Six of the runs were unearned because of two errors by
third baseman Jorge Cantu.
Nine of the first 10 batters reached base in the eighth,
and the Braves scored against all three Florida pitchers.
Conrad's slam with one out put the Braves ahead 9-5. It
was his fifth homer, and his third as a pinch-hitter. He hit a pinch-hit,
walkoff slam to cap a seven-run ninth inning against Cincinnati on May 20.
Eight runs in an inning were a season high for Atlanta
and the most allowed by Florida.
In Philadelphia, Ryan Howard hit
a bases-loaded triple and Jimmy Rollins had a two-run triple in a seven-run
third inning as Philadelphia crushed Colorado.
The defeat was one of the heaviest in the career of
Colorado starter Ubaldo Jimenez (15-2) who entered the game with the most wins
in the majors. He lasted less than three innings, allowing six runs and six
walks - both season worsts. It was the second shortest outing of his career.
Philadelphia starter Kyle Kendrick (6-4) returned from
his demotion to the minors by giving up just one run in seven innings.
The Phillies have won three straight and appear to be
coming out of their recent offensive struggles.
In Los Angeles, James
Loney hit a walk-off homer in the 13th inning, lifting Los Angeles over New
York.
New York's Oliver Perez (0-4), starting his second inning
of relief, retired one batter before Loney drove a pitch into the seats in
right-center.
Loney's homer was timely because the Dodgers had no true
relievers left in the bullpen. Much-maligned reliever George Sherrill (1-1),
the ninth Dodgers pitcher, worked a perfect inning for the win.
In Chicago, rookies Tyler Colvin and
Starlin Castro homered Saturday, completing a successful week at the top of
Chicago's order and helping the Cubs to a victory over St. Louis.
Since Cubs manager Lou Piniella decided last Sunday to
put his two youngest position players atop the batting order, Colvin and Castro
have combined to hit .385 with 13 runs and 11 RBIs.
One of the majors' lowest-scoring teams, Chicago has
averaged 7.2 runs in the six games since the move, winning four times.
The Cardinals finally scored after being shut out the
previous two days but still suffered a third straight loss.
In Houston, Johnny Cueto pitched eight
scoreless innings to guide Cincinnati to an easy win over Houston.
Joey Votto hit a two-run home run in the first inning and
Ramon Hernandez, who also drove in a run in the third, added a solo shot in the
second.
Houston starter Roy Oswalt (6-12), who has requested a
trade, had one of his worst outings of the season. He allowed six runs in five
innings.
In Phoenix, Juan Uribe hit a
grand slam as San Francisco soundly defeated Arizona.
Madison Bumgarner pitched seven steady innings as the
Giants shook off teammate Eugenio Velez's scary head injury.
Velez was injured in the fourth inning when a sharp liner
by teammate Pat Burrell knocked him off his feet in the dugout, and he was
taken to hospital.
The Diamondbacks got a shaky start from Ian Kennedy (5-8)
and an even worse bullpen performance to lose their third straight.
In Pittsburgh, Mat Latos pitched
effectively over six innings despite giving up two solo home runs in his first
start since July 8 as San Diego downed Pittsburgh.
With Latos (11-4) back in the rotation and winning his
sixth in a row, it was a typical night for the Padres. They lack power hitters
and their .253 batting average is the NL's fourth worst, yet a team with a
league-best 57-39 record keeps finding ways to manufacture runs.
A fielding error began a three-run sixth - the first of
two multiple-run San Diego innings that started with an infield error.
Jeff Karstens (2-6) took the loss.
In Milwaukee, Ryan Braun's single
in the bottom of the ninth inning gave Milwaukee a win over Washington.
With one out, Rickie Weeks singled off Nationals reliever
Drew Storen (2-2), and Joe Inglett drew a walk after being down 0-2 in the
count. Braun then lined a shot off the left-field wall to score Weeks.
Braun also homered in the first for the Brewers.
Nationals closer John Axford (6-1) blew his first save in
15 chances as Washington lost its 12th straight one-run game on the road.
