Phillies 9, Mets 7
NEW YORK (AP) - Second baseman Eric Bruntlett turned an unassisted triple play to end the Philadelphia Phillies' wild 9-7 victory over the New York Mets on Sunday.
It was the 15th unassisted triple play in major league history - the second that ended a game. Detroit Tigers first baseman Johnny Neun also accomplished the feat on May 31, 1927, completing a 1-0 victory over Cleveland, according to STATS LLC.
Bruntlett's triple play preserved a win for Pedro Martinez (2-0) in his return to New York and quashed a Mets rally against closer Brad Lidge.
With runners on first and second in the ninth inning, Jeff Francoeur hit a line drive up the middle that appeared headed toward center field for a single. But both runners were stealing on the pitch, so Bruntlett was in perfect position as he moved over to cover second base.
He caught the liner easily, stepped on second to double up Luis Castillo and then turned to tag Daniel Murphy for the third out. Murphy tried to backpedal away from Bruntlett, but had nowhere to go.
The Phillies raced onto the field to congratulate Bruntlett after the stunning ending gave Lidge his 25th save in 33 chances. It was the first unassisted triple play since Cleveland second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera turned one in the fifth inning on May 12, 2008, against Toronto.
Philadelphia scored six times in the first inning off Oliver Perez (3-4) on three-run homers by Jayson Werth and Carlos Ruiz.
Rockies 4, Giants 2
DENVER (AP) - Ubaldo Jimenez threw eight strong innings, outpitching Tim Lincecum, and Seth Smith hit a two-run homer in the seventh for Colorado.
Held hitless by Lincecum for 5 1-3 innings, the Rockies rallied to move three games ahead of San Francisco in the NL wild-card race. Jimenez (12-9) won his sixth straight decision for Colorado, which has taken two of three in a four-games series that concludes Monday night at Coors Field.
The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, Lincecum (12-4) was working on a no-hit bid in the sixth when Todd Helton singled off the glove of shortstop Edgar Renteria. Brad Hawpe walked with two outs and Ian Stewart's RBI single cut the Giants' lead to 2-1.
Huston Street pitched a perfect ninth for his 33rd save in 34 chances.
Cardinals 5, Padres 2
SAN DIEGO (AP) - John Smoltz had a brilliant debut with St. Louis, striking out a season-high nine - including seven straight - and holding San Diego to three hits over five scoreless innings.
Smoltz also had a bunt single and scored the first run for the NL Central-leading Cardinals.
Albert Pujols hit his 40th homer, a leadoff shot to right in the fourth. It was the fifth time he's hit 40 homers and the first since 2006, when he hit a career-high 49.
The benches and bullpens emptied momentarily after Pujols apparently thought Padres rookie Will Venable threw an elbow while being tagged out to end the sixth inning. No punches were thrown and order was quickly restored.
Smoltz (1-0) signed with the Cardinals on Wednesday after he cleared waivers following his release from the Red Sox. Ryan Franklin earned his 32nd save in 34 chances.
Padres right-hander Cesar Carrillo (1-2) lasted two-plus innings in his third big league start.
Cubs 3, Dodgers 1
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Jake Fox went 4 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs, and the Cubs rallied to avert a four-game sweep.
Fox had the first four-hit game of his career while starting in place of outfielder Alfonso Soriano, given his second consecutive day off because of a sore knee.
The Cubs avoided being swept in a four-game series in Los Angeles for the first time since 1965 while closing out their West Coast trip with a 2-5 record. They return to Wrigley Field having lost 12 of 18 overall.
Ryan Dempster (7-7) allowed one run and three hits in seven-plus innings. Carlos Marmol pitched the ninth for his fifth save - and first since replacing Kevin Gregg as closer.
Chad Billingsley (12-7) gave up three runs and nine hits in six innings for Los Angeles.
Braves 7, Marlins 5
ATLANTA (AP) - Brian McCann hit a tiebreaking two-run single in the eighth inning and matched a career high with five RBIs, leading the Braves to the win.
McCann finished with three hits, including a three-run homer in the first.
Peter Moylan (6-2) pitched a scoreless eighth and Rafael Soriano recorded the final three outs for his 20th save.
Matt Diaz had four hits, including a seventh-inning triple off Kiko Calero (2-2), to help the Braves move past Florida for second in the NL East. Rookie Reid Gorecki's sacrifice fly to right field drove in Diaz, tying it at 5.
Ronny Paulino's three-run triple in the fourth gave Florida a 5-3 lead.
Diamondbacks 7, Astros 5
HOUSTON (AP) - Ryan Roberts matched a career high with four hits, helping Arizona end a season-high seven-game skid.
Augie Ojeda added two hits and a pair of RBIs for the Diamondbacks, who also ended a season-long nine-game road skid.
Jon Garland (7-11) went six innings and allowed four runs and 10 hits, and the bullpen got the game to Chad Qualls, who worked the ninth for his 23rd save.
The Diamondbacks sent 10 men to the plate in a five-run first, highlighted by Ojeda's bases-loaded, two-run single. Miguel Montero and Garland also added RBI singles and Bud Norris (3-2) forced in the other run with a bases-loaded walk to Alex Romero.
Nationals 8, Brewers 3
WASHINGTON (AP) - Ryan Zimmerman, Cristian Guzman and Adam Dunn homered to help Nationals end a five-game skid.
Rookie right-hander Craig Stammen (4-6) allowed three runs and five hits over 6 1-3 innings to win for the first time in six starts. Zimmerman drove in three runs and Ronnie Belliard had two RBIs.
Alcides Escobar hit his first major league homer for the Brewers, who had won two straight, but his error helped Washington score three unearned runs off Manny Parra (8-10) in the first. Nyjer Morgan reached on an infield single and was safe at second when the shortstop couldn't handle Parra's throw to second on Guzman's bouncer to the mound.
Zimmerman then delivered a run-scoring single to center and Ronnie Belliard later added a two-out, two-run bloop hit to right.
Reds 4, Pirates 1
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Homer Bailey tossed seven sharp innings and Cincinnati ended Pittsburgh's five-game winning streak.
Bailey (3-4) allowed one run and four hits, retiring his final eight batters to help the Reds win for only the second time in nine games. Cincinnati also improved to 10-26 since the All-Star break.
Delwyn Young had two hits and Andrew McCutchen reached three times for Pittsburgh, which scored 17 runs in the first two games of the series. Kevin Hart (4-3) got the loss.
Brandon Phillips had two hits and two RBIs for the Reds, who climbed back into fifth after dropping into last following Saturday's 12-2 loss. Francisco Cordero worked the ninth for his 26th save and first since Aug. 11.