Rays/MLB

NL roundup

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published April 26, 2006

CARDINALS 6, PIRATES 3: ST. LOUIS - Juan Encarnacion homered, tripled and doubled and drove in four for the Cardinals.

Jeff Suppan, a 16-game winner last season, won for the first time in four starts this season on a 47-degree night. Jason Isringhausen pitched the ninth for his sixth save in seven chances.

Hector Luna added three hits, raising his average to .438 in limited duty, as the Cardinals won for the fifth time in six games.

Pittsburgh has lost six in a row, getting outscored 30-9, and is a league-worst 5-17. The Pirates lost six in a row to start the season and are 1-11 on the road.

NOTABLE: Encarnacion, who signed a $15-million, three-year contract in the offseason, entered with one RBI (on a groundout) and one extra-base hit.

BREWERS 4, BRAVES 2: MILWAUKEE - Prince Fielder took advantage of Atlanta's infield shift, singling in the go-ahead run in the sixth to lift the Brewers.

Milwaukee trailed 2-1 going into the sixth but scored two with two outs.

Gabe Gross doubled with one out, then advanced when Braves starter Tim Hudson had to duck a broken bat on Geoff Jenkins' groundout.

Carlos Lee singled sharply to centerfield, scoring Gross. Lee stole second with Fielder batting.

The Braves are using an infield shift on the left-handed Fielder, moving their shortstop to the right of second base. But Fielder chopped a 2-and-1 pitch through a gaping hole into left-centerfield.

NOTABLE: Braves third baseman Chipper Jones was activated from the 15-day disabled list. Jones had 21 at-bats in six games before going on the DL April 10 with a sprained right ankle and knee.

CUBS 3, MARLINS 1: CHICAGO - Dontrelle Willis lost for the first time in April, with rookie Sean Marshall pitching seven scoreless innings on a cold night to lead the Cubs.

Willis had been 9-0 with a 2.20 ERA in 14 April starts. He began the night 2-0 with a 1.01 ERA in four starts at Wrigley Field.

He was selected by the Cubs in the eighth round of the 2000 amateur draft, then traded to the Marlins in May 2002 as part of a deal that brought pitchers Antonio Alfonseca and Matt Clement to Chicago.

Ryan Dempster pitched a perfect ninth for his 25th straight save dating to July 24.

The gametime temperature was 39 degrees, and the wind was blowing in at 18 mph, but an announced crowd of 38,680 came to Wrigley Field.

NOTABLE: Facing former teammate Juan Pierre for the first time, Willis struck him out leading off the first.

ROCKIES 7, PHILLIES 6: PHILADELPHIA - Clint Barmes homered and drove in two and Brad Hawpe added two RBI for Colorado, which nearly wasted a six-run lead but held on for its sixth victory in eight road games.

Sal Fasano had two run-scoring doubles for the Phillies, who fell to 4-9 at home.

Rockies reliever Ramon Ramirez earned his first major-league victory.

NOTABLE: Phillies starter Gavin Floyd, a former first-round pick who earned a spot in the rotation with an excellent spring training, has an 8.50 ERA in four starts.

REDS 6, NATIONALS 5: WASHINGTON - Edwin Encarnacion drove in four, and Cincinnati took advantage of Nationals starter Billy Traber's wildness to take an early lead.

The Reds have won six of seven to improve to 14-7. They are seven games over .500 for the first time since July 4, 2004.

Washington dropped to 1-6 at home. Traber lasted 11/3 innings and faced 11 batters, seven reaching base.

Cincinnati starter Dave Williams wasn't brilliant but good enough for the win, giving up two homers.

NOTABLE: Washington fell to 1-4 in one-run games.

D'BACKS 7, PADRES 0: SAN DIEGO - Rookie Conor Jackson set career bests with three hits and four RBIs for Arizona, and Claudio Vargas bounced back from his worst outing of the season to record his first victory in three career decisions against the Padres.

In his previous start, Vargas gave up six runs in 22/3 innings against San Francisco.

Jackson, who earlier had a run-scoring single, hit a three-run double to open the scoring in a four-run seventh that made it 6-0. His hit knocked out starter Jake Peavy, who remained winless since the season opener.

NOTABLE: Padres right-hander Chris Young stands a good chance of making his scheduled start Friday after having a positive response to medication for reduced blood flow to an artery in his pitching thumb.

ASTROS 4, DODGERS 3 (14): HOUSTON - Preston Wilson hit a sacrifice fly to score Willy Taveras in the 14th for the Astros in the longest regular-season game at Minute Maid Park.

Houston closer Brad Lidge blew his second straight save when Jeff Kent hit a sacrifice fly in the ninth.

NOTABLE: The Astros (14-6) matched their best 20-game start since 1986.

[Last modified April 26, 2006, 01:28:03]