Santana carries slumping Mets past Marlins
Johan Santana snapped the New York Mets out of their recent doldrums, pitching 7 effective innings to beat the feisty Florida Marlins 5-3 Tuesday night in New York.
Fernando Tatis and Ramon Castro each hit a pair of two-out RBI singles for the Mets, who won for only the second time in nine games.
One day after embattled manager Willie Randolph kept his job -- for now -- following a much-publicized meeting with ownership, New York improved to 24-26 with its fifth victory in 15 tries.
Santana (6-3) struck out seven and worked around 8 hits and 2 walks, allowing 3 runs. Duaner Sanchez pitched a scoreless eighth after yielding a leadoff double. Billy Wagner struck out two in a 1-2-3 ninth for his 10th save in 12 chances.
Florida starter Andrew Miller (4-4) lasted only 4¿ innings. Cody Ross homered and drove in 2 runs for the NL East-leading Marlins (30-21), who lost for the fourth time in 11 games.
Reds 9, Pirates 6: Adam Dunn hit a 3-run homer that set a club record for left-handed batters, and Jay Bruce went 3-for-3 in his eagerly awaited debut to lead host Cincinnati past Pittsburgh.
Dunn's 3-run shot in the fifth off Ian Snell (2-4) was his eighth in his last 12 games. With 252 career homers, he moved ahead of Ted Kluszewski -- the bare-armed "Big Klu" -- for most by a left-handed Reds hitter. Dunn later added a run-scoring single as the Reds pulled ahead 9-3.
Bruce, a 21-year-old outfielder who is the Reds' top prospect, had a pair of singles, a double, 2 walks, a stolen base and a pair of RBI. He drew one standing ovation after another.
Pittsburgh couldn't take advantage of an off-night by rookie Johnny Cueto (3-5), who lasted only 5 innings and was in line for a loss until Dunn connected.
Brewers 3, Braves 2: After grousing earlier in the day about being placed in a platoon situation at third base, Bill Hall scored the winning run in host Milwaukee's victory over Atlanta.
Hall, who entered as a defensive replacement in the ninth, led off the bottom of the inning with a broken-bat bloop single off Braves reliever Jeff Bennett (0-3). Rickie Weeks sacrificed Hall to second, and Hall stole third on a 2-1 pitch to Mike Cameron. Cameron then lofted a fly ball to center, and Hall's slide narrowly beat the throw home.
It was a happy homecoming for Milwaukee after dropping six games on a 10-game road trip that ended Monday. Coming into Tuesday, Milwaukee had played a major-league-high 31 road games.
Salomon Torres (4-1) earned the victory for Milwaukee.
Astros 8, Cardinals 2: Shawn Chacon won his second straight start after 9 no-decisions to open the year, and Hunter Pence had a career-best 5 hits in the Houston's victory over host St. Louis.
Chacon (2-0) worked 7 strong innings, helping the Astros win for the fifth time in seven games in the opener of a nine-game trip.
Pence was 5-for-5 with 4 singles and a double, including an RBI infield hit in a 4-run first off Braden Looper (6-4) and an RBI single in the third. Miguel Tejada hit a 2-run homer, and Lance Berkman walked twice, singled and scored three times to give him a for a major-league-best 56 runs.
Albert Pujols was 4-for-4 with his 12th homer, and pinch hitter Brian Barton hit the first of his career for the Cardinals.
American League
Rangers 12, Rays 6: One-time Tampa Bay prospect Josh Hamilton hit a grand slam and matched his career high with 5 RBI, helping Vicente Padilla and visiting Texas cool off AL East-leading Tampa Bay.
Padilla (7-2) allowed 5 runs and 7 hits in 6 innings to win his fifth straight decision and stop Tampa Bay's four-game winning streak. The right-hander walked four and struck out a season-high 10.
Hamilton, the former No. 1 overall pick in the draft whose career with the Rays was derailed by drug addiction and injuries, had a RBI double off Andy Sonnanstine (6-3) in the first and added his second grand slam of the season in the eighth off J.P. Howell.