SAN FRANCISCO, 11 August 2003 — Pat Burrell kept Philadelphia in the game with a score-tying homer in the eighth inning, then added a two-run shot in the first extra frame as the Phillies edged the San Francisco Giants 8-6 on Saturday.
It was Burrell’s third multi-homer game in an otherwise unremarkable season, in which he is batting a mere .202.
Jimmy Rollins also took loser Jim Brower (7-4) deep in the 10th.
The Giants, who got a run back in the bottom of the 10th off reliever Turk Wendell (3-2), lost for just the third time in their last 18 games at Pacific Bell Park.
Jim Thome homered early in the contest to get the Phillies on the board.
Cody Ransom had San Francisco’s lone homer, while Barry Bonds chipped in with two doubles and scored twice.
Cardinals 3 Braves 1
In St. Louis, Garrett Stephenson held high-scoring Atlanta in check as the St. Louis Cardinals edged the Braves 3-1.
Stephenson (6-11), who had a stint in the Cards’ bullpen earlier, tossed 7 1/3 innings of six-hit ball to run his career record in August to an impressive 10-1.
St. Louis collected six hits, Eduardo Perez getting two of them and driving in a run.
League batting leader Albert Pujols added another, a fourth-inning single that extended his hitting streak to a career-best 23 games.
Shane Reynolds (9-6) was the unlucky loser.
Marlins 7 Brewers 1
In Milwaukee, Mark Redman held the Brewers in check once more as the Florida Marlins romped to a 7-1 victory.
Redman (10-5) scattered six hits over eight innings while striking out seven in beating Milwaukee for the third time this season.
The Marlins broke fast, scoring four times in the first off loser David Manning (0-2), whose ERA climbed to a horrendous 16.20.
Miguel Cabrera’s double plated the second of the four runs, which proved to be the game-winner.
Expos 3 Astros 1
In Houston, Livan Hernandez tossed his fifth complete game of the season, tying him for the National League lead, as the Montreal Expos edged the Astros 3-1.
Hernandez (12-7) surrendered six hits while striking out nine.
Loser Jared Fernandez (1-1) was charged with all three Montreal runs in his 4 2?3 innings.
It could have been much worse, as the Expos left the bases loaded three times.
Pirates 10 Rockies 4
In Denver, the Pittsburgh Pirates rode four and five-run innings to a 10-4 humiliation of the Colorado Rockies.
Brian Giles’ two-run home run off Darren Oliver (10-7) plated the winning runs, launching a five-run sixth frame.
Reggie Sanders and Carlos Rivera also went deep for Pittsburgh.
Jeff D’Amico (7-11), coming off a 16-4 loss to the Rockies, scattered six hits over 6 2/3 innings to notch the victory.
Dodgers 6 Cubs 1
In Los Angeles, Dave Roberts started things with his first inside-the-park home run as the Los Angeles Dodgers drubbed the Chicago Cubs 6-1 for their sixth straight victory.
Robin Ventura also homered and grounded out to plate three more Dodger runs.
Wilson Alvarez (2-1) scattered four hits over seven innings to notch the victory.
Matt Clement (9-10) was charged with five of the six Dodger runs to take the loss.
Diamondbacks 2 Mets 1
In Phoenix, Steve Finley took loser John Franco (0-3) deep in the last of the ninth inning to give the Arizona Diamondbacks a 2-1 win over the New York Mets.
Finley drove a 2-2 pitch into the right-field stands. Stephen Randolph improved to 6-0 with two innings of one-hit relief.
Reds 9 Padres 5
In San Diego, Reggie Taylor belted a grand slam home run in the eighth inning to send the Cincinnati Reds on to a 9-5 win over the lowly Padres, the NL’s worst team.
Padres starter Oliver Perez (4-5) took the loss despite fanning 11, the victory going to Aaron Harang (2-3), who worked 5 2/3 innings for Cincinnati.
Sean Burroughs kept San Diego in the game with a run-scoring single and a two-run double.
Meche Outduels Pettitte as Mariners Edge Yanks
Gil Meche won a pitching battle against in-form Andy Pettitte as the Seattle Mariners edged the New York Yankees 2-1 in a clash of division leaders in American League play on Saturday.
Meche (13-7) tossed eight innings of two-hit ball, striking out seven along the way.
He blanked the Yankees in New York in late April, that time getting the better of 300-game winner Roger Clemens.
“It’s a good feeling to come in here and do the same thing I did against Clemens,” Meche said. “For me, that was the biggest game I’ve ever pitched.
“It’s a big-time place to play. As far as emotionally, you better be ready, otherwise the fans are probably going to get to you. I just love big games.”
Friday night’s hero Nick Johnson took him deep for the Yanks’ only run.
Shigetoshi Hasegawa finished up for Seattle, earning his ninth save in nine attempts. Pettitte (13-7) had his eight-game winning streak snapped despite surrendering just five hits in going all the way.
A Mike Cameron ground out and a Bret Boone sacrifice fly accounted for Seattle’s scoring.
Blue Jays 5 Rangers 3
In Toronto, the Blue Jays used a three-run eighth inning to defeat the Texas Rangers 5-3. The Jays then survived a shaky ninth, which saw Texas load the bases with just one man gone.Reigning AL rookie of the year Eric Hinske got the rally going with a double off loser Aaron Fultz (1-3), then scored on Reed Johnson’s single.
Mike Bordick drove in two more runs for Toronto while extending his hitting streak to 17 games.
Former closer Kelvim Escobar (8-6) sparkled in his 17th start of the season, tossing eight innings of three-hit ball while striking out seven.
Indians 3/3 Angels 2/2 (13 innings)
In Cleveland, the Indians outlasted the Anaheim Angels 3-2 in the first game of a day-night doubleheader on Ryan Ludwick’s 13th-inning single over a five-man infield.
It was served up by Ben Weber (2-1), the fourth Angels pitcher.
Jack Cressend (1-0) tossed two flawless innings to pick up his first win since October of 2001.
Cleveland took the nightcap by the same scoreline, with rookie Angel Santos’ seventh-inning homer off Scot Shields (2-3) plating the winning run.
Reliever Jason Boyd (3-1) notched the victory and also became the first pitcher in 13 years to pull off an unassisted double play following a short pop-up.
Danys Baez struck out two of the three men he faced in the ninth for his 25th save.
Red Sox 6 Orioles 4
In Boston, Kevin Millar’s eighth-inning homer with a man aboard proved the difference as the Red Sox rallied to down the Baltimore Orioles 6-4. Millar connected off reliever Travis Driskill (3-5), the 10,000th homer in Fenway Park history.
Manny Ramirez went deep earlier for the Sox, his 100th homer with Boston.
Alan Embree (4-1) notched the victory by retiring a single batter after taking over for knuckler Tim Wakefield, who worked 7 2/3 innings.
Royals 6 Devil Rays 2
In St. Petersburg, Carlos Beltran belted his 100th career homer and also singled to drive in three runs to lead the Kansas City Royals to a 6-2 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, snapping a four-game losing streak.
Jimmy Gobble (2-0) tossed 6 1/3 innings of seven-hit ball to notch the victory. The rookie left-hander has surrendered a single run in 12-plus big-league innings. Victor Zambrano (9-6) was charged with four Royals runs to take the loss. With the win and Chicago’s subsequent loss, Kansas City moved back into top spot in the AL Central.
Athletics 7 White Sox 2
In Chicago, Ramon Hernandez homered twice and drove in a career-best five runs as the Oakland A’s romped 7-2 over the White Sox. Hernandez doubled off White Sox starter Jon Garland (8-8) in the first to plate two of his five runs. He later took Garland deep with a man aboard. Former White Sox player Chad Bradford (6-3) worked 2 1/3 innings in relief of Ted Lilly for the victory.
Twins 8 Tigers 4 (10 innings)
In Detroit, the Minnesota Twins made no mistakes in the first extra inning, scoring four times to tame the Tigers 8-4.
Jacque Jones doubled to plate two of the four runs and then Torii Hunter homered with a man aboard to widen the gap.
Hunter had four RBI on the night, Jones three. Chris Mears (0-1), the sixth of eight Detroit pitchers, took the loss, the win going to Twins reliever Juan Rincon (3-4).
