National League roundup

[September 16, 2009]  ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Sean West said he made a little smirk that drove the home crowd crazy when Albert Pujols came to the plate with the bases loaded in the fifth inning.

He went right after the St. Louis Cardinals' star, who has hit five grand slams this year, making him settle for a sacrifice fly. Then he struck out Matt Holliday to end the inning, setting the stage for Dan Uggla's go-ahead two-run homer in the top of the sixth in the Florida Marlins' 2-1 victory on Tuesday night.

The 23-year-old rookie left-hander also outpitched 18-game winner Adam Wainwright, striking out a season-best nine in six innings.

"He may not even know who Cy Young is, and he may not even know who Matt Holliday and Albert Pujols are," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "But I hope that builds confidence and he keeps going."

West (7-5) embraced the moment while helping to keep alive the Marlins' faint playoff hopes and sending the NL Central-leading Cardinals to their fourth loss in five games. Florida is 5 1/2 games behind wild card-leading Colorado, while the Cardinals' magic number remained at 10.

"Do I know who Cy Young is?" West said. "Yeah, I've heard of him. I had a blast."

Pujols is 9 for 14 with 30 RBIs with the bases loaded.

"I didn't even want to know at the time," he said. "Our game plan was to pitch him in. I got a slider in at his feet and he popped it up and that was huge."

Wainwright (18-8) allowed two runs in seven innings with eight strikeouts, missing a chance to become the majors' first 19-game winner. He was happy with the pitch to Uggla, a 1-1 curveball that was ankle-high when Uggla golfed it over the left-field wall.

"I don't think it was a sloppy pitch," Wainwright said. "I'll take my chances with that almost every time, but he's a great hitter and he made a good swing."

Wainwright had been 6-0 with a 1.99 ERA in seven starts since Aug. 8. He's allowed two or fewer earned runs in 15 of 16 starts, with the exception a six-run inning against the Pirates on Sept. 4 -- even though he ended up winning his 17th game.

"I had a stupid inning in Pittsburgh," Wainwright said. "Other than that I've felt pretty much the same every time I go out there."

Phillies 5, Nationals 0

At Philadelphia, Cliff Lee threw a six-hitter and Carlos Ruiz hit a three-run double for the Phillies, who reduced their magic number for clinching their third consecutive NL East title to 12 with 19 games left.

Lee (7-2) struck out nine and walked three to record his second shutout and sixth complete game this season.

Braves 6, Mets 0

At Atlanta, Adam LaRoche had two homers, two doubles and drove in three runs, and rookie Tommy Hanson pitched seven innings in the Braves' fifth straight win.

New York has lost seven of eight.

LaRoche went 4 for 4, including solo homers in the second and the sixth, giving him 25 this season. Hanson (10-3) allowed three hits and struck out eight.

Reds 5, Astros 4

At Cincinnati, Paul Janish drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning with his third double and the Reds won their third in four games.

Daniel Ray Herrera (4-4) struck out Michael Bourn, the only batter he faced, to end the seventh and earn the win. Francisco Cordero pitched the ninth for his 36th save.

Cubs 13, Brewers 7

At Chicago, Geovany Soto homered and drove in three runs as the Cubs took advantage of 12 walks.

Derrek Lee hit a two-run double and drove in three runs in Chicago's seventh win in eight games. In addition to the walks, five Milwaukee pitchers combined to hit three batters, two with the bases loaded.

Cubs reliever Kevin Gregg (6-6) pitched a scoreless sixth inning for the win.

Giants 10, Rockies 2

At San Francisco, Barry Zito struck out a season-high nine and Juan Uribe drove in three runs for the Giants, who pulled within 2 1/2 games of the wild-card leading Rockies, who dropped their fourth straight following an eight-game winning streak.

Zito (10-12) allowed five hits and two runs in seven innings.

Ubaldo Jimenez (13-11) lasted 2 2-3 innings, ending his stretch of 25 straight starts going six innings or more.

Diamondbacks 4, Padres 2

At San Diego, Mark Reynolds hit his 42nd homer, a two-run shot in the ninth inning off Padres closer Heath Bell (5-4), to give the Diamondbacks their second straight win after losing nine of 10.

Bell, who blew consecutive save chances on Friday and Saturday nights against Colorado, is tied for the NL lead with 37 saves.

Dan Haren (14-8) allowed two runs and five hits in eight innings. Juan Gutierrez pitched the ninth for his fifth save.

Dodgers 5, Pirates 4, 13 innings

At Los Angeles, Andre Ethier hit a two-run homer in the 13th inning -- his major league-leading sixth walkoff hit of the season for the Dodgers.

Four of Ethier's game-ending hits have been home runs. The NL West-leading Dodgers moved five games ahead of Colorado, which lost 10-2 at San Francisco.

Ethier hit the first pitch from Phil Dumatrait (0-1) for his 30th homer and 97th and 98th RBIs of the season.

[Associated Press; By R.B. FALLSTROM]

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