NL roundup: Ludwick continues early hitting streak

PHOENIX (AP) " Ryan Ludwick homered and drove in three runs and the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 12-7 on Wednesday afternoon.

Ludwick is batting .407 and has hit in all seven games he's played this season. He singled home a run in the third inning and added a two-run homer in the sixth.

Chris Duncan added a single, double and triple and two RBIs for the Cardinals, who have won six of seven.

St. Louis benefited from eight walks and three Arizona errors. The Cardinals batted around twice, scoring five runs in the third and four more in the sixth.

St. Louis starter Joel Pineiro (2-0) was credited with the victory despite giving up five runs in five innings and allowing nine hits, including six doubles and a homer.

Jon Garland (1-1) allowed seven runs on seven hits and five walks in 3 2-3 innings. Rockies 5, Cubs 2

CHICAGO (AP) " Jason Marquis hit a two-run single off Rich Harden to put Colorado ahead against his former team.

Marquis (2-0), who spent the previous two years with the Cubs, was booed during introductions before Monday's home opener and again several times Wednesday. He hit a bases-loaded single in the second and allowed one run and five hits in seven innings.

Manuel Corpas pitched a hitless eighth and Huston Street got in trouble in the ninth, allowing a leadoff home run to Derrek Lee followed by a walk to pinch-hitter Mike Fontenot and a single to Reed Johnson.

Harden (0-1) allowed four runs on five hits and four walks in three innings. Marlins 10, Braves 4

ATLANTA (AP) " Dan Uggla drove in three runs for the second straight game and the Florida Marlins beat the Atlanta Braves 10-4 on Wednesday night.

At 7-1, Florida has its best start since opening 1997 with eight wins in the first nine games.

The Marlins snapped a 4-4 tie in the seventh on Peter Moylan's bases-loaded walk to pinch-hitter Russ Gload. Moylan (0-1) gave up a leadoff single to Jorge Cantu, who scored the go-ahead run on Gload's walk.

Four Florida relievers allowed only two hits and no runs in 4 1-3 innings.

Hayden Penn (1-0) retired all four batters he faced for his first win since Sept. 1, 2005 for Baltimore at Toronto.

Mets 7, Padres 2

NEW YORK (AP) " Oliver Perez rebounded from a rough season debut and the New York Mets earned their first victory at Citi Field.

Carlos Delgado homered and Perez pitched six smooth innings to help New York end San Diego's five-game winning streak. The Padres spoiled Monday night's opener at the $800 million ballpark with a 6-5 victory over the mistake-prone Mets.

After giving up eight runs and five walks in 4 1-3 innings against Cincinnati last week, Perez (1-1) held the Padres to one run and three hits. The often-erratic lefty walked only two and struck out four.

Starter Kevin Correia (0-1) gave up two runs in five innings.

Astros 4, Pirates 1

PITTSBURGH (AP) " Mike Hampton pitched six shutout innings and the Houston Astros snapped a five-game losing streak.

Hampton (1-1) allowed four singles, walked one and struck out eight. He improved to 11-3 in his career against Pittsburgh and has won seven consecutive starts against the Pirates dating back to 2000.

Carlos Lee drove in three runs, Miguel Tejada had three hits and scored two runs, and Lance Berkman added two hits to help revive the Astros' struggling offense for at least a night.

Adam LaRoche had a homer and Nate McLouth had two hits and reached base three times for the Pirates.

The Astros snapped an 18-inning scoreless streak with two runs in the first against Pittsburgh starter Ross Ohlendorf (0-2). Brewers 9, Reds 3

MILWAUKEE (AP) " The Milwaukee Brewers' offense finally woke up, Mike Cameron hit a pair of home runs to spoil the pitching debut of Micah Owings (0-1) for the Cincinnati Reds and the Brewers avoided a series sweep.

Milwaukee broke a 3-all tie with five runs in the sixth inning, getting an RBI double by Bill Hall, a two-run double by Jason Kendall and two-run homer by Rickie Weeks to take an 8-3 lead.

The victory gave Milwaukee a break from a rough start to the season. The Brewers came into Wednesday's game having lost four straight and six of their first eight.

Braden Looper (1-0) gave up three runs and six hits in six innings to earn his first win with the Brewers. He issued only one walk, halting a troubling trend by Brewers pitchers early in the season. Dodgers 5, Giants 4

LOS ANGELES (AP) " James Loney drew his second bases-loaded walk with one out in the ninth inning to give the Dodgers a victory over the Giants.

Singles by Orlando Hudson and Manny Ramirez gave the Dodgers runners at the corners with none out against reliever Bob Howry (0-1). Andre Ethier was intentionally walked, and Brian Wilson got Russell Martin to ground into a force at the plate with the infield in. But he lost Loney on a 3-2 pitch.

Jonathan Broxton (1-0) pitched a perfect ninth.

Aaron Rowand hit a three-run homer in the eighth against rookie Ronald Belisario, giving the Giants a 4-2 lead after they were held to one hit over the first seven by 21-year-old left-hander Clayton Kershaw, who struck out 13.