CHICAGO - The ball jumped off Ryan Theriot's bat and in a flash, his teammates engulfed him. Finally, the Cubs had something to celebrate.
Theriot drove in Derrek Lee with a bases-loaded single with one out in the ninth, and Chicago beat the Minnesota Twins, 3-2, yesterday to snap a four-game losing streak.
After Carlos Marmol (2-1) escaped a jam in the top of the ninth, the Cubs pulled it out in the bottom half and avoided a three-game sweep.
"We're trying to tell ourselves to stay positive," Lee said. "We're still right there. That's all that matters."
Lee started the winning rally with a one-out single off Jesse Crain (2-3) and moved to third on a base hit by Geovany Soto, barely beating the throw.
After Soto took second, the Twins then intentionally walked Mike Fontenot to bring up Theriot, who lined a single past second baseman Nick Punto and then got mobbed by his teammates. Yet, the key play in his mind wasn't necessarily the winning hit. It was Lee taking third.
"What an amazing baserunning play he made," Theriot said.
Clearly, the Cubs needed this.
Chicago had little luck against Scott Baker but another solid start by Ted Lilly kept the Twins - who were without the injured Joe Crede (lower back), Michael Cuddyer (right index finger), and Denard Span (dizziness) - in check. Neither figured in the decision. Both pitchers allowed two runs and did not walk a batter.
Baker gave up just five hits and struck out five in seven innings.
"We should feel pretty good," he said. "We had a chance to sweep the series."
Minnesota 010 001 000 – 2 9 0
Chicago (N) 010 100 001 – 3 8 1
Minnesota AB R H BI Avg. Chicago (N) AB R H BI Avg.
Tolbert 3b 4 0 0 0 .175 A.Soriano lf 4 0 0 0 .229
Mauer c 5 0 3 0 .414 Fukudome cf 4 0 0 0 .266
Morneau 1b 5 0 0 0 .329 Bradley rf 4 1 1 0 .227
Kubel rf 4 0 1 0 .312 D.Lee 1b 4 2 2 0 .278
B.Harris ss 4 0 0 0 .284 Soto c 4 0 3 1 .223
Delm.Young lf 4 0 1 0 .252 Fontenot 3b 3 0 0 0 .236
Gomez cf 4 2 2 1 .227 Theriot ss 3 0 2 2 .283
Punto 2b 4 0 2 1 .211 Miles 2b 3 0 0 0 .200
S.Baker p 3 0 0 0 .000 Marmol p 0 0 0 0 ---
Ayala p 0 0 0 0 --- Lilly p 2 0 0 0 .100
a-Buscher ph 0 0 0 0 .192 A.Blanco 2b 1 0 0 0 .212
Crain p 0 0 0 0 --- Totals 32 3 8 3
Totals 37 2 9 2
One out when winning run scored.a-walked for Ayala in the 9th. E: Miles (2). LOB: Minnesota 10, Chicago 6. 2B: Gomez (7), Bradley (5), Soto 2 (6). HR: Gomez (1), off Lilly. RBIs: Gomez (9), Punto (13), Soto (16), Theriot 2 (25). SB: Gomez (5). SF: Theriot. RLSP: Minnesota 3 (B.Harris, Gomez, Morneau); Chicago 2 (Miles, Theriot). RA: D.Lee.
Minnesota walks (2): Tolbert, Buscher.
Chicago walk (1): Fontenot.
Minnesota strikeouts (7): Tolbert 2, B.Harris 2, Delm.Young, Punto, S.Baker.
Chicago strikeouts (6): Fukudome, Soto, Fontenot, Theriot, Lilly, A.Blanco.
Minnesota IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
S.Baker 7 5 2 2 0 5 98 5.30
Ayala 1 0 0 0 0 1 22 3.99
Crain (L) 1/3 3 1 1 1 0 11 8.15
Chicago IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Lilly 72/3 9 2 2 0 6 111 2.94
Marmol (W) 11/3 0 0 0 2 1 28 3.26
W: Marmol, 2-1. L: Crain, 2-3.
IR-S: Marmol 2-0. IBB: off Crain (Fontenot). Umpires: Home, Phil Cuzzi; first, Tom Hallion; second, Mike Estabrook; third, Dan Bellino.
T: 2:44. A: 40,814 (41,210).
White Sox 5, Brewers 4
MILWAUKEE - A.J. Pierzynski singled with two outs in the ninth inning off previously perfect Trevor Hoffman to lift Chicago over Milwaukee.
Hoffman (0-1) came in with a string of 18 straight scoreless innings. But Pierzynski singled through the right side to score pinch-runner Clayton Richard.
Chicago (A) 001 300 001 – 5 11 0
Milwaukee 101 101 000 – 4 8 0
Chicago AB R H BI Avg. Milwaukee AB R H BI Avg.
Podsednik lf 5 0 2 1 .311 McGhee 2b-3b 4 2 3 1 .338
Al Ramirez ss 5 0 1 0 .252 Hardy ss 4 0 0 0 .207
Pierzynski c 5 0 3 1 .303 Braun lf 4 0 1 0 .313
Konerko 1b 4 0 1 0 .294 Fielder 1b 4 0 1 1 .290
1-Fields pr-1b 1 0 0 0 .228 M.Cameron cf 4 0 0 0 .257
Wise rf 4 0 0 0 .133 Hart rf 3 2 2 2 .253
Bri.Anderson cf 2 1 0 0 .230 Hall 3b 3 0 0 0 .208
Getz 2b 4 1 2 0 .249 McClung p 0 0 0 0 .000
Beckham 3b 4 1 1 2 .114 Hoffman p 0 0 0 0 ---
Buehrle p 2 1 1 1 .500 c-Ctalanotto ph 1 0 1 0 .250
a-J.Nix ph 1 0 0 0 .221 Kendall c 3 0 0 0 .227
Gobble p 0 0 0 0 --- d-Gamel ph 1 0 0 0 .220
Dotel p 0 0 0 0 --- Looper p 2 0 0 0 .050
Thornton p 0 0 0 0 --- Counsell 2b 2 0 0 0 .286
b-Thome ph 0 0 0 0 .256 Totals 35 4 8 4
2-Richard pr 0 1 0 0 .500
Jenks p 0 0 0 0 ---
Totals 37 5 11 5
a-flied out for Buehrle in the 7th. b-walked for Thornton in the 9th. c-singled for Hoffman in the 9th. d-struck out for Kendall in the 9th.1-ran for Konerko in the 8th. 2-ran for Thome in the 9th. LOB: Chicago 8, Milwaukee 5. 2B: Beckham (2), McGehee (6), Braun (14). HR: Buehrle (1), off Looper; McGehee (1), off Buehrle; Hart 2 (8), off Buehrle 2. RBIs: Podsednik (13), Pierzynski (15), Beckham 2 (4), Buehrle (1), McGehee (10), Fielder (56), Hart 2 (28). SB: Ramirez (10). RLSP: Chicago 3 (Pierzynski, Getz, Fields); Milwaukee 1 (M.Cameron). RA: Buehrle. GIDP: Getz. DP: Milwaukee 1 (Hardy, Counsell, Fielder).
Chicago walks (2): Anderson, Thome.
Milwaukee walks (1): Hart.
Chicago strikeouts (3): Konerko, Fields, Wise.
Milwaukee strikeouts (9): Hardy 2, Braun, Fielder, M.Cameron 2, Hall, Kendall, Gamel.
Chicago IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Buehrle 6 7 4 4 1 5 114 3.43
Gobble 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 2 6.10
Dotel 1 0 0 0 0 2 11 2.88
Thornton (W) 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 8 1.85
Jenks (S) 1 1 0 0 0 1 15 3.68
Milwaukee IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Looper 6 7 4 4 0 2 105 4.62
McClung 2 2 0 0 1 0 31 2.45
Hoffman (L) 1 2 1 1 1 1 26 0.47
W: Thornton, 4-1. L: Hoffman, 0-1. S: Jenks, 14.
HBP: by Looper (Anderson). Umpires: Home, Angel Hernandez; first, Scott Barry; second, Tim McClelland; third, Andy Fletcher.
T: 2:46. A: 41,586 (41,900).
Pirates 6, Tigers 3
PITTSBURGH - Dontrelle Willis fought with his control for the third consecutive start by walking eight in 32/3 innings, leading to all of Pittsburgh's scoring.
Willis (1-4) left after throwing only 43 of 88 pitches for strikes, giving up six hits and six runs.
Detroit 000 100 200 – 3 5 0
Pittsburgh 300 300 00x – 6 9 1
Detroit AB R H BI Avg. Pittsburgh AB R H BI Avg.
Kelly lf 3 0 2 2 .333 McCutchen cf 3 2 2 0 .327
N.Robertson p 0 0 0 0 --- An.LaRoche 3b 5 0 1 0 .289
Zumaya p 0 0 0 0 --- F.Sanchez 2b 4 2 2 1 .315
Santiago 2b 1 1 0 0 .286 Monroe lf 3 1 0 1 .213
bPolanco ph-2b 1 0 0 0 .261 Morgan lf 0 0 0 0 .265
J.Anderson rf 3 0 1 0 .250 Delw.Young rf 4 1 3 0 .358
d-Raburn ph-rf 0 0 0 0 .243 Hinske 1b 1 0 0 1 .279
Mi.Cabrera 1b 4 0 0 0 .320 R.Diaz c 4 0 1 3 .288
Granderson cf 3 0 0 0 .259 Ja.Wilson ss 5 0 0 0 .259
Inge 3b 4 0 0 0 .264 Ohlendorf p 2 0 0 0 .038
Laird c 3 1 1 0 .219 S.Jackson p 0 0 0 0 ---
Everett ss 3 1 0 0 .266 S.Burnett p 0 0 0 0 .000
Willis p 1 0 0 0 .000 c-Moss ph 0 0 0 0 .243
Miner p 1 0 0 0 .000 Grabow p 0 0 0 0 ---
a-Thames ph-lf 2 0 1 0 .310 Capps p 0 0 0 0 ---
Totals 29 3 5 2 Totals 31 6 9 6
a-singled for Miner in the 7th. b-flied out for Santiago in the 7th. c-was hit by a pitch for S.Burnett in the 7th. d-walked for J.Anderson in the 8th. E: Ohlendorf (1). LOB: Detroit 6, Pittsburgh 14. 2B: Kelly (1). RBIs: Kelly 2 (2), F.Sanchez (25), Monroe (16), Hinske (10), R.Diaz 3 (13). SB: McCutchen (2). S: Santiago. SF: R.Diaz. RLSP: Detroit 4 (Mi.Cabrera 2, Polanco, Inge); Pittsburgh 8 (Ja.Wilson 2, F.Sanchez, Ohlendorf 2, R.Diaz, Monroe 2). RA: Granderson, An.LaRoche 2. GIDP: Granderson, Everett, F.Sanchez. DP: Detroit 1 (Inge, Santiago, Mi.Cabrera); Pittsburgh 2 (Hinske, Ja.Wilson), (Ja.Wilson, F.Sanchez, Hinske).
Detroit walks (5): Kelly, Santiago, Raburn, Granderson, Laird.
Pittsburgh walks (11): McCutchen 2, F.Sanchez, Monroe 2, Delw.Young, Hinske 4, Ohlendorf.
Detroit strikeouts (3): Mi.Cabrera, Miner, Thames.
Pittsburgh strikeouts (4): McCutchen, Monroe 2, Hinske.
Detroit IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Willis (L) 32/3 6 6 6 8 1 88 7.49
Miner 21/3 2 0 0 1 2 40 4.35
N.Robertson 1 1 0 0 1 0 28 6.20
Zumaya 1 0 0 0 1 1 13 3.00
Pittsburgh IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Ohlendorf (W) 6 2 1 1 2 2 91 4.56
S.Jackson 2/3 3 2 2 1 0 28 6.43
S.Burnett (H) 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 3 2.93
Grabow (H) 1 0 0 0 1 0 18 3.72
Capps (S) 1 0 0 0 1 1 15 4.98
W: Ohlendorf, 6-5. L: Willis, 1-4. S: Capps, 16. H: Grabow, 11. H: Burnett, 5. IR-S: Miner 3-2, S.Burnett 2-0. IBB: off N.Robertson (F.Sanchez). HBP: by N.Robertson (Moss), by Ohlendorf (Everett). Umpires: Home, Gerry Davis; first, James Hoye; second, C.B. Bucknor; third, Mike Everitt.
T: 3:05. A: 27,565 (38,362).
Giants 7, Athletics 1
SAN FRANCISCO - Nate Schierholtz hit an inside-the-park three-run homer, Matt Cain pitched a four-hitter for his seventh straight win, and San Francisco beat Oakland for a three-game sweep.
Cain (9-1) ended a four-start losing streak against the A's. He retired 15 straight at one point, struck out a season-high nine and walked none in his third complete game of the season and second in three starts. He struck out Jason Giambi with his 119th pitch to end the 2-hour, 9-minute game.
Oakland lost its fifth game out of the last six.
Oakland 100 000 000 – 1 4 1
San Francisco 303 000 10x – 7 10 1
Oakland AB R H BI Avg. San Fran AB R H BI Avg.
Kennedy 2b 4 0 0 0 .313 Torres cf 4 2 3 0 .313
Cust rf 4 1 2 1 .233 Renteria ss 3 1 1 1 .254
Holliday lf 4 0 0 0 .274 Winn lf 3 0 0 1 .273
Giambi 1b 4 0 0 0 .207 B.Molina c 4 0 0 0 .257
K.Suzuki c 3 0 0 0 .271 Sandoval 1b 3 2 1 2 .325
Hannahan 3b 3 0 1 0 .227 Aurilia 3b 4 1 2 0 .221
O.Cabrera ss 3 0 1 0 .232 Schierholtz rf 4 1 2 3 .253
R.Davis cf 3 0 0 0 .213 Burriss 2b 3 0 0 0 .242
Bre.Anderson p 1 0 0 0 .000 Cain p 3 0 1 0 .240
a-Crosby ph 1 0 0 0 .194 Totals 31 7 10 7
E.Gonzalez p 0 0 0 0 ---
b-Garciaprra ph 1 0 0 0 .255
A.Bailey p 0 0 0 0 ---
Totals 31 1 4 1
a-struck out for Bre.Anderson in the 5th. b-reached on error for E.Gonzalez in the 8th. E: Holliday (1), Burriss (7). LOB: Oakland 3, San Francisco 3. 2B: Cust (9), O.Cabrera (10), Torres (2), Cain (1). 3B: Torres (2). HR: Cust (11), off Cain; Sandoval (6), off Bre.Anderson; Schierholtz (1), off Bre.Anderson. RBIs: Cust (34), Renteria (26), Winn (25), Sandoval 2 (29), Schierholtz 3 (8). SB: Renteria (4). SF: Renteria, Winn. RLSP: Oakland 2 (R.Davis, Holliday); San Francisco 2 (Renteria, Schierholtz). GIDP: Burriss. DP: Oakland 1 (O.Cabrera, Giambi).
San Francisco walk (1): Sandoval.
Oakland strikeouts (9): Cust, Giambi 2, K.Suzuki, Hannahan 2, R.Davis, Bre.Anderson, Crosby.
San Francisco strikeouts (9): Torres, Renteria 2, B.Molina 2, Sandoval, Burriss, Cain 2.
Oakland IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Bre.Anderson (L) 4 8 6 6 1 6 85 5.77
E.Gonzalez 3 1 1 1 0 1 24 4.24
A.Bailey 1 1 0 0 0 2 16 2.52
San Francisco IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Cain (W) 9 4 1 1 0 9 119 2.39
W: Cain, 9-1. L: Anderson, 3-7.
Umpires: Home, D.J. Reyburn; first, Tim Welke; second, Angel Campos; third, Bill Welke.
T: 2:09. A: 37,728 (41,915).
Rockies 7, Mariners 1
DENVER - Garrett Atkins and Todd Helton had three hits each as Colorado beat Seattle, matching the franchise record with its 11th straight win.
Brad Hawpe doubled twice, and Clint Barmes had two hits for Colorado, which has swept three straight series and is 13-4 under interim manager Jim Tracy.
Ahead by 2-1 after four, the Rockies blew it open in the fifth.
Seattle 100 000 000–1 6 1
Colorado 011 050 00x–7 14 0
Seattle AB R H BI Avg. Colorado AB R H BI Avg.
I.Suzuki rf 4 1 2 0 .360 Fowler cf 4 0 1 1 .255
Branyan 1b 4 0 0 0 .313 Barmes 2b 5 1 2 0 .289
Beltre 3b 4 0 1 0 .265 Helton 1b 4 1 3 1 .318
Jo.Lopez 2b 3 0 1 1 .247 Atkins 3b 4 1 3 0 .204
Griffey Jr. lf 3 0 0 0 .207 Embree p 0 0 0 0 ---
Y.Betancourt ss 4 0 0 0 .237 c-S.Smith ph 1 0 0 0 .282
Quiroz c 3 0 1 0 .286 Jo.Peralta p 0 0 0 0 ---
F.Gutierrez cf 3 0 0 0 .251 Hawpe rf 4 2 2 1 .337
Vargas p 2 0 1 0 .500 Spilborghs lf 4 0 1 0 .258
Corcoran p 0 0 0 0 --- Tulowitzki ss 2 1 0 1 .241
a-Balentien ph 1 0 0 0 .218 Iannetta c 4 1 1 3 .220
Batista p 0 0 0 0 --- Hammel p 3 0 1 0 .056
Totals 31 1 6 1 Fogg p 0 0 0 0 .000
bQntnilla ph-3b 1 0 0 0 .208
Totals 36 7 14 7
a-flied out for Corcoran in the 7th. b-popped out for Fogg in the 7th. c-flied out for Embree in the 8th. E: Branyan (6). LOB: Seattle 5, Colorado 9. 2B: Fowler (15), Barmes (15), Hawpe 2 (21), Iannetta (6), Hammel (1). RBIs: Jo.Lopez (39), Fowler (15), Helton (45), Hawpe (47), Tulowitzki (22), Iannetta 3 (22). SB: Beltre 2 (8). SF: Jo.Lopez, Tulowitzki. RLSP: Seattle 2 (Griffey Jr., I.Suzuki); Colorado 5 (Hammel, Spilborghs 2, Barmes 2). GI DP: Y.Betancourt, Hawpe. DP: Seattle 1 (Jo.Lopez, Y.Betancourt, Branyan); Colorado 1 (Tulowitzki, Barmes, Helton).
Seattle walk (1): Griffey.
Colorado walks (3): Fowler, Helton, Tulowitzki.
Seattle strikeouts (6): I.Suzuki, Branyan, Beltre, Griffey, Quiroz, F.Gutierrez.
Colorado strikeouts (5): Fowler, Barmes 2, Hawpe, Spilborghs.
Seattle IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Vargas (L) 42/3 12 7 7 2 4 99 3.56
Corcoran 11/3 1 0 0 1 0 25 6.30
Batista 2 1 0 0 0 1 19 3.16
Colorado IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Hammel (W) 51/3 5 1 1 0 6 75 4.10
Fogg 12/3 0 0 0 1 0 35 1.69
Embree 1 0 0 0 0 0 11 5.71
Jo.Peralta 1 1 0 0 0 0 7 1.93
W: Hammel, 4-3. L: Vargas, 2-2.
IR-S: Corcoran 1-0. IBB: off Vargas (Tulowitzki). Umpires: Home, Gary Darling; first, Bill Hohn; second, Bruce Dreckman; third, Paul Emmel.
T: 2:35 (Rain delay: 0:55). A: 38,614 (50,449).
Astros 8, Diamondbacks 3
PHOENIX - Hunter Pence ended an 0-for-12 slump with a homer, and Lance Berkman also homered to help Houston beat Arizona.
The Diamondbacks have lost five of seven and are 0-5-1 in six homestands under A.J. Hinch, who took over for the fired Bob Melvin on May 8.
Houston 301 002 200 – 8 8 0
Arizona 200 100 000 – 3 7 0
Houston AB R H BI Avg. Arizona AB R H BI Avg.
Bourn cf 3 2 1 1 .290 F.Lopez 2b 4 0 1 0 .305
Tejada ss 4 2 2 2 .344 Byrnes lf 3 1 1 0 .216
Pence rf 3 2 1 1 .323 J.Upton rf 3 0 0 0 .306
Berkman 1b 3 1 1 2 .256 S.Drew ss 4 1 1 2 .255
I.Rodriguez c 3 0 0 1 .247 Reynolds 3b 4 1 2 1 .281
Michaels lf 4 0 1 1 .189 C.Young cf 4 0 0 0 .189
Kata 2b 4 0 1 0 .235 Whitesell 1b 3 0 0 0 .212
Maysonet 3b 4 1 1 0 .333 Snyder c 3 0 1 0 .220
Moehler p 2 0 0 0 .000 Buckner p 2 0 1 0 .167
a-R.Ortiz ph 1 0 0 0 .250 Boyer p 0 0 0 0 .000
Fulchino p 0 0 0 0 .000 Rauch p 0 0 0 0 ---
c-Erstad ph 1 0 0 0 .117 b-Montero ph 1 0 0 0 .225
Valverde p 0 0 0 0 --- Zavada p 0 0 0 0 ---
Totals 32 8 8 8 Qualls p 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 31 3 7 3
a-fouled out for Moehler in the 7th. b-grounded into a double play for Rauch in the 7th. c-grounded out for Fulchino in the 9th. LOB: Houston 1, Arizona 4. 2B: Tejada 2 (23), Byrnes (11), Reynolds (15), Buckner (1). HR: Berkman (13), off Buckner; Pence (8), off Buckner; S.Drew (4), off Moehler; Reynolds (17), off Moehler. RBIs: Bourn (14), Tejada 2 (36), Pence (26), Berkman 2 (37), I.Rodriguez (26), Michaels (4), S.Drew 2 (23), Reynolds (45). SB: Bourn 2 (22), Pence (8), Berkman (2). SF: I.Rodriguez. RLSP: Houston 1 (Kata); Arizona 2 (C.Young, S.Drew). RA: Tejada, J.Upton. GIDP: Kata, Moehler, Byrnes, Montero. DP: Houston 2 (Moehler, Kata, Berkman), (Kata, Tejada, Berkman); Arizona 2 (Buckner, S.Drew, F.Lopez), (F.Lopez, S.Drew, Whitesell).
Houston walks (3): Bourn, Pence, Berkman.
Arizona walks (3): Byrnes, J.Upton, Whitesell.
Houston strikeouts (8): Bourn, Pence, Berkman, I.Rodriguez, Michaels 2, Maysonet, Moehler.
Arizona strikeouts (6): F.Lopez, J.Upton, Reynolds, C.Young, Whitesell, Snyder.
Houston IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Moehler (W) 6 6 3 3 2 2 89 6.66
Fulchino 2 1 0 0 1 1 27 2.57
Valverde 1 0 0 0 0 3 15 4.82
Arizona IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Buckner (L) 5 5 6 6 3 5 84 7.36
Boyer 1 1 0 0 0 0 16 6.10
Rauch 1 2 2 2 0 0 20 5.28
Zavada 1 0 0 0 0 2 11 0.00
Qualls 1 0 0 0 0 1 6 3.86
W: Moehler, 3-4. L: Buckner, 2-3.
Buckner pitched to 3 batters in the 6th. IR-S: Boyer 3-2. WP: Rauch. Umpires: Home, Doug Eddings; first, Jim Reynolds; second, Brian Knight; third, Dana DeMuth.
T: 2:41. A: 26,937 (48,652).