TORONTO, 3 May 2005 — Moises Alou and Lance Niekro each hit two-run homers as the streaking San Francisco Giants defeated the Pirates 8-3 in National League play in Pittsburgh on Sunday.
Brad Hennessey pitched seven strong innings in his first start of the season as the Giants completed a three-game series sweep of the Pirates in winning their sixth straight game.
Previously, San Francisco had lost nine of 11. Hennessey (1-0) allowed three runs on five hits with six strikeouts and two walks after being called up from Triple-A Fresno. Four relievers completed the six-hitter.
Alou went three-for-three, scored three runs and had three RBI in the game, while Niekro, son of former major league pitcher Joe Niekro, had two hits and three RBI.
Deivi Cruz added two hits and scored twice for the Giants, who had 13 hits of three Pirate pitchers, including starter and loser Oliver Perez.
In other games, John Smoltz pitched 6 2/3 strong innings as the Braves beat the St Louis Cardinals 2-1 in Atlanta. Rafael Furcal and Ryan Langerhans each had one hit and drove in one run for the Braves. Jim Edmonds had two hits and drove in one run for St. Louis.
In Philadelphia, Cory Lidle pitched 5 1/3 strong innings as the Phillies beat the Florida Marlins 8-6. Lidle (2-2) allowed five earned runs on nine hits and struck out five for the win. Billy Wagner pitched 1 2/3 innings for his sixth save. Bobby Abreu had a three-run homer in the first inning and Tomas Perez had three hits and drove in three runs for Philadelphia.
In Milwaukee, Doug Davis pitched a complete game as the Brewers handily beat the Cincinnati Reds 13-3. Davis (3-3) allowed three earned runs on five hits and struck out eight.
Geoff Jenkins, Bill Hall and Lyle Overbay all homered for the Brewers. Overbay had five hits and drove in three runs in the game.
In Houston, Roy Oswalt pitched five solid innings as the Astros beat the Chicago Cubs 9-3. Oswalt (4-2) allowed three runs on 10 hits.
Mike Lamb hit a grand slam and drove in five runs and Adam Everett also homered and drove in three runs for the Astros. Derrek Lee homered and drove in two runs for the Cubs.
In Los Angeles, Derek Lowe pitched six strong innings as the Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 2-1. Lowe (2-2) allowed one earned run on five hits and struck out two. Yhency Brazoban pitched one inning for his eighth save and Jeff Kent drove in two runs for the Dodgers. Brad Hawpe had two hits and drove in one run for the Rockies.
In San Diego, Javier Vazquez pitched a six-hitter as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Padres 5-2. Vazquez (3-2) allowed two earned runs, striking out eight. Shawn Green had three hits and drove in one run for the Diamondbacks. Woody Williams (2-2) pitched 5 2/3 innings allowing three earned runs on six hits and walking four for the loss.
In Washington, Carlos Beltran had three hits, including a two-run double in a three-run ninth inning, as the New York Mets beat the Nationals 6-3.
Miguel Cairo had a sacrifice fly to break a 3-3 tie and Cliff Floyd had two hits and an RBI for the Mets. Roberto Hernandez (2-0) pitched two shutout innings of relief for the win and Braden Looper pitched the ninth for his fourth save.
Mora Hits Two Homers as Orioles Win Eight Straight
In Baltimore, Melvin Mora hit a pair of home runs as the Baltimore Orioles won their eighth straight game, downing the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 7-4 in American League play Sunday.
Miguel Tejada homered for the fourth successive game for the Orioles, who lead the AL East with a 17-7 record. Tampa Bay has lost seven straight games.
The winning streak matched the Orioles longest from last season while the Devil Rays dropped to a major league worst 1-10 on the road with the loss. Jay Gibbons added a two-run homer for the Orioles, who had 12 hits. Brian Roberts had two hits, scored twice and drove in a run for the winners.
In other AL games, Mike Sweeney’s two home runs led the Kansas City Royals to a 6-5 victory over the Indians in Cleveland. Mike Wood (1-2) pitched 1 1/3 innings for the win, striking out two. Ambiorix Burgos pitched one inning for his first save. Terrence Long and John Buck also homered for the Royals.
In New York, Shea Hillenbrand had four hits as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Yankees 8-6. Pete Walker (1-0) pitched 1 2/3 innings for the win and Miguel Batista pitched one perfect inning for his seventh save. Corey Koskie homered in the fourth inning and Frank Menechino drove in three runs for the Blue Jays.
Mike Stanton (0-1) got two outs and allowed two earned runs on two hits and took the loss. Gary Sheffield drove in three runs for the Yankees.
In Minneapolis, Bartolo Colon pitched 7 1/3 solid innings as the Los Angeles Angels beat the Minnesota Twins 2-1. Colon (4-2) allowed just two hits and struck out seven. Vladimir Guerrero and Jose Molina both had home runs for the Angels. Johan Santana (4-1) allowed two earned runs on two hits in eight innings, striking out seven for the loss, his first after 17 straight winning decisions.
In Arlington, Matt Clement pitched six strong innings as the Boston Red Sox beat the Texas Rangers 6-5. Clement (3-0) allowed three earned runs on four hits, struck out four and walked four in six innings and Keith Foulke picked up his fourth save despite allowing two earned runs on two hits. Trot Nixon had two hits and drove in two runs for the Red Sox.
Ryan Drese (2-3) pitched four innings, allowing four earned runs on eight hits, walking four and striking out two for the loss.
In Chicago, Jon Garland pitched a four-hit shutout as the White Sox swept the Detroit Tigers 8-0. Timo Perez homered in the seventh inning and drove in three runs and Carl Everett had one hit and drove in three runs for the White Sox.
In Oakland, Barry Zito pitched seven strong innings as the Athletics edged the Seattle Mariners 3-2. Zito (1-4) allowed two runs on five hits with one strikeout to win for the first time this season. Octavio Dotel pitched the ninth for his sixth save and Erubiel Durazo drove in two runs for Oakland.
