Bucs' Morton stymies Reds

CINCINNATI - Charlie Morton shut down Cincinnati's powerful lineup again, throwing a five-hitter for his second career shutout, and Pedro Alvarez hit a three-run homer Wednesday night, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 5-0 victory that snapped their six-game losing streak.

Morton (5-1) avoided heavy rain for a change and stymied Cincinnati again. He threw a five-hitter for a 6-1 win at Great American Ball Park on April 15, coming within one out of his second career shutout.

Alvarez ended his streak of 15 games without driving in a run when he connected in the fourth off Bronson Arroyo (3-4), who has been prone to homers this season. Andrew McCutchen added a two-run shot in the seventh.

Arroyo has given up 10 homers, accounting for 16 of the 29 runs he's allowed.

Morton sent the Reds to only their third loss in 14 games. His other shutout was Sept. 30, 2009, at Wrigley Field - the last complete-game shutout by a Pirates pitcher on the road. It was only the second time Cincinnati was shut out.

Morton has turned into the Pirates' rainmaker. His start last Thursday against the Dodgers was called after two innings. He was supposed to start Tuesday in Washington, but the game was called because of a threat of rain, pushing him back one day.

Appropriately, he didn't get through this one without some raindrops. Light rain moved in during the sixth inning, but Morton was in control by then.

The righthander's sinking pitches have gotten the better of Cincinnati's prolific offense. Morton gets 77 percent of his outs off ground balls, the most in the majors. He kept his infielders busy again on Monday - only seven of Cincinnati's outs came in the air.

When he beat the Reds on April 15, he barely missed a shutout. Jay Bruce homered with two outs in the ninth of the Pirates' 6-1 win. Morton hasn't given up a homer since.

His latest showing was a big relief for the struggling Pirates, who are familiar with long losing streaks. They had four losing streaks of at least seven games last season, including a 12-game slump in June.

Arroyo gave up five runs in seven innings, becoming the first Reds starter to take a loss since May 3. With Homer Bailey and Johnny Cueto back from the disabled list, Reds starters had gone unbeaten during the last 13 games - 8-0 with a 2.37 ERA.

Pirates 5, Reds 0

Pittsburgh 000 300 200 – 5 8 0

Cincinnati 000 000 000 – 0 5 0

Pittsburgh AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.

A.McCutchen cf 5   1   1   2   0   0   .241

Tabata lf 3   0   0   0   1   1   .227

G.Jones rf 4   0   1   0   0   0   .250

Walker 2b 3   1   1   0   1   0   .279

Overbay 1b 4   1   2   0   0   0   .237

Alvarez 3b 4   1   1   3   0   1   .211

C.Snyder c 4   0   0   0   0   1   .258

Cedeno ss 4   1   2   0   0   0   .252

Morton p 3   0   0   0   0   3   .056

Totals 34   5   8   5   2   6   

Cincinnati AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.

Stubbs cf 4   0   1   0   0   1   .278

Janish ss 3   0   0   0   1   1   .242

Votto 1b 4   0   1   0   0   1   .340

B.Phillips 2b 4   0   1   0   0   0   .327

Rolen 3b 3   0   0   0   1   0   .277

F.Lewis rf 4   0   1   0   0   0   .292

J.Gomes lf 3   0   0   0   0   0   .183

LeCure p 0   0   0   0   0   0   .200

Hanigan c 3   0   0   0   0   1   .259

Arroyo p 2   0   0   0   0   1   .235

Heisey lf 1   0   1   0   0   0   .271

Totals 31   0   5   0   2   5   

LOB: Pittsburgh 5, Cincinnati 6. 2B: Overbay (8), Cedeno (6), B.Phillips (9). HR: Alvarez (2), off Arroyo; A.McCutchen (8), off Arroyo. RBIs: A.McCutchen 2 (23), Alvarez 3 (10). S: Morton. RLSP: Pittsburgh 2 (Overbay, C.Snyder); Cincinnati 4 (Rolen 2, J.Gomes, Votto). RA: Alvarez. GIDP: B.Phillips. DP: Pittsburgh 1 (Alvarez, Walker, Overbay).

Pittsburgh IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Morton (W 5-1) 9   5   0   0   2   5   106   2.62

Cincinnati IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Arroyo (L 3-4) 7   7   5   5   2   4   107   4.11

LeCure 2   1   0   0   0   2   23   3.23

Umpires: Home, Laz Diaz; first, Scott Barry; second, Sam Holbrook; third, John Hirschbeck.

T: 2:17. A: 16,543 (42,319).

Mets 3, Nationals 0

NEW YORK - Jonathon Niese pitched seven sharp innings, some of them in heavy rain, and Justin Turner added to his surprising tear with a two-run double that sent New York past light-hitting Washington.

With maybe a few thousand hardy souls in the stands on another wet night at Citi Field, the Mets' depleted lineup scratched out enough offense to help Niese (3-4) win his second consecutive start.

Playing without injured regulars David Wright, Ike Davis and Angel Pagan, New York won for the eighth time in 12 games and tied Washington for fourth place in the NL East.

Washington 000 000 000 – 0 8 1

New York 100 002 00x – 3 9 0

Washington AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.

Bernadina cf 5   0   1   0   0   1   .293

Desmond ss 4   0   1   0   0   1   .218

Werth rf 4   0   1   0   0   2   .238

W.Ramos c 4   0   1   0   0   1   .269

Ad.LaRoche 1b 4   0   0   0   0   2   .177

Morse lf 4   0   2   0   0   0   .258

Espinosa 2b 3   0   1   0   0   0   .199

Hairston Jr. 3b 2   0   0   0   2   0   .229

Gorzelanny p 2   0   0   0   0   1   .000

H.Rodriguez p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

a-Bixler ph 1   0   1   0   0   0   .143

Coffey p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

Slaten p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

c-L.Nix ph 1   0   0   0   0   0   .306

Totals 34   0   8   0   2   8   

New York AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.

Jos.Reyes ss 4   2   3   0   1   0   .322

Turner 3b 4   0   2   2   1   0   .333

Beltran rf 4   0   1   0   0   1   .285

Bay lf 2   0   0   1   1   1   .213

Dan.Murphy 1b 4   0   0   0   0   2   .239

R.Paulino c 3   0   0   0   1   3   .313

Hairston cf 3   1   2   0   0   1   .229

Pridie cf 1   0   0   0   0   0   .242

R.Tejada 2b 3   0   1   0   1   0   .333

Niese p 3   0   0   0   0   1   .118

Isringhausen p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

b-Evans ph 0   0   0   0   1   0   ---

Fr.Rodriguez p 0   0   0   0   0   0   .000

Totals 31   3   9   3   6   9   

a-singled for H.Rodriguez in the 7th. b-walked for Isringhausen in the 8th. c-flied out for Slaten in the 9th. E: Gorzelanny (1). LOB: Washington 10, New York 11. 2B: Morse (3), Espinosa (5), Turner 2 (5), Hairston (2). RBIs: Turner 2 (12), Bay (7). SB: Desmond (14). S: Espinosa. SF: Bay. RLSP: Washington 6 (Ad.LaRoche 2, Gorzelanny, Bernadina 3); New York 6 (Niese, Dan.Murphy, Jos.Reyes, R.Paulino, Beltran, Turner). RA: W.Ramos, R.Tejada. DP: Washington 1 (Morse, W.Ramos, Espinosa).

Washington IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Gorzelanny (L 2-3) 52/3   8   3   3   5   7   116   3.56

H.Rodriguez 1/3   0   0   0   0   0   4   1.50

Coffey 1   0   0   0   0   2   11   2.30

Slaten 1   1   0   0   1   0   15   1.74

New York IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Niese (W 3-4) 7   6   0   0   1   7   112   4.39

Isringhausen (H 10) 1   1   0   0   0   1   17   1.93

Fr.Rodriguez (S 13-14) 1   1   0   0   1   0   18   0.83

IR-S: H.Rodriguez 1-0. IBB: off Gorzelanny (Bay, Jos.Reyes). Umpires: Home, James Hoye; first, Manny Gonzalez; second, Phil Cuzzi; third, Bill Miller.

T: 2:51. A: 24,527 (41,800).

Cubs 7, Marlins 5

MIAMI - Marlon Byrd hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the eighth, and Chicago broke a three-game losing streak.

Reed Johnson hit his third career pinch-hit home run for the Cubs to tie the score at 5-all in the sixth. They took the lead on Byrd's second homer against Edward Mujica (4-2) leading off the eighth.

Chicago's Ryan Dempster gave up five runs in five innings, increasing his ERA to 6.91, but three relievers shut out Florida over the final four innings.

Chicago 001 022 020 – 7 13 0

Florida 100 040 000 – 5 10 2

Chicago AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.

Fukudome rf 4   1   2   0   1   2   .330

Barney 2b 4   0   0   2   0   0   .333

S.Castro ss 5   0   2   0   0   1   .329

Ar.Ramirez 3b 5   0   2   0   0   2   .290

C.Pena 1b 4   0   1   0   1   2   .232

Byrd cf 4   1   1   1   0   1   .307

A.Soriano lf 4   0   1   0   0   0   .259

1-Campana pr-lf 0   1   0   0   0   0   1.000

K.Hill c 3   3   3   0   0   0   .242

Dempster p 1   0   0   0   0   0   .067

a-Re.Johnson ph 1   1   1   2   0   0   .400

Samardzija p 0   0   0   0   0   0   .000

c-DeWitt ph 0   0   0   0   0   0   .265

d-Je.Baker ph 1   0   0   1   0   0   .347

Marshall p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

Marmol p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

Totals 36   7   13   6   2   8   

Florida AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.

Coghlan cf 5   0   1   0   0   1   .245

H.Ramirez ss 5   2   2   1   0   1   .211

Morrison lf 4   0   1   0   1   1   .307

G.Sanchez 1b 5   1   1   1   0   1   .325

Dobbs 3b 5   1   2   2   0   2   .341

Stanton rf 4   0   2   1   1   0   .262

J.Buck c 4   0   1   0   0   0   .221

Infante 2b 3   0   0   0   1   1   .239

Nolasco p 0   1   0   0   1   0   .067

b-Cousins ph 1   0   0   0   0   1   .171

Mujica p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

M.Dunn p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

e-Helms ph 0   0   0   0   1   0   .216

Badenhop p 0   0   0   0   0   0   1.000

Totals 36   5   10   5   5   8   

a-homered for Dempster in the 6th. b-struck out for Nolasco in the 6th. c-was announced for Samardzija in the 8th. d-reached on a failed fielder's choice for DeWitt in the 8th. e-walked for M.Dunn in the 8th.1-ran for A.Soriano in the 8th. E: Dobbs (1), Morrison (3). LOB: Chicago 7, Florida 10. 2B: K.Hill (2), Morrison (7), Dobbs (7). HR: Re.Johnson (2), off Nolasco; Byrd (2), off Mujica; H.Ramirez (3), off Dempster. RBIs: Barney 2 (21), Byrd (9), Re.Johnson 2 (10), Je.Baker (12), H.Ramirez (15), G.Sanchez (26), Dobbs 2 (16), Stanton (20). SB: Campana (1), Coghlan (4), H.Ramirez (9), Infante (3). CS: Fukudome (1). S: K.Hill, Dempster. SF: Barney. RLSP: Chicago 4 (S.Castro, A.Soriano, C.Pena 2); Florida 5 (Morrison 3, Infante, Stanton). RA: Barney, Morrison. GIDP: C.Pena, A.Soriano, J.Buck. DP: Chicago 1 (S.Castro, Barney, C.Pena); Florida 2 (H.Ramirez, Infante, G.Sanchez), (Infante, H.Ramirez, G.Sanchez).

Chicago IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Dempster 5   8   5   5   2   3   90   6.91

Samardzija(W3-0) 2   1   0   0   2   3   40   2.96

Marshall (H 9) 2/3   0   0   0   1   1   20   1.53

Marmol(S 9-11) 11/3   1   0   0   0   1   21   1.42

Florida IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Nolasco 6   9   5   4   2   5   102   3.32

Mujica (L 4-2) 11/3   4   2   2   0   0   18   3.74

M.Dunn 2/3   0   0   0   0   1   12   1.89

Badenhop 1   0   0   0   0   2   15   1.69

IR-S: Marmol 1-0, M.Dunn 1-1. HBP: by Dempster (Nolasco). Umpires: Home, David Rackley; first, Paul Emmel; second, Rob Drake; third, Gary Darling. T: 3:21. A: 14,422 (38,560).

Cardinals 5, Astros 1

ST. LOUIS - St. Louis righthander Kyle Lohse threw eight dominant innings to beat Houston for the second time in less than a month.

Jon Jay had two RBIs in a four-run third and started a double play in the seventh with a diving catch in center field. Pinch-hitter Pete Kozma hit an RBI double in his first career at-bat for the Cardinals, who have won three in a row while limiting the opposition to only three runs.

Lohse (5-2) allowed a run on six hits in eight innings, his fourth outing of eight or more innings, and has a 2.17 ERA. He was 4-8 with a 6.55 ERA last year while battling a forearm injury.

Bud Norris (2-3) was knocked out after five innings.

Houston 000 000 100 – 1 6 0

St. Louis 004 010 00x – 5 10 0

Houston AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.

Bourn cf 4   0   2   0   0   0   .267

Ang.Sanchez 2b 4   0   0   0   0   0   .260

Pence rf 4   0   0   0   0   1   .280

Ca.Lee lf 4   1   1   0   0   0   .244

Wallace 1b 4   0   0   0   0   1   .312

C.Johnson 3b 2   0   1   1   1   0   .212

Barmes ss 3   0   0   0   0   1   .196

Quintero c 3   0   2   0   0   0   .245

Norris p 2   0   0   0   0   1   .125

Escalona p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

Del Rosario p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

b-Bogusevic ph 1   0   0   0   0   0   .333

J.Valdez p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

Totals 31   1   6   1   1   4   

St. Louis AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.

Theriot ss 4   1   2   0   0   0   .304

Jay cf 4   1   2   2   0   1   .322

Pujols 1b 4   0   1   1   0   0   .269

Holliday lf 1   0   0   0   0   0   .357

M.Hamilton lf 1   0   0   0   0   0   .200

Greene 2b-rf 1   1   0   0   0   0   .232

Berkman rf 1   0   0   0   1   0   .349

a-Kozma ph-2b 1   0   1   1   1   0   1.000

Craig 2b-lf 3   0   0   1   1   2   .255

Y.Molina c 4   1   3   0   0   1   .323

Descalso 3b 3   1   1   0   1   1   .221

Lohse p 2   0   0   0   0   1   .125

c-Rasmus ph 1   0   0   0   0   0   .303

E.Sanchez p 0   0   0   0   0   0   .000

Totals 30   5   10   5   4   6   

a-doubled for Berkman in the 5th. b-grounded into a double play for Del Rosario in the 8th. c-grounded out for Lohse in the 8th. LOB: Houston 4, St. Louis 7. 2B: Ca.Lee (7), Kozma (1), Descalso (7). RBIs: C.Johnson (17), Jay 2 (11), Pujols (25), Kozma (1), Craig (11). SB: Jay (1), Greene (6). CS: Descalso (1). S: Lohse. RLSP: St. Louis 5 (Y.Molina 2, Craig, Greene, Rasmus). RA: Wallace, M.Hamilton. GIDP: Bogusevic, Descalso. DP: Houston 1 (Ang.Sanchez, Barmes, Wallace); St. Louis 2 (Jay, Theriot, Pujols), (Kozma, Theriot, Pujols).

Houston IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Norris (L 2-3) 5   7   5   5   3   4   91   3.93

Escalona 1   1   0   0   0   1   6   4.50

Del Rosario 1   1   0   0   0   0   11   4.32

J.Valdez 1   1   0   0   1   1   27   6.75

St. Louis IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Lohse (W 5-2) 8   6   1   1   1   3   102   2.17

E.Sanchez 1   0   0   0   0   1   9   2.65

IBB: off Norris (Berkman). HBP: by Norris (Greene). Umpires: Home, Greg Gibson; first, Todd Tichenor; second, Gerry Davis; third, Wally Bell. T: 2:26. A: 35,298 (43,975).