CHICAGO, 16 July 2006 — Steve Trachsel won his seventh straight start, and the New York Mets used a four-run fourth inning to defeat the Chicago Cubs 6-3 on Friday.
Down 2-1 after three innings, the Mets had four hits in the fourth and got help when Ronny Cedeno’s throwing error allowed two runs to score, sending Greg Maddux to his fifth straight loss. Trachsel (9-4) gave up two runs on three hits in six innings. The former Cub hasn’t lost since May 17, a span of 10 starts. He retired 13 of 15 batters after a two-run first inning, giving up a single and a walk.
Cardinals 5 Dodgers 0: At St. Louis, Chris Carpenter threw a two-hitter and David Eckstein had four hits to help the Cardinals to their fifth straight victory. Chris Duncan hit a two-run homer off Derek Lowe (7-6) in the third inning for the Cardinals, who had needed extra innings to win their previous three games, including a 14-inning victory over the Dodgers on Thursday in the series opener.
Marlins 3 Astros 1: At Miami, Rookie Anibal Sanchez outdueled Roger Clemens, and Reggie Abercrombie hit a two-run homer to lead Florida over the Astros. Sanchez (2-0), who was born 78 days before Clemens made his major league debut in 1984, was making his third career start and first at Dolphin Stadium.
Reds 3 Rockies 1: At Cincinnati, Adam Dunn homered on a pitch he wasn’t supposed to reach, and Aaron Harang became Cincinnati’s first 10-game winner.
Cincinnati had slipped four games behind St. Louis in the National League Central with a 1-8 slump heading into the All-Star break.
Pirates 7 Nationals 4: At Pittsburgh, Jason Bay drove in two runs and Jose Bautista homered among his three hits, helping the Pirates beat Washington. The Nationals played their first game since making a number of moves during the All-Star break, including an eight-player deal that landed them starting outfielder Austin Kearns and shortstop Felipe Lopez from the Cincinnati Reds.
Diamondbacks 4 Brewers 3: At Phoenix, Johnny Estrada hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Arizona a win over Milwaukee. Luis Gonzalez doubled to lead off the ninth against Brewers closer Derrick Turnbow (4-5). Estrada drilled Turnbow’s next delivery 392 feet into the seats in right field for his seventh homer of the season.
Giants 5 Phillies 3: At San Francisco, Barry Bonds made a significant contribution to the Giants’ victory over Philadelphia without getting a hit. The 41-year-old slugger walked twice, scoring both times, stole a base and made a sliding catch in left field to help the Giants start the second half with a win.
Braves 15 Padres 12, 11 Innings: At San Diego, Adam LaRoche homered twice and drove in five runs, including two on an 11th-inning double, to help Atlanta to a wild win that snapped San Diego’s five-game winning streak.
