NL roundup: Pujols hits grand slam in win

ST. LOUIS (AP) " Albert Pujols hit a grand slam and a three-run homer to match a career high with seven RBIs, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to an 11-2 victory over the Houston Astros on Saturday.

It was Pujols' 24th multihomer game and first since Aug. 16, 2008, against Cincinnati. He matched his career best for RBIs set Aug. 22, 2006, against the New York Mets.

The All-Star first baseman went 2-for-4 and is batting .429 with three homers and nine RBIs in the team's first six games.

Rick Ankiel and Joe Thurston had three hits apiece for the Cardinals, who finished with 19 hits overall. Adam Wainwright (1-0) pitched five shutout innings.

Roy Oswalt (0-2) had a rare bad outing at Busch Stadium, allowing six runs and nine hits in six innings for the Astros.

Padres 6, Giants 3

SAN DIEGO (AP) " Jake Peavy struck out 10 in 8 1-3 innings, Adrian Gonzalez drove in three runs and Henry Blanco homered twice to lead San Diego to the win.

Peavy (1-1) was sharper than in the season opener on Monday when he got the decision in a 4-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He allowed three runs and seven hits against the Giants.

Blanco tied his career high with two solo homers off Jonathan Sanchez (0-1), the second one leading off the fifth to break a 1-all tie. Gonzalez added a two-out, three-run double in the inning to knock Sanchez from the game and give the Padres a 5-1 lead.

The win gave the Padres a 4-2 record, matching their high mark for games over .500 from last season when it happened five times early on, the last coming on April 15 when San Diego was 8-6.

Heath Bell got the final two outs for his third save.

Mets 8, Marlins 4

MIAMI (AP) " Livan Hernandez used his off-speed stuff to take a shutout into the seventh inning and help the Mets hand the Marlins their first loss.

Florida had been the last undefeated team in the majors, but Hernandez tamed an offense that batted .309 and scored 31 runs as the Marlins won their first four games. Meanwhile, Ricky Nolasco (1-1) endured the poorest outing so far by a Florida starter, allowing four runs in five innings.

New York's Jose Reyes had his first three RBIs of the season, including a two-run homer. Luis Castillo went 4-for-4, hiking his average from .100 to .357. Carlos Delgado finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs for the Mets, who totaled 15 hits.

Hernandez (1-0) worked 6 2-3 innings, giving up only six hits and two runs in the longest outing so far by a Mets starter.

Phillies 8, Rockies 4

DENVER (AP) " Brett Myers allowed three home runs in Philadelphia's win over Colorado, improving to 5-0 at Coors Field and 7-0 in eight career appearances against the Rockies.

The right-hander allowed four runs and four hits, including homers by Troy Tulowitzki, Garrett Atkins and Clint Barmes. Myers (1-1) struck out six and walked one as the defending World Series champions won for the second time in five games.

Ryan Howard broke out of his hitting funk with a three-run double, Jayson Werth's two-run triple off reliever Ryan Speier broke a 3-3 tie in the fifth and Raul Ibanez went deep in the seventh for Philadelphia.

Jorge De La Rosa (0-1) struggled through 4 2-3 innings, allowing five runs and six hits, with all the runs coming with two outs.

Pirates 10, Reds 2

CINCINNATI (AP) " Paul Maholm allowed only three hits in seven innings and Ryan Doumit hit his first career grand slam " one of three Pittsburgh homers against Cincinnati.

Maholm (1-0) got his first road win since July 22, a stretch of futility that was more a reflection of Pittsburgh's offense than his pitching.

Nate McLouth hit a two-run homer in the first inning and a run-scoring single in the seventh. The Pirates pulled away in the ninth, when Doumit hit his grand slam off Mike Lincoln and Adam LaRoche followed with his first homer of the season.

The Reds fell to 1-3 for the first time since 2003, their first season in Great American Ball Park.

Johnny Cueto (0-1) struck out nine batters in six innings, but gave up five extra-base hits " three doubles, a triple and McLouth's second homer of the season.

Braves 5, Nationals 3

ATLANTA (AP) " The Braves' Kenshin Kawakami pitched six effective innings to win his major league debut.

Kawakami allowed three runs and four hits, walked four and struck out eight. The 33-year-old right-hander is the first Japanese-born player in franchise history.

Kelly Johnson went 3-for-4 and drove in three runs one night after he had the game-winning hit in the 10th inning of a 6-5 win over the Nationals. Chipper Jones and Yunel Escobar had run-scoring singles for Atlanta.

Ryan Zimmerman had a two-run homer for the Nationals, who dropped to 0-5. John Lannan (0-2) gave up four runs in six innings.

Cubs 6, Brewers 5

MILWAUKEE (AP) " Alfonso Soriano made up for another poor performance by the Cubs' bullpen, smacking a go-ahead two-run homer in the ninth inning.

The Cubs entered the ninth trailing by a run, and Carlos Villanueva (1-1) " who is serving as the Brewers' closer while Trevor Hoffman recovers from a strained oblique muscle " opened the inning by getting Koyie Hill to fly out.

But pinch-hitter Reed Johnson singled to bring up Soriano, who clubbed Villanueva's next pitch into the second deck in left field.

Carlos Marmol pitched the ninth for Chicago instead of designated closer Kevin Gregg, who blew a save Friday night.

Aaron Heilman (1-0) struck out three in 1 2-3 scoreless innings to get the win. Dodgers 11, Diamondbacks 2

PHOENIX (AP) " Orlando Hudson homered, doubled and drove in three runs against his former team, and the Dodgers spoiled Arizona's All-Star selection celebration.

Hudson hit his first home run of the season to break a scoreless tie in a three-run fourth inning, just hours after commissioner Bud Selig awarded Arizona the 2011 All-Star Game at an afternoon press conference at Chase Field.

Hudson, who added a two-run double in the eighth inning, spent the previous three seasons in Arizona before signing with the Dodgers as a free agent.

Emergency Los Angeles starter Eric Stults gave up one run in 5 1-3 innings a day after being recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque to replace Hiroki Kuroda.

Arizona right-hander Yusmeiro Petit, starting for the injured Brandon Webb, struck out six in five innings and retired the first 10 batters he faced before Hudson's homer.