Football
Associated Press 17y

Tuesday's NL Capsules

CINCINNATI -- Lance Berkman homered for the third straight
game and right-hander Woody Williams singled home a run to set up
his first victory for Houston.

The Astros improved to 7-1 against the Reds this season,
including 5-0 at Great American Ball Park.

Williams (1-5) singled home the tiebreaking run in the fourth
inning and held the Reds to a pair of runs -- on Adam Dunn's 10th
homer -- in 6 2-3 innings. The 40-year-old pitcher signed with his
hometown team in November, getting a two-year, $12.5 million deal,
but struggled mightily in April.

Brad Lidge retired the four batters he faced, and Dan Wheeler
pitched the ninth for his third save of the series, leaving him
7-of-8 overall.

Matt Belisle (3-2) gave up three runs and struck out a
career-high seven in seven innings as the Reds fell into last place
in the NL Central with their seventh loss in eight games.<
^Phillies 9, Diamondbacks 3=

PHOENIX -- Ryan Howard hit a pinch-hit grand slam in the
seventh inning to lead Philadelphia.

Howard, who entered hitting .198, hit reliever Brandon Medders'
(1-1) first pitch 371 feet into the right field seats to erase a
3-0 deficit. It was the fourth grand slam of Howard's career and
his fourth pinch-hit homer.

Jamie Moyer (4-2) won the matchup of the oldest lefties in
history -- the 44-year-old Moyer against Randy Johnson, 43. Johnson
struck out nine -- including the first six batters he faced -- in
six-plus innings. In the seventh, he gave up a single to Aaron
Roward, hit Chase Utley and walked Pat Burrell to load the bases
with no outs. That's when manager Bob Melvin summoned Medders,
whose first delivery ended up in the seats.

Leading 6-3, the Phillies scored three runs in the ninth --
capped by Shane Victorino's two-run homer.

Eric Byrnes homered for the second straight game, and Orlando
Hudson also homered for the Diamondbacks.<
^Dodgers 5, Marlins 3=

MIAMI -- Brett Tomko took a no-hitter into the sixth inning
and earned his first win of the season as Los Angeles beat
Dontrelle Willis and Florida.

Tomko (1-3) allowed five hits and three runs in 6 2-3 innings.
He bunted home a run on a suicide squeeze to help Los Angeles build
a 4-0 lead. Takashi Saito pitched the ninth for his 10th save,
converting his 20th consecutive save opportunity over the past two
seasons.

Olmedo Saenz hit his second homer for the Dodgers. Rookie Andy
LaRoche singled and walked three times, raising his on-base
percentage to .600 in four games since being called up.

Willis (5-2) failed for the second time in his bid to become the
NL's first six-game winner. He walked five and allowed four runs in
seven innings, leaving his ERA at 5.40.<
^Braves 3, Padres 2=

ATLANTA -- Chipper Jones and Andruw Jones came up with
two-out, run-scoring hits in the seventh inning, helping John
Smoltz and Atlanta beat Greg Maddux and San Diego in the first
matchup since 1992 between the longtime teammates.

Smoltz (5-1) gave up homers to Adrian Gonzalez and light-hitting
Geoff Blum before leaving for a pinch hitter with the Padres
leading 2-1.

After Kelly Johnson and Willie Harris had two-out singles off
Cla Meredith (1-1) in the seventh, Chipper Jones lined the first
pitch to the gap in right-center for a ground-rule double and
Andruw Jones followed with a run-scoring single to right.

Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano pitched one scoreless inning
apiece, with Soriano earning his fourth save as the fill-in closer
for Bob Wickman.<
^Cubs 1, Pirates 0=

CHICAGO -- Jason Marquis retired the first 16 batters he
faced and finished with a three-hitter, winning his fifth straight
start.

Marquis (5-1) walked none and struck out five in his second
career shutout and fourth complete game. He outpitched Pirates
lefty Tom Gorzelanny (4-2), who gave up only six hits over seven
innings, including a leadoff homer to Alfonso Soriano.

Marquis' bid for a perfect game ended when No. 8 hitter Don
Kelly slapped an opposite-field single to left with one out in the
sixth. Ryan Doumit doubled with two outs in the seventh and Jose
Bautista singled in the eighth.

Soriano's leadoff homer extended his hitting streak to 17 games
and it turned out that was all Marquis needed.

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