NL roundup: Mets drop Philies in first meeting of season

PHILADELPHIA (AP) " Daniel Murphy hit a two-run homer, Mike Pelfrey pitched 5 1-3 effective innings and the New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-4 on Friday night in the first meeting between the two rivals.

Pelfrey (3-0) allowed three runs and seven hits. He also chipped in with two RBIs, matching his career total.

J.J. Putz, who blew a one-run lead in a loss to Florida on Wednesday, pitched a scoreless eighth. Francisco Rodriguez finished for his fifth save in as many chances.

Chase Utley hit his eight homer of the season for the Phillies, who got another poor outing from a starter. Chan Ho Park (0-1) gave up seven runs and eight hits, walking six in 4 2-3 innings.

Giants 3, Rockies 2

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) " Randy Johnson yielded four hits and struck out nine over seven scoreless innings in his 297th career victory, leading the surging Giants past the Rockies.

Johnson (2-2) struck out the first five Rockies he faced and retired the first 11 overall in his second straight dominant home start for the Giants, who moved above .500 for the first time since April 9 with their ninth win in 12 games.

San Francisco's bullpen nearly blew this one, however. Chris Iannetta homered to lead off the eighth, and Todd Helton added a run-scoring infield single before Giants closer Brian Wilson struck out Ryan Spilborghs with the bases loaded.

Wilson then pitched the ninth for his sixth save in seven chances.

Reds 4, Pirates 0

PITTSBURGH (AP) " Bronson Arroyo bounced back from his worst start of the season to limit Pittsburgh to four singles over eight innings, a slumping Brandon Phillips homered and the Reds ran the Pirates' scoreless innings streak to 22.

Arroyo (4-1) and reliever Francisco Cordero combined to give up five hits, none for extra bases, in the Reds' fourth shutout victory of the season.

The Pirates were shut out for the second straight game, following up a 1-0 loss Wednesday in which Milwaukee winning pitcher Yovani Gallardo homered for the only run. They haven't scored since the fifth inning of a 6-5 loss to the Brewers on Tuesday.

The right-hander gave up singles to the first two batters he faced, Nyjer Morgan and Freddy Sanchez, but didn't permit another hit until the seventh while outpitching Pirates starter Zach Duke (3-2). Cardinals 6, Nationals 2

WASHINGTON (AP) " Albert Pujols hit one of the St. Louis Cardinals' season-high four home runs, backing Todd Wellemeyer's seven effective innings in a win over the Nationals.

Chris Duncan and Ryan Ludwick connected off Jordan Zimmermann in the rookie right-hander's first career loss. Joe Thurston later added his first major league home run for St. Louis, which has won three in a row and nine of 11 overall.

Wellemeyer (2-2) allowed two runs on six hits, walked two and struck out three.

The Cardinals' 17-7 start is their best since 1944.

Willie Harris homered for the Nationals, whose 5-17 record is the worst in the majors.

Ryan Zimmerman singled in the third, extending his hitting streak to a Nationals-record 20 games.

Cubs 8, Marlins 6

CHICAGO (AP) " Ryan Theriot hit a grand slam in the sixth inning and the Cubs overcame Rich Harden's wildness to beat the Marlins.

Theriot, a slap-hitting shortstop, pulled Burke Badenhop's 0-1 pitch into the second row of the left-field bleachers to give Chicago a 6-5 lead. It was Theriot's eighth home run and first grand slam in 1,351 career at-bats.

The homer quickly changed the mood at Wrigley Field from angry to giddy. The Cubs had lost seven of their previous nine games and fans had spent much of the day booing Harden and slumping hitters such as $30 million newcomer Milton Bradley.

Harden allowed five runs and six hits with four walks in 3 2-3 innings.

Diamondbacks 5, Brewers 2

MILWAUKEE (AP) " Pinch-hitter Tony Clark's two-run double highlighted a four-run eighth inning, and the Diamondbacks rallied for a victory over the Brewers.

This time it was the Brewers' bullpen that failed to hold a lead. Milwaukee rallied for four runs in the seventh to beat Arizona on Thursday night.

After reliever Carlos Villanueva (1-3) retired the first two batters in the eighth Friday, Conor Jackson walked and went to third on Mark Reynolds' single. Todd Coffey took over, but Justin Upton hit a slow roller in the grass down the third-base line letting Jackson score. Clark followed with his double that appeared to just catch the outside edge of the left-field line. Chris Snyder singled in Clark to make it 5-2. Braves 7, Astros 2

ATLANTA (AP) " Jeff Francoeur hit a two-run homer and drove in another run to help the Braves beat the Astros, spoiling Mike Hampton's return to Atlanta.

Hampton signed with the Astros after six years with the Braves, where he battled a long series of injuries and was able to appear in more than 13 games twice.

Hampton (1-2) drew loud boos in pregame warmups, before each of his two at-bats and as he was removed from the game in the decisive fifth inning. He gave up five hits and six runs in 4 1-3 innings.

Derek Lowe (3-1) allowed eight hits and two runs in 6 2-3 innings.

The game was delayed by rain for 2 hours, 2 minutes after the seventh inning.

Dodgers 1, Padres 0

LOS ANGELES (AP) " Russell Martin was walked by Duaner Sanchez with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth inning, giving the Dodgers a victory over the Padres.

Jake Peavy, who came in 13-2 lifetime against the Dodgers with a 2.39 ERA, allowed just two hits and a walk over eight innings before Sanchez (1-1) gave up a leadoff single in the ninth to Rafael Furcal. Orlando Hudson bunted into a force play, then advanced on a wild pitch to Manny Ramirez.

Sanchez walked Ramirez intentionally, then struck out James Loney before loading the bases with a walk to Matt Kemp. Martin fouled off several two-strike pitches before being walked on a 3-2 pitch.

Jonathan Broxton (3-0) pitched a perfect ninth inning for the win.