Sports

NL: Invincible Willis wins 7th

Associated Press
Published May 12, 2005

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MIAMI - After he pitched eight masterful innings, Dontrelle Willis lifted weights for a half-hour.

His opponents have no desire to see him get any stronger.

Willis improved to a major league-best 7-0 by allowing one run and six hits in eight innings, and Damion Easley's two-run homer sent the Marlins to a 2-1 victory Wednesday night over the Houston Astros.

The left-hander, who has won all his starts, actually saw his ERA rise a sliver to 1.08 despite keeping the Astros in check most of the night. He threw 48 pitches through two innings, 62 in the next six.

"These games are key," Willis said. "People put so much emphasis on September and August, but these games are key because we have to play well now to get to those key situations in September."

Roy Oswalt also was impressive, yielding two runs and five hits in 72/3 innings for Houston, 2-16 on the road. Morgan Ensberg had two hits and the lone RBI for the Astros.

"Guys are throwing really well and doing their jobs, doing everything they're asked," Ensberg said. "And we just don't seem to be able to get runs in."

Willis, who struck out five and walked two, retired 18 of 19 Astros during one stretch before allowing Ensberg's double on an 0-and-2 pitch in the eighth. It hit high off the scoreboard, a few feet shy of clearing the wall and tying the score.

The next batter, Lance Berkman, walked. But Willis escaped by striking out Mike Lamb, a left-handed batter, on three pitches to close the eighth, the last a fastball that left Willis pumping his fist and pirouetting off the mound.

"If you're going to beat me, man, you're going to beat me on my pitch," Willis said. "And that's my best pitch, the fastball. It was just one of those situations that I like to be in. It's on me."

Todd Jones pitched a scoreless ninth for his third save, striking out Craig Biggio on three pitches with two on to end it.

"Jones did his job at the end," Marlins manager Jack McKeon said. "Scary, but he did it."

ROCKIES 6, BRAVES 5: Todd Greene hit a winning bases-loaded single in the ninth after Atlanta scored three in the top half, lifting Colorado.

The Rockies got an impressive start from Byung-Hyun Kim and led 4-2 heading into the ninth, only to see rookie Chin-hui Tsao blow the save.

Ryan Langerhans led off the ninth with a homer, then Rafael Furcal hit a two-out bloop single to center. Brian Giles tied it with a double off the wall in right, then Julio Franco lined a single to right to put the Braves up 5-4.

Atlanta closer Dan Kolb got Cory Sullivan on a hard liner to open the ninth, then gave up a long homer to pinch-hitter Dustan Mohr. Clint Barmes and Aaron Miles followed with consecutive singles, and Kolb intentionally walked Todd Helton to load the bases.

Manager Bobby Cox replaced Kolb with Chris Reitsma, who struck out Preston Wilson before giving up Greene's single up the middle.

CUBS 4, METS 3 (10): Derrek Lee homered leading off the 10th, lifting Chicago on a raw day at Wrigley Field.

Mark Prior allowed two hits in seven strong innings for the Cubs, but New York tied it at 3 on pinch-hitter Eric Valent's two-out single in the ninth off new closer Ryan Dempster. He blew his first save chance of the season, then got the victory.

PADRES 7, REDS 2: Top draft pick Tim Stauffer repeatedly pitched out of his own jams during his big-league debut, and Ryan Klesko hit a three-run homer for visiting San Diego.

The Padres' eighth win in 10 games was Bruce Bochy's 800th as a manager. Only Bobby Cox, Joe Torre and Tony La Russa have more with their current clubs.

CARDINALS 9, DODGERS 3: Larry Walker had three of St. Louis' season-high 19 hits and drove in three, backing a strong seven innings from Jeff Suppan.

David Eckstein had four hits and an RBI to extend his hitting streak to 12 games for the Cardinals, who have won seven of eight at home against Los Angeles counting the playoffs.

PIRATES 7, GIANTS 2: Ty Wigginton hit a tiebreaking two-run homer, Daryle Ward added a two-run shot and Ray Sadler also connected for his first major-league hit as Pittsburgh ended a 10-day, 10-game road trip on a high note.

BREWERS 5, PHILLIES 2: Junior Spivey's three-run double off Ryan Madson in the eighth lifted Milwaukee, which went 9-3 on its homestand, the first time it has won nine during a homestand since going 9-1 from Sept. 18-27, 1992.

D'BACKS 3, NATIONALS 2: Chad Tracy hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth and Javier Vazquez pitched seven solid innings for host Arizona, which beat Washington for the second straight time after losing 10 in a row to the franchise.

[Last modified May 12, 2005, 00:31:16]

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