National League roundup

[September 10, 2009]  PHOENIX (AP) -- Ramon Troncoso missed his target twice and sent the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 4-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday.

Troncoso threw away a roller to the mound, putting the winning run at second base in the ninth. Then he missed with a 3-2 fastball to Mark Reynolds with the bases loaded, sealing a defeat that sliced the Dodgers' NL West lead to 2 1/2 games over the surging Colorado Rockies.

"We just made an error, and it's tough to overcome," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said.

The loss stung, but Torre said he was happy to take two of three from the Diamondbacks.

"I'm very positive about this series," Torre said. "This was a disappointment, this game."

Last season, the Diamondbacks and Dodgers dueled into September before Los Angeles pulled away. This year, the Diamondbacks have been out of contention for months, but they relished playing the spoiler role in the division race, if only for one night.

"I think the whole NL West might have been watching that game," said Arizona manager A.J. Hinch, whose team snapped a six-game skid.

Manny Ramirez and James Loney hit back-to-back homers for the Dodgers, who are off Thursday before opening a three-game series at San Francisco on Friday.

But Ramirez and Loney also struck out against Juan Gutierrez (4-3) to strand runners at first and second in the eighth.

That missed opportunity haunted the Dodgers an inning later, when Troncoso (4-3) threw away Gerardo Parra's roller to the mound, allowing him to reach second on the error.

"I left my shoulder a little down," Troncoso said.

As it turned out, that was the only ball that left the infield in the bottom of the ninth.

Trent Oeltjen ran for Parra and took third on Ryan Roberts' sacrifice. After intentional walks to Stephen Drew and Justin Upton, Troncoso missed with a 3-2 fastball to Reynolds, who had fouled off a pair of pitches with two strikes.

"I was just trying to put the ball in play," Reynolds said. "I just fouled off some tough pitches and was able to work a good AB."

Cardinals 5, Brewers 1

At Milwaukee, Albert Pujols hit two homers to bring his major league-leading total to 47 and Adam Wainwright (18-7) threw seven scoreless innings to become the first pitcher in the majors with 18 wins. The Cardinals completed a three-game sweep.

Felipe Lopez homered for the Brewers, who scored 10 runs in a 1-5 homestand.

Rockies 4, Reds 3

At Denver, Seth Smith hit a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the ninth to give Colorado its sixth consecutive win.

Clint Barmes started the winning rally with a one-out double off Francisco Cordero (2-5). Matt Daley (1-1) pitched 1 1-3 innings for the Rockies, getting the win despite allowing Scott Rolen's homer.

Padres 4, Giants 2

At San Francisco, Adrian Gonzalez hit his career-high 37th homer and drove in three runs for San Diego and Wade LeBlanc (2-1) pitched a career-best seven innings to win his second straight start.

Andres Torres hit a two-run homer for the Giants, who have lost three of four.

Phillies 6, Nationals 5

At Washington, Jayson Werth and Pedro Feliz hit back-to-back homers in the eighth inning to lead Philadelphia. Ryan Madson pitched the ninth in place of struggling closer Brad Lidge, earning his sixth save in 11 chances as the Phillies beat the Nationals for the ninth straight time.

Cliff Lee (6-2) pitched seven-plus innings to get the win, allowing five runs and 10 hits.

Astros 2, Braves 1

At Houston, Miguel Tejada's two-run single with the bases loaded won it for the Astros in the bottom of the ninth, handing Rafael Soriano (1-5) his fourth blown save.

Jose Valverde (4-2) struck out two in a perfect ninth for the win.

Marlins 6, Mets 3

At New York, Ricky Nolasco (11-8) shut down the Mets into the seventh inning and Cody Ross and Dan Uggla homered for Florida. Leo Nunez worked a perfect ninth for his second save of the series and 20th of the season.

Pat Misch (1-2) allowed five runs and six hits in six innings.

Cubs 8, Pirates 5

At Pittsburgh, Carlos Zambrano (8-6) won for the first time since July 22, limiting the Pirates to two runs over six innings. Chicago finished the three-game sweep and won its sixth straight against Pittsburgh.

Micah Hoffpauir homered and was among five Cubs with two hits during Chicago's 26th win in its last 32 games against the Pirates.

[Associated Press; By ANDREW BAGNATO]

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