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ST. LOUIS - Atlanta shortstop Rafael Furcal turned the 12th unassisted triple play in major-league history, but the Cardinals beat the Braves 3-2 Sunday when Albert Pujols hit a tiebreaking homer off John Smoltz in the eighth.
Furcal single-handedly snuffed out a Cardinals rally in the fifth for the first unassisted triple play in the majors since Oakland second baseman Randy Velarde did it against the Yankees on May 29, 2000. It was the first in Atlanta history - Ernie Padgett of the Boston Braves turned one on Oct. 6, 1923.
With runners on first and second, Furcal made a leaping grab of pitcher Woody Williams' liner. The runners were going, and Furcal stepped on second base to double up Mike Matheny then tagged Orlando Palmeiro trying to get back to first.
"I didn't know right away," Furcal said. "I wasn't thinking of trying to get three outs by myself, I was just trying to get outs."
Gary Sheffield homered and hit a sacrifice fly for the Braves, who took a 2-1 lead into the eighth. But Eduardo Perez homered off Horacio Ramirez with two outs and Pujols followed with his 31st.
"You don't want to face (Smoltz) in that situation," Pujols said. "He's the best guy. I guess I got lucky."
Smoltz said, "I tried to blow it by him obviously, and it didn't work. I'm not disgusted with myself, just the result."
The Cardinals, who took two of three from the Braves, also hit into a triple play April 10 at Colorado.
GIANTS 5, PHILLIES 2: Kevin Correia pitched six strong innings as an emergency starter for his first major-league victory, and Yorvit Torrealba hit a two-run single for host San Francisco.
The injury-plagued West leading Giants kept winning with an effective performance by Correia, the last-minute replacement for Jason Schmidt. San Francisco's ace was scratched to rest right elbow tendinitis.
"That is another refreshing kid," manager Felipe Alou said. "The team has fun playing behind a kid like that, because he throws strikes, works fast and challenges hitters. He was impressive."
In his second major-league appearance, Correia pitched out of trouble in nearly every inning. He got a standing ovation after the sixth - his only 1-2-3 inning.
"This team wins a lot, and I didn't want to come up here and bring them down," said Correia, whose parents, grandfather and godfather made the trip from San Diego to watch his start. "The call was pretty quick, so I didn't have a chance to think about things."
The Giants have a starting rotation currently consisting of three rookies, journeyman Dustin Hermanson and newly acquired Sidney Ponson. Schmidt is expected to start Friday in Montreal, sending Correia back to the bullpen or the minors.
DIAMONDBACKS 7, METS 4: Randy Johnson scattered 10 hits in eight innings to win consecutive starts for the first time this season for host Arizona.
"Normally when I talk to you guys I have a lot of golf metaphors," Johnson said. "It was more like the Tour de France. From the very beginning we were in the Pyrenees and I was in about 10th gear the whole time."
Errors by Vance Wilson and Jason Phillips cleared the way for two unearned runs for the Diamondbacks, who took two of three. Luis Gonzalez tripled in the go-ahead run with two outs in the fifth.
CUBS 3, DODGERS 1: Sammy Sosa hit two mammoth homers off Kevin Brown, driving in all of visiting Chicago's runs. "Mr. Brown pitched a great game, and those were the only two mistakes he made," Sosa said. Mark Prior had a five-hitter, ending Los Angeles' six-game winning streak. "Boy, it's strange," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said after his 900th career victory. "We lose to (Andy) Ashby and lose to (Wilson) Alvarez - and then we beat Kevin Brown."
BREWERS 5, MARLINS 4: Eddie Perez threw out Juan Pierre trying to steal in the ninth, and John Vander Wal hit the go-ahead homer in the seventh for host Milwaukee. "Eddie saved that game," said closer Danny Kolb, who got his sixth save. "I didn't save it. He's the one that's got to make that throw."
ASTROS 8, EXPOS 2: Ron Villone pitched into the seventh and host Houston had four home runs. Villone had lost two of his last three starts.
"I had thrown real well in the bullpen before each of those games," Villone said. "But for some reason, I couldn't take it in the game. (Sunday), I slowed down a little on my windup."
Montreal manager Frank Robinson said, "This is just about the usual. Basically, we got our four or five hits."
PIRATES 5, ROCKIES 3: Nelson Figueroa, recalled from Triple-A Nashville, pitched six strong innings and Randall Simon hit a two-run homer for visiting Pittsburgh. "They sent a limo down and I got here around 6 o'clock Saturday night," Figueroa said. "I decided that the only thing I could do was try to make myself an asset to this organization and this team when I got the opportunity." Figueroa had been 0-6 in nine starts since his last major-league win with Milwaukee on April 30, 2002, against Atlanta.
PADRES 2, REDS 0: Brian Lawrence pitched six sharp innings to snap a five-game losing streak, and Rod Beck worked the ninth for his 16th save in 16 chances for host San Diego. Beck put two on before retiring pinch-hitters Sean Casey and Russell Branyan.