TORONTO, 18 May 2005 — Kris Benson pitched 7 2/3 strong innings and Cliff Floyd homered as the New York Mets routed the Cincinnati Reds 9-2 in National League play on Monday.
Benson (1-1) allowed just four hits in picking up his first win of the campaign on his third start, after starting the season on the disabled list with a strained chest muscle.
He struck out eight and allowed two hits after the second inning, retiring 10 batters in a row at one point and throwing 112 pitches.
The Mets backed him up with plenty of offense, including six extra-base hits, as New York scored twice in the first and second innings to stake Benson to an early 4-1 lead.
Dae-Sung Koo relieved Benson in the eighth and got the last four outs for New York.
Kazuo Matsui and Doug Mientkiewicz both drove in a pair of runs for the Mets.
Paul Wilson (1-5) pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing six earned runs on eight hits, walking two and striking out two. Felipe Lopez and Jason LaRue drove in the runs for the Reds.
In other games, Tony Armas pitched seven strong innings as the Nationals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-2 in Washington. Armas (1-1) allowed two runs on five hits, walked two and struck out three. Luis Ayala pitched one inning for his first save and Vinny Castilla homered and had three hits.
In San Diego, Dave Roberts drove in a pair of runs as the Padres beat the Atlanta Braves 5-3 for their fifth straight win. Mark Sweeney’s sacrifice fly keyed a three-run eighth inning rally for San Diego. Scott Linebrink (1-1) pitched a scoreless inning of relief for the win and Trevor Hoffman worked the ninth for his 12th save.
In Los Angeles, Brian Moehler pitched 6 2/3 strong innings as the Florida Marlins beat the Dodgers 6-2. Moehler (2-1) allowed two runs on nine hits. Miguel Cabrera and Juan Encarnacion homered for Florida.
Mench Homers Twice as Rangers Edge White Sox
In Toronto, Kevin Mench hit a pair of home runs, including the tie-breaking blast in the top of the ninth, as the Texas Rangers edged the Chicago White Sox 7-6 in American League play at US Cellular Field on Monday.
Mench delivered his game-winning blow off Chicago reliever Damaso Marte to help the Rangers win for the ninth time in 13 games.
Mench also homered in the first inning, giving him six for the season and three in his last two games.
Hank Blalock added two hits and an RBI to the Rangers attack, as Texas handed the White Sox their third straight loss, tying a season-high for Chicago. Nick Regilio (1-1) pitched one inning, allowing one run on one hit and striking out one, to pick up the win.
Francisco Cordero pitched one inning for his 13th save. A.J. Pierzynski hit a grand slam for the White Sox and Tadahito Iguchi also homered.
In other games, Paul Byrd pitched seven strong innings as the Los Angeles Angels beat the Indians 3-1 in Cleveland.
Byrd (4-3) allowed three hits, walked three and struck out five. Scot Shields pitched one inning for his third save and Garret Anderson drove in two runs for the Angels.
Cliff Lee (4-2) pitched 7 2/3 innings, allowing two earned runs on seven hits, walking two and striking out two for the loss. Grady Sizemore drove in the lone run for the Indians.
In Seattle, Bernie Williams hit a grand slam home run to help the New York Yankees win their ninth straight game, a 6-3 win over the Seattle Mariners. Alex Rodriguez added a two-run single for the Yankees, while Robinson Cano had two hits and scored twice.
Chien-Ming Wang (2-1) allowed three runs on six hits over 6 1/3 innings for the win and Mariano Rivera pitched the ninth for his seventh save.
In Oakland, Matt Watson hit a two-run single in the eighth inning, leading the Athletics to a 6-4 win over the Boston Red Sox. Mark Kotsay had a three-run triple and Eric Chavez had three hits for the A’s, who snapped an eight-game losing streak. Keiichi Yabu (3-0) allowed two runs on four hits in two innings for the win and Octavio Dotel pitched the ninth for his seventh save.
