth hit a two-run shot off Billy Wagner (Ferrum) with two outs in the ninth to send the game into extra innings. But the Mets avoided another devastating loss in a season filled with them when Tatis connected off Chad Durbin (2-2) for his second homer of the season. The Mets have won two in a row in a big series against the NL East-leading Phillies. They trail Philadelphia by 3½ games with a chance to move closer in the finale tonight.

Longoria powers streaking Rays

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Evan Longoria hit a two-run homer during a four-run third, and Tampa Bay pummeled Kansas City 9-2 for its seventh straight win. James Shields (7-5) gave up two runs and four hits over seven innings to win his third consecutive start. He struck out eight and walked one. The Rays, with the majors' best record at 55-32, have won 11 of 12 overall. Their seven-game winning streak is the second-longest in team history; Tampa Bay won 12 in a row in June 2004. Longoria, a rookie, has five homers and 17 RBI in his last 13 games.

Murphy, Kinsler lift Rangers past O's

BALTIMORE - David Murphy hit a three-run homer, and AL batting leader Ian Kinsler got three singles to extend his hitting streak to 18 games as Texas outslugged Baltimore 11-10. Murphy's fourth-inning shot, which followed a two-out intentional walk to Milton Bradley, gave Texas the lead for good. The Rangers took two of three to improve to 15-4-2 in their past 21 series. Kevin Millar went 4 for 4 with a homer for the Orioles. Brian Roberts, Nick Markakis and Melvin Mora also connected for Baltimore, which went 2 for 19 with runners in scoring position.

Reds complete sweep of Nats

CINCINNATI - Adam Dunn hit a three-run homer that started Cincinnati's comeback, and the Reds held on to beat Washington 6-5 to comple a four-game sweep. Edinson Volquez (11-3) was a little off with his control but repeatedly pitched out of threats in six innings against the NL's worst offensive team. The Nationals are last in batting average, hits and runs. Washington rookie Collin Balester (1-1) made his second career start and retired the first 11 batters before giving up three runs in the fourth and two in the fifth.

Johnson strikes out 10, wins 289th

PHOENIX - Randy Johnson struck out 10 and allowed three hits in six-plus innings as Arizona nipped San Diego 3-2. Johnson (5-7) moved into sole possession of 24th place on the career victory list with No. 289, moving ahead of Tommy John. Justin Upton (Chesapeake) hit the second-longest home run in Chase Field history, and ex-U.Va. standout Mark Reynolds also homered for the Diamondbacks. Scott Hairston homered for the Padres, who have lost 15 of 19.

In other games:

WHITE SOX 4, ATHLETICS 3: John Danks set a career high with nine strikeouts, and Chicago edged visiting Oakland for its 10th win in 13 games. A.J. Pierzynski, Joe Crede, Alexei Ramirez and DeWayne Wise drove in runs for the White Sox. Oakland's Rich Harden (5-1) struggled with his control as he lost for the first time since last July 7.

TIGERS 2, MARINERS 1 (15): Marcus Thames' sacrifice fly off backup catcher Jamie Burke scored pinch runner Michael Hollimon in the top of the 15th as Detroit outlasted host Seattle. After the two pitching staffs combined to keep both offenses off the scoreboard from the fifth inning on, Seattle manager Jim Riggleman bypassed using pitchers Arthur Rhodes, Brandon Morrow or tomorrow's scheduled starter, Carlos Silva. Instead, Riggleman went with Burke.

BREWERS 11, PIRATES 6: Red-hot J.J. Hardy hit two homers, Ryan Braun added another and host Milwaukee beat Pittsburgh to complete a three-game sweep. Hardy went 3 for 4 with four RBI and his hitting .446 in his past 18 games. The Brewers tied franchise records with nine doubles and 12 extra-base hits. Jason Bay and Adam LaRoche homered for the Pirates, and Nate McLouth had a three-run double.

TWINS 4, INDIANS 3: Carlos Gomez capped a three-run seventh inning with an RBI groundout as Minnesota handed visiting Cleveland its eighth straight loss. Glen Perkins (5-2) allowed seven hits in seven innings for the Twins. Joe Nathan got three outs for his 25th save. The Indians' Cliff Lee (11-2) lost for the first time in nine starts.

MARLINS 10, ROCKIES 5: Cody Ross homered and drove in five runs as Florida avoided a four-game sweep by winning at Colorado. Ross knocked in 15 runs in the series. Wes Helms and Mike Jacobs had two RBI apiece for the Marlins. Rockies starter Aaron Cook (11-6) was rocked for 11 hits and seven earned runs in 71/3 innings.

ANGELS 7, BLUE JAYS 1: Jon Garland pitched a six-hitter for his 100th victory, Jeff Mathis tied a career high with three RBI, and Juan Rivera homered as Los Angeles rolled past visiting Toronto. Garland (8-5) struck out three and walked none while reducing his ERA to 3.76, the lowest it's been since his first start of the season.

DODGERS 5, GIANTS 3: James Loney doubled twice and drove in three runs as visiting Los Angeles trimmed San Francisco. Andre Ethier added three hits and drove in a run for the Dodgers, who have won eight of their past 10 road games. Matt Kemp also drove in a run. The Giants' Rich Aurilia had two hits, including a home run for his 1,500th career hit.

SHORT HOPS

Baltimore has lost 13 straight Sunday games and have been outscored 75-44 on the Sabbath.

Chicago Cubs catcher Geovany Soto has 15 home runs, the most by a Cubs rookie since Mel Hall hit 17 in 1983 and the most fo rthe franchise by a catcher since Randy Hundley hit 19 in 1966.

Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria has 16 home runs, tied with Kansas City's Bob Hamelin (1994) for the second-most by an AL rookie before the all-star break in the past 20 years.