Braves hurlers drown Fish

MIAMI - Jair Jurrjens is all the Atlanta Braves needed to come up with a rare sweep of the Marlins in Florida.

Jurrjens threw seven solid innings and drove in a run as the Braves handed the Marlins their eighth straight loss with a 3-2 win Thursday night.

Alex Gonzalez also drove in a run with a double as the Braves completed a three-game sweep at Sun Life Stadium for the first time since May 2-4, 1995.

"They always pitch really good against us, and this is a tough lineup," Jurrjens said. "To come here and try to battle this heat is not easy. These guys play us like we are playing in the World Series. We have a small rivalry between us."

The eight-game losing streak for the Marlins is their longest skid since they also dropped eight in a row Aug. 15-22, 2007.

"When you go back, it's one pitch, one play, it's one something during the game," Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez said. "That clutch hit never shows. Then again, they're battling out there. The intensity is out there. We need to keep playing with that intensity until we get out of this."

Jurrjens (8-2), the league leader with a 1.82 ERA, allowed two runs and six hits.

"J.J. was outstanding," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said.

Eric O'Flaherty tossed a scoreless eighth, and Jonny Venters pitched the ninth to earn his second save in three opportunities as Gonzalez gave closer Craig Kimbrel the night off after a 28-pitch appearance Wednesday.

"I try not to make it any different, but there's definitely a little bit more excitement out there [in the ninth]," Venters said.

Chris Volstad (2-6) had his no-hit bid ended in the sixth on Matt Young's leadoff single.

Young hit a 75-foot dribbler down the first-base line, and the ball traced the line as catcher John Buck raced toward it but let it run its course until it stopped in fair territory on the dirt. Volstad had retired 10 straight before Young's hit.

Young scored three batters later when Gonzalez smacked a double off the left-field wall for a 1-0 lead.

Volstad unraveled in the seventh when he allowed four base hits, walked a batter, and threw a wild pitch resulting in a run. One of the hits was an RBI single by Jurrjens, which gave the Braves a 3-0 edge and ended Volstad's outing.

Braves 3, Marlins 2

Atlanta 000 001 200 – 3 7 0

Florida 000 000 200 – 2 7 0

Atlanta AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.   

 Schafer cf 4   0   0   0   0   2   .196

Ale.Gonzalez ss 4   0   1   1   0   1   .266

McCann c 4   0   1   0   0   1   .304

C.Jones 3b 3   0   1   0   1   1   .252

Freeman 1b 4   1   1   0   0   1   .271

Hinske lf 2   0   0   0   1   1   .283

b-Mather ph-rf 1   0   0   0   0   0   .246

Conrad 2b 3   1   1   0   0   2   .171

Uggla 2b 1   0   0   0   0   1   .170

Ma.Young rf-lf 3   1   1   0   1   0   .138

Jurrjens p 2   0   1   1   0   0   .125

O'Flaherty p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

c-Di.Hernandez ph 1   0   0   0   0   0   .316

Venters p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

Totals 32   3   7   2   3   10   

Florida AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.   

 Coghlan cf 4   0   0   0   0   0   .238

Infante 2b 4   0   1   0   0   0   .254

Morrison lf 3   0   1   0   0   0   .289

G.Sanchez 1b 4   0   0   0   0   0   .305

Dobbs 3b 4   0   0   0   0   1   .325

Stanton rf 4   1   1   1   0   0   .256

J.Buck c 4   1   1   0   0   1   .223

Bonifacio ss 4   0   2   1   0   1   .255

Volstad p 2   0   1   0   0   0   .217

Mujica p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

a-Helms ph 1   0   0   0   0   0   .220

Sanches p 0   0   0   0   0   0   .500

Choate p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

Badenhop p 0   0   0   0   0   0   1.000

Totals 34   2   7   2   0   3   

 a-flied out for Mujica in the 7th. b-flied out for Hinske in the 8th. c-grounded out for O'Flaherty in the 9th. LOB: Atlanta 6, Florida 6. 2B: Ale.Gonzalez (10), McCann (14), Infante (8), J.Buck (10). HR: Stanton (14), off Jurrjens. RBIs: Ale.Gonzalez (19), Jurrjens (1), Stanton (36), Bonifacio (10). CS: C.Jones (1). S: Jurrjens. RLSP: Atlanta 3 (McCann, Schafer, Mather); Florida 1 (Dobbs).

Atlanta IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

 Jurrjens (W 8-2) 7   6   2   2   0   2   87   1.82

O'Flaherty (H 12) 1   1   0   0   0   0   18   1.52

Venters (S 2) 1   0   0   0   0   1   16   0.47

Florida IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

 Volstad (L 2-6) 62/3   6   3   3   2   7   113   5.51

Mujica 1/3   0   0   0   0   1   7   3.41

Sanches 1/3   1   0   0   1   0   11   1.80

Choate 1/3   0   0   0   0   1   4   0.87

Badenhop 11/3   0   0   0   0   1   21   2.40

IR-S: Mujica 2-0, Choate 2-0, Badenhop 2-0. IBB: off Sanches (C.Jones). HBP: by O'Flaherty (Morrison). WP: Volstad. Umpires: Home, Mike DiMuro; first, Jim Reynolds; second, Tim Welke; third, Andy Fletcher. T: 2:46. A: 16,613 (38,560).

D'backs 2, Pirates 0

PITTSBURGH - Chris Young hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning, and four pitchers combined for a five-hit shutout as Arizona snapped a three-game losing streak by beating Pittsburgh.

Young pulled a 2-0 pitch from Chris Resop (2-2) down the left-field line just inside the foul pole for his 12th homer of the season. Reliever Micah Owings (2-0) legged out a one-out infield single before Young's hit.

Josh Collmenter continued his stellar rookie season, pitching five-plus shutout innings. Joe Patterson, Owings, and David Hernandez finished up the Diamondbacks' sixth shutout of the season.

Two days after allowing five runs without retiring a batter, Hernandez earned his second save with a perfect ninth.

Arizona 000 000 020 – 2 8 1

Pittsburgh 000 000 000 – 0 5 0

Arizona AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.   

C.Young cf 4   1   2   2   0   0   .245

K.Johnson 2b 4   0   0   0   0   1   .225

J.Upton rf 4   0   2   0   0   0   .272

S.Drew ss 3   0   0   0   1   0   .284

Nady 1b 4   0   0   0   0   1   .259

Montero c 4   0   2   0   0   0   .271

Mora 3b 4   0   0   0   0   1   .234

G.Parra lf 3   0   1   0   1   0   .266

Collmenter p 2   0   0   0   0   0   .154

Paterson p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

Owings p 1   1   1   0   0   0   .200

b-Bloomquist ph 1   0   0   0   0   1   .260

Da.Hernandez p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

Totals 34   2   8   2   2   4   

Pittsburgh AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.   

Tabata lf 3   0   1   0   1   2   .254

Paul rf 4   0   0   0   0   0   .269

A.McCutchen cf 3   0   1   0   1   1   .283

Walker 2b 4   0   1   0   0   1   .263

Overbay 1b 3   0   1   0   1   1   .242

Cedeno ss 4   0   0   0   0   1   .232

J.Harrison 3b 4   0   1   0   0   1   .242

Du.Brown c 2   0   0   0   0   0   .125

c-Br.Wood ph 1   0   0   0   0   0   .215

Karstens p 2   0   0   0   0   1   .100

a-G.Jones ph 0   0   0   0   1   0   .231

Resop p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

Watson p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

d-Diaz ph 1   0   0   0   0   1   .255

Totals 31   0   5   0   4   9   

a-walked for Karstens in the 7th. b-struck out for Owings in the 9th. c-flied out for Du.Brown in the 9th. d-struck out for Watson in the 9th. E: Mora (2). LOB: Arizona 7, Pittsburgh 9. 2B: J.Upton (14), Montero (15). HR: C.Young (12), off Resop. RBIs: C.Young 2 (35). SB: Paul (7). S: Du.Brown. RLSP: Arizona 3 (S.Drew, Collmenter, Nady); Pittsburgh 3 (Overbay, A.McCutchen, Paul). GIDP: J.Upton, Walker. DP: Arizona 1 (S.Drew, K.Johnson, Nady); Pittsburgh 1 (J.Harrison, Walker, Overbay).

Arizona IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Collmenter 5   4   0   0   2   4   102   1.12

Paterson 2/3   0   0   0   0   0   8   3.45

Owings (W 2-0) 21/3   1   0   0   2   4   41   2.08

Hernandez (S 2) 1   0   0   0   0   1   12   3.18

Pittsburgh IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Karstens 7   4   0   0   1   2   79   2.94

Resop (L 2-2) 2/3   3   2   2   0   1   25   3.99

Watson 11/3   1   0   0   1   1   22   0.00

Collmenter pitched to 1 batter in the 6th. IR-S: Paterson 1-0, Owings 1-0, Watson 1-0. IBB: off Karstens (G.Parra). Umpires: Home, Jerry Meals; first, Dale Scott; second, Dan Iassogna; third, CB Bucknor.

T: 2:50. A: 12,468 (38,362).

Mets 4, Brewers 1

MILWAUKEE - Jonathon Niese pitched effectively into the eighth inning as New York beat Milwaukee to take two of three games against the best home team in the majors.

Niese (4-6) retired the first 11 Brewers hitters and only allowed an RBI double to Prince Fielder in the fourth and singles in the seventh and eighth. He matched a career high with eight strikeouts.

The Mets roughed up Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo (8-3) to snap his six-game winning streak. Gallardo allowed 10 hits and didn't get an out in the fifth.

Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez recorded the final four outs for his 18th save of the season.

New York won the series opener, but blew a four-run, eighth-inning lead on Wednesday night.

New York 010 120 000 – 4 11 0

Milwaukee 000 100 000 – 1 4 3

New York AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.   

Jos.Reyes ss 5   0   0   0   0   1   .335

Turner 3b 5   1   2   0   0   1   .295

Beltran rf 4   1   2   0   1   1   .282

Dan.Murphy 1b 4   0   1   1   1   1   .299

Pagan cf 4   1   2   1   1   1   .240

Pridie lf 4   1   1   1   0   2   .243

Thole c 4   0   1   0   0   0   .231

R.Tejada 2b 4   0   2   1   0   0   .328

Niese p 4   0   0   0   0   4   .071

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

Totals 38   4   11   4   3   11   

Milwaukee AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.   

R.Weeks 2b 3   0   0   0   1   0   .275

C.Hart rf 4   0   1   0   0   1   .280

Braun lf 3   1   1   0   1   0   .312

Fielder 1b 3   0   2   1   1   0   .301

McGehee 3b 4   0   0   0   0   1   .227

Y.Betancourt ss 4   0   0   0   0   1   .230

Lucroy c 4   0   0   0   0   3   .287

C.Gomez cf 3   0   0   0   0   3   .216

Estrada p 0   0   0   0   0   0   .250

Gallardo p 1   0   0   0   0   1   .182

Dillard p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

a-Jo.Wilson ph 0   0   0   0   1   0   .278

Mitre p 0   0   0   0   0   0   .000

b-Morgan ph-cf 1   0   0   0   0   0   .338

Totals 30   1   4   1   4   10   

a-walked for Dillard in the 6th. b-flied out for Mitre in the 8th. E: Fielder (2), McGehee 2 (11). LOB: New York 11, Milwaukee 6. 2B: Fielder 2 (17). 3B: Pagan (2). RBIs: Dan.Murphy (20), Pagan (12), Pridie (13), R.Tejada (9), Fielder (55). SB: Turner (4), Dan.Murphy (3), Pagan (9). SF: Pridie. RLSP: New York 7 (Niese, Dan.Murphy, Jos.Reyes, Pridie 3, Turner); Milwaukee 4 (McGehee, Lucroy 2, Braun). RA: Dan.Murphy, Thole, McGehee. GIDP: R.Weeks. DP: New York 1 (Jos.Reyes, R.Tejada, Dan.Murphy); Milwaukee 1 (C.Hart, C.Hart, Lucroy).

New York IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Niese (W 5-5) 72/3   3   1   1   4   8   99   3.51

Rodriguez (S18) 11/3   1   0   0   0   2   17   2.90

Milwaukee IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Gallardo (L 8-3) 4   10   4   4   1   5   96   3.96

Dillard 2   0   0   0   0   2   15   2.08

Mitre 2   1   0   0   1   1   31   2.00

Estrada 1   0   0   0   1   3   22   4.02

Gallardo pitched to 4 batters in the 5th. IR-S: Fr.Rodriguez 2-0, Dillard 2-0. WP: Niese, Gallardo. Umpires: Home, Paul Emmel; first, Rob Drake; second, Gary Darling; third, Bruce Dreckman.

T: 2:47. A: 30,632 (41,900).

Cardinals 9, Astros 2

HOUSTON - Lance Berkman broke a tie with an RBI single, and pinch-hitter Daniel Descalso had a two-run double in St. Louis' five-run sixth inning to beat Houston.

Berkman, the former Astro who hit a solo homer to break up Bud Norris' no-hit bid in the seventh inning in the Cardinals' 4-1 loss Wednesday night, snapped a 1-1 tie with a single off the scoreboard in left after Jon Jay singled and Albert Pujols drew a walk off J.A. Happ (3-8).

Lance Lynn (1-1) benefited from the big inning. He pitched five innings and allowed six hits and one run. He walked three and struck out three.

St. Louis 100 005 111 – 9 11 0

Houston 100 000 100 – 2 7 1

St. Louis AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.   

Theriot ss 5   2   2   1   0   1   .298

Jay rf 3   1   2   0   0   0   .321

Batista p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

Miller p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

Motte p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

c-M.Carpenter ph 1   0   0   0   0   1   .083

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

Pujols 3b-1b 4   2   1   1   1   0   .277

Berkman lf 5   1   2   2   0   1   .331

M.Hamilton 1b 3   1   0   1   0   2   .150

Schumaker rf 2   0   1   1   0   1   .222

T.Cruz c 5   1   1   0   0   2   .300

Rasmus cf 3   1   0   0   1   1   .261

Greene 2b 3   0   1   1   1   2   .216

Lynn p 2   0   0   0   0   1   .000

a-Descalso ph-3b 2   0   1   2   0   0   .245

Totals 38   9   11   9   3   12   

Houston AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.   

Bourn cf 4   0   1   0   0   2   .275

Keppinger 2b 3   0   0   1   1   0   .277

Fe.Rodriguez p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

Pence rf 4   1   2   0   0   2   .315

Ca.Lee lf 2   0   0   0   2   0   .262

Wallace 1b 4   0   1   1   0   1   .317

C.Johnson 3b 4   0   1   0   0   2   .228

Barmes ss 3   1   1   0   0   0   .221

Towles c 3   0   1   0   0   0   .210

d-Ang.Sanchez ph 1   0   0   0   0   1   .261

Happ p 2   0   0   0   0   0   .318

W.Lopez p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

Escalona p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

Fulchino p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

b-M.Downs ph-2b 1   0   0   0   1   0   .270

Totals 31   2   7   2   4   8   

a-doubled for Lynn in the 6th. b-walked for Fulchino in the 7th. c-struck out for Motte in the 8th. d-struck out for Towles in the 9th. E: Barmes (3). LOB: St. Louis 6, Houston 7. 2B: Theriot (12), Pujols (9), Descalso (12). HR: Theriot (1), off Fe.Rodriguez; Berkman (15), off Fe.Rodriguez. RBIs: Theriot (23), Pujols (40), Berkman 2 (45), M.Hamilton (1), Schumaker (11), Greene (9), Descalso 2 (19), Keppinger (6), Wallace (19). SB: Greene (8). CS: Bourn (3). S: Jay. RLSP: St. Louis 3 (Theriot, Jay 2); Houston 5 (Happ, C.Johnson 2, Pence 2). RA: Pujols, Berkman, Keppinger. GIDP: Towles. DP: St. Louis 1 (Theriot, Greene, M.Hamilton).

St. Louis IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Lynn (W 1-1) 5   6   1   1   3   3   94   5.23

Batista 1   1   1   1   1   1   25   2.28

Miller 1/3   0   0   0   0   1   3   2.19

Motte 2/3   0   0   0   0   1   11   2.33

E.Sanchez 2   0   0   0   0   2   21   1.95

Houston IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Happ (L 3-8) 51/3   6   6   6   2   5   93   5.04

W.Lopez 1/3   1   0   0   1   1   23   2.63

Escalona 1/3   0   0   0   0   0   2   2.35

Fulchino 1   2   1   1   0   2   17   4.73

Fe.Rodriguez 2   2   2   2   0   4   33   3.52

Batista pitched to 3 batters in the 7th. IR-S: Miller 3-0, Motte 3-1, W.Lopez 3-3, Escalona 2-0. HBP: by Batista (Barmes). WP: Lynn. Umpires: Home, Tom Hallion; first, Phil Cuzzi; second, Bill Miller; third, James Hoye. T: 3:18. A: 24,482 (40,963).

Rockies 9, Dodgers 7

DENVER - Troy Tulowitzki drove in four runs, including a tying, two-run single in a five-run seventh inning, as Colorado rallied past Los Angeles.

Tulowitzki delivered against Mike MacDougal, and pinch-hitter Jason Giambi drew a bases-loaded walk to break the 7-7 tie as the Rockies sent 11 batters to the plate in the seventh.

With the rally, Matt Reynolds stood to get the win, but because he was ineffective, the official scorer gave the victory to Rafael Betancourt, who pitched a perfect eighth.

Los Angeles 000 130 300 – 7 12 0

Colorado 000 003 51x – 9 11 1

Los Angeles AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.   

D.Gordon ss 5   1   2   0   0   2   .385

Lindblom p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

Blake 3b 5   2   1   1   0   0   .267

Ethier rf 4   1   3   2   0   0   .335

Kemp cf 5   1   3   3   0   2   .329

Uribe 2b 3   0   0   0   1   1   .218

d-Barajas ph 1   0   0   0   0   0   .209

Loney 1b 4   0   1   0   0   0   .241

Navarro c 3   0   0   0   1   1   .188

Gwynn Jr. lf 4   0   0   0   0   1   .217

Kershaw p 3   2   2   0   0   0   .276

Elbert p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

MacDougal p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

Hawksworth p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

c-Carroll ph-ss 1   0   0   0   0   0   .303

Totals 38   7   12   6   2   7   

Colorado AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.   

C.Gonzalez cf 5   2   3   1   0   1   .257

Nelson 2b 4   1   2   1   0   1   .269

Street p 0   0   0   0   0   0   .000

Helton 1b 2   2   1   1   3   0   .318

Tulowitzki ss 5   0   2   4   0   0   .264

Wigginton 3b 3   0   0   1   1   1   .250

Spilborghs rf 3   0   0   0   0   2   .243

Mat.Reynolds p 0   0   0   0   0   0   .000

b-Giambi ph 0   0   0   1   1   0   .227

1-Cook pr 0   0   0   0   0   0   .333

R.Betancourt p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

J.Herrera 2b 0   0   0   0   0   0   .256

Blackmon lf 4   1   1   0   0   0   .182

J.Morales c 4   1   1   0   0   1   .226

Nicasio p 1   0   0   0   0   1   .286

Brothers p 0   0   0   0   0   0   ---

a-E.Young ph-rf 1   1   0   0   1   0   .235

S.Smith rf 1   1   1   0   0   0   .307

Totals 33   9   11   9   6   7   

a-grounded out for Brothers in the 6th. b-walked for Mat.Reynolds in the 7th. c-flied out for Hawksworth in the 8th. d-flied out for Uribe in the 9th. 1-ran for Giambi in the 7th. E: J.Morales (2). LOB: Los Angeles 7, Colorado 8. 2B: Blake (5), Ethier (16), Kemp (13), C.Gonzalez (10), Tulowitzki (14). 3B: Kemp (1). HR: Kemp (18), off Nicasio. RBIs: Blake (13), Ethier 2 (32), Kemp 3 (53), C.Gonzalez (35), Nelson (1), Helton (26), Tulowitzki 4 (40), Wigginton (18), Giambi (15). SF: Ethier, Nelson. RLSP: Los Angeles 4 (Kershaw, Uribe, Navarro, Barajas); Colorado 4 (Spilborghs, J.Morales 2, Wigginton). RA: Wigginton. GIDP: Tulowitzki. DP: Los Angeles 1 (D.Gordon, Uribe, Loney).

Los Angeles IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Kershaw 6   7   6   6   3   6   98   3.44

Elbert (L0-1) (H4) 1/3   1   2   2   1   1   14   2.25

MacDougal(BS1) 0   1   0   0   1   0   15   2.14

Hawksworth 2/3   0   0   0   0   0   12   2.70

Lindblom 1   2   1   1   1   0   19   2.25

Colorado IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Nicasio 5   7   4   4   1   4   94   3.50

Brothers 1   0   0   0   0   2   15   0.00

Mat.Reynolds 1   4   3   3   1   0   29   3.63

B't'nc'rt (W2)(H15) 1   0   0   0   0   0   14   2.92

Street (S 18-20) 1   1   0   0   0   1   16   3.30

Kershaw pitched to 3 batters in the 7th.MacDougal pitched to 3 batters in the 7th. IR-S: Elbert 3-2, MacDougal 3-3, Hawksworth 3-0. IBB: off Lindblom (Helton), off Mat.Reynolds (Uribe). HBP: by MacDougal (Wigginton). WP: Mat.Reynolds. Umpires: Home, Tim McClelland; first, Brian Runge; second, D.J. Reyburn; third, Marvin Hudson.

T: 3:29. A: 26,066 (50,490).