TORONTO, 14 May 2005 — Adam Dunn clubbed a pair of homeruns for a career high five runs and Ken Griffey Jr. added a solo shot to power the Cincinnati Reds past the Philadelphia Phillies 7-5 in National League play at Citizens Bank Park on Thursday. Ramon Ortiz pitched five innings and took the win despite giving up four runs on 10 hits and walking five.
Danny Graves pitched a scoreless ninth to register his ninth save of the season. Behind 2-0 entering the fifth, Dunn homered to deep right scoring Griffey to tie the score at 2-2.
The Reds then took command with a four run sixth, keyed by Dunn’s second homer a three-run shot to deep center.
Griffey finished the day going 5-for-3 driving in a pair of runs and scoring three. Bobby Abreu’s second inning home run was his fifth in as many games tying a Phillies franchise record held by Dick Allen and Mike Schmidt.
In St. Louis, John Mabry went 4-for-2 driving in a pair of runs and Chris Carpenter tossed seven strong innings as the Cardinals dumped the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-3 to collect their fourth win in five games.
Carpenter (5-2) gave up three runs — two earned — on eight hits while striking out eight and walking three. Derek Lowe (2-4) absorbed the loss surrendering six runs — two earned — on 10 hits, striking out six and walking two in five innings of work.
The Dodgers took a 2-0 lead in the second on a home run from Milton Bradley and an RBI single by Paul Bako. The Cardinals answered in the third with a five run burst.
Trailing 2-0, the Cardinals exploded for five runs in the third then put the contest out of reach with another four run burst in the seventh. David Eckstein had three hits, drove in a run and scored twice while Yadier Molina contributed three hits and an RBI to the St. Louis effort.
In Denver, Jose Cruz Jr. cracked two solo homeruns and Tony Clark added a two-run shot powering the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 6-3 decision over the Colorado Rockies.
Russ Ortiz (3-2) worked six innings to pick up the win surrendering a pair of runs, on eight hits, striking out three and walking two.
Shawn Chacon (1-3) absorbed his third consecutive defeat giving up three runs on six hits over eight innings.
Todd Helton had three hits, including a third inning homer for the Rockies.
In Houston, Mike Matheny had a pair of RBI singles and Jason Ellison scored a pair of runs helping the San Francisco Giants to a 6-3 win over the Astros. Brad Hennessey (2-0) delivered six good innings to claim the win allowing three runs on six hits, striking out seven and walking three.
Brown, Buck Lead Royals to Rain-Shortened Win
In Toronto, Emil Brown and John Buck each drove in a pair of runs as the struggling Kansas City Royals claimed a rain-shortened 7-5 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Thursday in American League play at Kauffman Stadium.
The Royals, whose manager Tony Pena resigned on Tuesday, nearly squandered a 5-0 third inning lead, allowing the Devil Rays to come back to tie the contest before rallying with two runs in the sixth.
The game was called with two outs in the seventh inning after a second rain delay.
With the score tied 5-5, Mark Teahen smacked the go ahead double, bringing across Buck with the go ahead run.
Ruben Gotay then singled to centre, scoring Teahen with the insurance run. The sixth inning surge made a winner of Mike Wood (2-2), who worked 1 1?3 innings of scoreless relief.
In Chicago, Jon Garland tossed eight solid innings to become the American League’s first seven game winner and A.J. Pierzynski and Juan Uribe homered as the White Sox slipped past the Baltimore Orioles 3-2.
Garland (7-0) yielded two runs on eight hits with four strikeouts and one walk to join Florida Marlins Dontrelle Willis as the major league’s only seven game winners.
Bruce Chen (4-2) was tagged with the loss, giving up all three runs on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks in five innings of work. Pierzynski and Uribe homered to help stake the White Sox to a 3-0 lead.
The Orioles rallied in the fifth when Rafael Palmeiro homered to deep right and Melvin Mora singled in another run in the eighth to trim the deficit to 3-2. But Dustin Hermanson pitched a perfect ninth to nail down the win and collect his seventh save.
