D'backs win with help from rare pinch-hit HR by pitcher

Micah Owings isn't a good hitter for a pitcher. He's a good hitter, period.

Owings proved it again Wednesday with an opposite-field, pinch-hit home run that tied the game in the sixth and helped the Arizona Diamondbacks rally from 4 runs down to beat the Houston Astros 8-7.

"I've been blessed to be able to swing it," Owings said, "so every time I get in the box I do my best to help this team."

Owings, 4-0 as a starter and arguably the best-hitting pitcher in the game, hit the first pitch of the game from reliever Dave Borkowski to the right field seats, a 2-run shot with two outs that tied it at 7-7.

Chris Young followed with a double, then scored the go-ahead run on Eric Byrnes' single.

Owings raised his season average to .421 (8-for-19). A silver-slugger winner last year when he hit .333, Owings has 5 home runs in 79 at bats over his two big-league season.

"I don't think you've seen a guy like this," teammate Conor Jackson said. "I mean, Babe Ruth? That's really all that comes to mind. It's pretty impressive."

Comparisons with the Bambino might be a bit of a stretch, but Owings has proven to be another tough out in the prolific Diamondbacks' batting order.

"You have your bench and then you have an extra guy to pinch hit, and a guy you don't mind running up there against righties, lefties, in between," Arizona manager Bob Melvin said. "The way he's been swinging, it wasn't even a tough decision."

Arizona (20-8) became the season's first 20-game winner, with a franchise-record 19 of them in April.

Nationals 3, Braves 2: Felipe Lopez's bases-loaded hit to left with no outs in the 12th lifted host Washington to a victory over the Braves, dropping Atlanta to 0-9 in games decided by the slimmest possible margin.

The Braves are the first team since the 2000 Houston Astros to lose their first nine 1-run games.

Pirates 13, Mets 1: Pittsburgh took advantage of a sloppy performance by the New York Mets, scoring 9 unearned runs in a victory at New York. Pirates right fielder Xavier Nady, traded by the Mets for Perez (2-2) and Roberto Hernandez in 2006, went 3-for-3 with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored.

Pirates starter Tom Gorzelanny was bent over in pain in the fifth inning with an apparent back problem. The left-hander (2-3), who allowed just 1 hit and no runs, stayed in to get the final out of the inning and make himself eligible for the win, but did not return.

Cardinals 5, Reds 2: Braden Looper worked 6 solid innings and Rick Ankiel had 3 hits and 2 RBI, helping host St. Louis Cardinals hand Aaron Harang (1-4) another tough luck loss.

Harang has worked at least 6 innings in each of his 7 starts and has little to show for his 2.98 ERA because the Reds have totaled 23 runs in his outings.

Padres 4, Phillies 2: Adrian Gonzalez hit a 2-run homer, and Chris Young pitched 6 effective innings for visiting San Diego, which won for the second time in nine games.

Dodgers 13, Marlins 1: Chad Billingsley pitched 7 innings to win for the first time this season and Rafael Furcal had a career-high 5 hits for visiting Los Angeles.

Furcal went 5-for-6 with a double, giving him 17 extra-base hits, the most by a Dodger at the end of April since the team moved to Los Angeles in 1958.

Giants 3, Rockies 2: Jose Castillo ended a 450 at-bat homerless drought with a tiebreaking shot to lead off the seventh inning, and Fred Lewis preserved the lead with a diving catch in the eighth for the host Giants.

American League

Indians 8, Mariners 3: Cliff Lee won his fifth straight start to improve to 5-0 and lead host Cleveland to a win over Seattle. Lee's consecutive scoreless innings streak ended at 27 on Wladimir Balentien's three-run homer in the seventh. It raised his ERA from 0.28 to 0.96, still lowest in the majors.

Red Sox 2, Blue Jays 1: Manny Ramirez slid in just ahead of the tag on Jason Varitek's single in the ninth, giving host Boston its second straight win in its last at-bat.

Ramirez barely beat the throw from center fielder Vernon Wells, who threw out Jed Lowrie at the plate on the previous play, a single by Brandon Moss.

Rangers 11, Royals 9: Josh Hamilton capped a torrid April with his first career grand slam and host Texas hit a season-high 5 home runs to beat Kansas Royals. Hamilton, who has 6 homers, finished April with 32 RBI -- the second-highest for the first month of the season in team history. Juan Gonzalez had 35 RBI in April 1998.

Rays 8, Orioles 1: Andy Sonnanstine (4-1) allowed 1 run in 8 innings, Erik Hinske homered and visiting Tampa Bay (15-12) completed the first winning April in franchise history.

Tigers 6, Yankees 2: Placido Polanco homered twice and Marcus Thames also went deep off Andy Pettitte (3-3) to help visiting Detroit to its seventh win in nine games after a horrendous start to the season.