ST. LOUIS, 24 August 2003 — Jim Thome and Pay Burrell each hit two home runs as the Philadelphia Phillies continued their mastery of St. Louis with a 9-4 win over the Cardinals in National League action on Friday. Philadelphia also ended Albert Pujols 30-game hitting streak as well.
Still feeling the effects of the flu, the slugger returned to the line-up after missing four games and went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts, ending the longest hitting streak in the majors this season.
The Phillies, battling for the NL wild card spot, ended a three-game losing streak with the win, their seventh in a row over the Cardinals. St. Louis remained one game behind Houston in the NL Central.
The Phillies pounded out 14 hits on Friday, including three by Burrell. Rheal Cormier (4-0), the third of four Philadelphia pitchers, tossed two hitless innings for the win.
Reds 4 Astros 3
In Houston, Ryan Freel’s pinch-hit homer in the ninth turned out to be the decisive run as the Cincinnati Reds edged the Astros 4-3.
Seth Etherton (1-1) went six innings for the win, allowing two runs on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks. Chris Reitsma allowed one run on three hits in the ninth for his fourth save.
Brewers 3 Pirates 2
In Milwaukee, Wayne Franklin pitched a no-hitter for 6 1/3 innings before combining with four relievers on a four-hitter as the Brewers edged the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2. Franklin (9-10) allowed one run on two hits in his seven innings with seven strikeouts and three walks.
Braves 9 Rockies 3
In Denver, Chipper Jones homered and drove in five runs as the Atlanta Braves snapped a three-game losing streak with a 9-3 win over the Colorado Rockies. Rafael Furcal also homered and had three hits for Atlanta. Greg Maddux (12-10) went six innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on three hits over six innings for his 285th career victory.
Cubs 4 Diamondbacks 1
In Phoenix, Carlos Zambrano had a no-hitter for 7 2/3 innings and Sammy Sosa homered twice, leading the Chicago Cubs past the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-1. Zambrano (12-9) wound up allowing one run on three hits with four strikeouts and two walks.
Sosa now has 529 career homers, 500 in a Cubs’ uniform, along with nine straight years of at least 20 homers, while Aramis Ramirez also homered for Chicago.
Padres 5 Expos 3
In San Diego, Mark Kotsay homered and had three hits to lead the Padres past the Montreal Expos 5-3. Gary Bennett drove in a pair of runs for San Diego. Scott Linebrink (3-2) pitched a scoreless inning of relief for the win while Rod Beck’s scoreless ninth earned him his 18th save.
Giants 6 Marlins 4
In San Francisco, Marquis Grissom homered and Sidney Ponson won his 15th game as the Giants beat the Florida Marlins 6-4. Ponson (15-9) went six innings for the win, allowing two runs on six hits with five strikeouts and three walks.
Dodgers 2 Mets 1
In Los Angeles, Hideo Nomo pitched seven strong innings to lead the Dodgers over the New York Mets 2-1. Nomo (15-9) allowed one run on six hits with seven strikeouts and three walks before Eric Gagne pitched the ninth for his 43rd save.
White Sox Maintain Hot Streak in Division
In Chicago, Jose Valentin hit a pair of homers and drove in four runs as the streaking Chicago White Sox won their fifth straight game, downing the Texas Rangers 7-1 in American League play on Friday. The White Sox now lead the AL Central by a full game over Kansas City and 1 1/2 games over the Minnesota Twins after the Royals edged the Twins 3-2 in Minneapolis.
Frank Thomas and Carl Everett also homered for Chicago and Everett scored three times as the White Sox made the most of just five hits, four of them home runs. Neal Cotts (1-0) allowed one run on five hits over five-plus innings for the win, striking out three and walking four.
Royals 3 Twins 2
In Minneapolis, Darrell May scattered seven hits over 6 1/3 solid innings to lead the Kansas City Royals over the Minnesota Twins 3-2. May (7-6) gave up two runs while striking out five and walking two before Jeremy Affeldt went 2 1/3 hitless innings for his fourth save with four strikeouts.
Red Sox 6 Mariners 4
In Boston, Jason Varitek and Manny Ramirez both homered to lead the Red Sox past the Seattle Mariners 6-4, moving Boston into a tie with Oakland for the AL wild card. Nomar Garciaparra also drove in a pair of runs for Boston.
Angels 6 Tigers 5
In Detroit, Adam Riggs and Adam Kennedy both hit homers to lead the Anaheim Angels to a 6-5 win over the slumping Tigers. Ramon Ortiz (15-10) allowed five runs on eight hits in six innings to get the win as the Angels handed the Tigers their 10th straight loss.
Indians 8 Devil Rays 3
In St. Petersburg, Ryan Ludwick and Casey Blake both hit two-run homers to lead the Cleveland Indians over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 8-3. Cliff Lee (2-1) went eight innings, allowing two runs on six hits with seven strikeouts and no walks, to pick up the win.
Blue Jays 6 Athletics 3
In Toronto, Roy Halladay won his league-leading 17th game of the season as the Blue Jays downed the Oakland Athletics 6-3. Halladay (17-5) allowed three runs on eight hits over six innings with eight strikeouts and three walks.
Orioles 4 Yankees 3
In New York, Pat Hentgen pitched 7 2/3 solid innings as the Baltimore Orioles ended New York’s seven-game winning streak with a 4-3 win over the Yankees. Hentgen (5-6) allowed three runs on six hits with four strikeouts and one walk before Buddy Groom got the last out for his first save.
