ST. LOUIS — Rookie Jaime Garcia stymied the sagging Philadelphia Phillies for seven innings and Matt Holliday’s homer leading off the bottom of the seventh was the go-ahead hit as the St. Louis Cardinals won their eighth consecutive game with a 5-1 victory Wednesday night.
Felipe Lopez had two RBI for the National League Central leaders, whose streak is the franchise’s best since winning eight in a row on Aug. 27-Sept. 5, 2004. Ryan Franklin got Jayson Werth on a groundout with two on to end the eighth and finished for his 18th save.
St. Louis beat the two-time defending NL champions three consecutive games by a 20-6 total and will go for the sweep behind 13-game winner Adam Wainwright today.
Ryan Howard hit his 22nd home run for the Phillies, who have lost six of seven since the All-Star break and are only two games above .500 (48-46). Joe Blanton (3-6) tired in the eighth, giving up a two-rundouble to Lopez, and Colby Rasmus added a sacrifice fly in a three-run inning.
Garcia (9-4) retired the first 12 batters in order before Howard homered leading off the fifth. He struggled only in the eighth - his final inning - when the Phillies loaded the bases on two walks and Jimmy Rollins’ single, rebounding to strike out Blanton on three pitches for the third out.
Garcia lowered his ERA to 2.21, rebounding from two iffy starts in which he gave up 17 hits in 5 2 /3 innings, although he gave up only four earned runs. He needed 70 pitches to get through six innings before throwing 25 in the seventh.
Holliday lined Blanton’s first pitch of the seventh over the left field wall for his 18th home run, a drive estimated at 423 feet. He is 9 for 19 with 6 RBI since the break.
NATIONALS 8, REDS 5
Stephen Strasburgtamed the NL’s top offense and Washington’s offense finally came around behind Cristian Guzman’s home run as the visiting Nationals beat Cincinnati. A day after he turned 22, Strasburg (5-2) struck out 7 and gave up 3 runs and 7 hits in 5 1 /3 innings, outdueling Bronson Arroyo
PADRES 6, BRAVES 4
Atlanta reliever Billy Wagner blew a two-run lead in the ninth inning, and pinch-hitter Nick Hundley’s two-run double in the 12th lifted visiting San Diego over Atlanta in a matchup of division leaders.
ASTROS 4, CUBS 3
Pinch-hitter Jason Michaels delivered a two-out, two-run double in the top of the 12th inning as visiting Houston defeated Chicago.
PIRATES 15, BREWERS 3
Pedro Alvarez hit two home runs for the second consecutive game for Pittsburgh, which has won four of five.
MARLINS 5, ROCKIES 2
Gaby Sanchez hit a three-run home run and Ricky Nolasco pitched eight innings as host Florida defeated Colorado. Nolasco (10-7) allowed 2 runs and 4 hits while striking out 8.
American League YANKEES 10, ANGELS 6 Mark Teixeira andRobinson Cano supplied the early offense that ended Joel Pineiro’s seven-game winning streak and host New York beat Los Angeles. Colin Curtis, who inherited an 0-2 count after Brett Gardner was ejected, added a three-run home run in the seventh inning that made it 10-5. Cano and Juan Miranda also connected for the Yankees, who finished 4-4 against the Angels this season after defeating them in last year’s AL Championship Series. Teixeira doubled twice and drove in three runs, and Cano hit a two-run home run.
TWINS 6, INDIANS 0
Francisco Liriano worked out of trouble while throwing seven effective innings and host Minnesota snapped Cleveland’s six-game winning streak. Liriano (8-7) allowed 10 batters to reach base but stayed poised and benefited from three double plays.
RAYS 5, ORIOLES 4
Evan Longoria homered, drove in two runs and scored twice, and visiting Tampa Bay blew a four-run lead before rebounding to beat Baltimore.
ROYALS 5, BLUE JAYS 2
Zack Greinke won for the fifth time in six decisions and seldomused catcher Brayan Pena had a career-high three hits to help host Kansas City beat Toronto. Greinke (6-9) held the Blue Jays to 2 runs and 6 hits in 8 innings, striking out 9 without a walk.
Wednesday’s games
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Houston 4, Chicago Cubs 3, 12 innings Pittsburgh 15, Milwaukee 3 Florida 5, Colorado 2 San Diego 6, Atlanta 4, 12 innings Washington 8, Cincinnati 5 St. Louis 5, Philadelphia 1 N.Y. Mets at Arizona, (n) San Francisco at L.A. Dodgers, (n) AMERICAN LEAGUE Tampa Bay 5, Baltimore 4 N.Y. Yankees 10, L.A. Angels 6 Minnesota 6, Cleveland 0 Kansas City 5, Toronto 2 Oakland 6, Boston 4 Detroit 4, Texas 1 Chicago White Sox at Seattle (n)
Sports, Pages 22 on 07/22/2010