CC sure can pitch, but Sabathia also gives Brewers booming bat

CC Sabathia's first week with the Milwaukee Brewers can be summed up with one key stat: 2 starts, 2 wins.

Sabathia homered in his first National League complete game to help host Milwaukee avoid a sweep with a 3-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday.

Sabathia went deep off Reds starter Homer Bailey in the third, his third career home run and second this season. Sabathia became the first pitcher to hit home runs in both leagues in one season since Earl Wilson did it in 1970 for Detroit and San Diego, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

After allowing run-scoring sacrifice flies to David Ross in the second and Adam Dunn in the third, Sabathia (2-0) shut down Cincinnati, striking out nine batters, all from the fourth inning on. He struck out the side in the ninth.

"I kept us in the game, got out of some jams and pounded the strike zone after that," Sabathia said. "I just try to go out and help the team win."

Manager Ned Yost left Sabathia in for the ninth despite his pitch count.

"He was at 111 pitches, but the lineup set up for him with all left-handers, except for (David) Ross," Yost said. "We sent him back out there just for that instance. With those left-handers, we felt good with CC on the mound."

Sabathia ended up throwing 122 pitches, 82 for strikes.

Dunn said that even though the Reds had faced Sabathia in the past, it didn't make batting against him any easier.

"He's probably one of the most consistent pitchers you'll ever face," Dunn said. "Everytime you face him, you know what you're going to get."

Sabathia improved to 4-0 in 9 starts against Cincinnati. He beat them 6-0 on June 27 at Progressive Field.

The Brewers (52-43) head into the all-star break in third place in the NL Central, 5 games behind the Cubs and a half-game behind St. Louis.

The game was tied at 2-2 in the ninth when pinch hitter Craig Counsell hit a game-winning sacrifice fly to help the Brewers avoid a three-game sweep.

Cardinals 11, Pirates 6: Aaron Miles drove in 5 runs with a home run and a triple, and St. Louis held off host Pittsburgh's comeback this time.

After Pittsburgh rallied for the second day in a row and took a 6-5 lead on Chris Gomez's 2-run double in the sixth, Miles finished St. Louis' 4-run, go-ahead seventh with a 2-run triple.

Ryan Ludwick added his 21st homer, a solo shot in the eighth that was his third in as many games. Troy Glaus completed a 10-for-13 weekend with a home run.

Phillies 6, Diamondbacks 3: Pat Burrell hit a tiebreaking, 3-run homer in the eighth inning, his 23rd of the season, and host Philadelphia held its NL East lead heading into the all-star break, beating Arizona.

Astros 5, Nationals 0: Brandon Backe pitched 7-plus innings and helped himself with a pair of hits to lead Houston over host Washington in a battle of last-place teams.

Braves 12, Padres 3: Catcher Brian McCann homered and drove in 3 runs as Atlanta routed host San Diego.

Dodgers 9, Marlins 1: Chad Billingsley had a career-high 13 strikeouts without walking a batter, and host Los Angeles used a 6-run first inning to beat Florida.

Mets 7, Rockies 0: Carlos Beltran hit a 3-run homer, Mike Pelfrey provided the latest dominant pitching performance and host New York beat Colorado to take a nine-game winning streak into the all-star break.

American League

Red Sox 2, Orioles 1: Daisuke Matsuzaka (10-1) pitched 6 scoreless innings, and host Boston reclaimed the AL East lead after beating Baltimore. The Red Sox moved a half-game ahead of Tampa Bay and took the division lead for the first time since June 28. Boston trailed by a season-high 5 games last weekend, then won five of six while the Rays lost seven in a row.

Indians 5, Rays 2: Jhonny Peralta drove in 3 runs, and host Cleveland beat Scott Kazmir and Tampa Bay 5-2 to complete a four-game sweep.

Blue Jays 4, Yankees 1: A.J. Burnett came within two outs of a shutout, Marco Scutaro hit a 3-run home run and host Toronto beat New York for its fifth win in six games.

Tigers 4, Twins 2: Justin Verlander tossed 7 sharp innings, and host Detroit avoided a four-game sweep by beating Minnesota. Verlander (7-9) allowed 2 runs and 4 hits, improving to 5-0 in his last 7 starts.

Mariners 4, Royals 3: Adrian Beltre scored the go-ahead run on an error in the ninth, enabling Seattle to beat host Kansas City.

Angels 4, Athletics 3: Erick Aybar's infield single drove in the winning run with two outs in the ninth, as Los Angeles rallied to beat host Oakland.