Friday's MLB Recaps

Chicago Cubs 3, Pittsburgh 2

Rich Hill (1-0) picked up his first win of the year Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field. Hill allowed only one run on three hits through five innings of work. Mark DeRosa, Russ Johnson, and Eric Patterson each had RBIs in the fourth for the Cubs.

Xavier Nady had a RBI single in the second and Nate McLouth homered in the eighth for Pittsburgh. Ian Snell (2-1) allowed all three Cub runs and picked up his first loss of the season.

Boston 11, Texas 3

David Ortiz may have snapped out of his slump with his first home run since April 2. Ortiz homered with the bases loaded in the third inning off Luis Mendoza to give the Red Sox the lead for good. He also drove in a run in the eighth with a single.

Boston added five runs in the fourth as their bats continued to stay hot. Daisuke Matsuzaka (4-0) worked five and one-third innings allowing just three runs. Luis Mendoza (0-2) took the loss.

NY Mets 6, Philadelphia 4

Johan Santana evened his record at 2-2 as the Mets moved into first place in the National League East. Santana allowed three runs over seven innings, including a solo home run by Chase Utley in the seventh.

David Wright was the offensive star, going 4-for-4, including two doubles and a triple, and driving in two runs. Greg Dobbs came off the Phillies' bench in the eighth and hit a pinch-hit three-run home run off Aaron Heilman to bring the Phillies within one. However, Billy Wagner slammed the door for his third save. Cole Hamels (2-2) was the losing pitcher.

Baltimore 8, NY Yankees 2

Baltimore exploded for seven runs in the sixth inning, which proved to be the deciding factor in the victory. The Orioles picked up seven hits against three different Yankee pitchers in the inning. Melvin Mora and Jay Payton each drove in two runs to lead the balanced Oriole attack.

Daniel Cabrera (1-0) was the beneficiary as he picked up his first win of the year. Phil Hughes (0-3) continued his struggles.

Detroit 8, Toronto 4

The Detroit Tigers finally seem to be coming together as they picked up another win, this time against the Toronto Blue Jays. Detroit trailed 4-1 after five innings but rallied with two runs in the sixth and four more in the seventh for the victory.

Edgar Renteria led the offensive barrage with a three-run home run in the seventh inning off Scott Downs. Kenny Rogers (1-3) picked up his first win and Jeremy Accardo (0-3) took his third loss.

Chicago White Sox 9, Tampa Bay 2

Jim Thome and Paul Konerko hit back-to-back home runs in the third inning and the White Sox never look back from there in route to a 9-2 victory in Tampa. Juan Uribe also drove in two runs for the Sox.

Javier Vazquez (3-1) limited the Rays to two runs over six and one-third innings to pick up the victory. Jonny Gomes drove in both runs for the Rays with a double in the sixth inning. Jeff Niemann (1-1) took the loss.

Washington 6, Florida 4

Nick Johnson's bases-clearing double in the seventh proved to be the difference as the Washington bullpen was able to hang on for the victory. Johnson also drove in a run in the first inning with a sacrifice fly.

Justin Miller (1-1), who was responsible for the three runners that scored on Johnson's double, was saddled with the loss. Tim Redding (3-1) struck out ten Marlins over six innings to earn his third win of the year.

Milwaukee 5, Cincinnati 2

Ben Sheets (3-0) did not surrender a run over five innings to earn his third victory of the season. Eric Gagne came on in the ninth and picked up his fifth save.

Bill Hall homered with a runner on against Bronson Arroyo (0-2), who took the loss. Prince Fielder, Corey Hart, and Jason Kendall each drove in a run for the Brewers.

Atlanta 6, LA Dodgers 1

Chipper Jones homered twice for the second straight night as the Braves picked up their second win in as many nights. Jeff Bennett came up just one out short of picking up the victory, as he was not able to work out of a fifth-inning jam.

Will Ohman (1-0) came on in relief and picked up the win. Juan Pierre drove in Andruw Jones, who went 1-for-3 with a double in his return to Turner Field, in the seventh. Derek Lowe (1-1) took his first loss of the season.

Colorado 11, Houston 5

After a 22-inning marathon last night, the Rockies took care of this one early with six runs in the first inning. Garrett Atkins, Troy Tulowitzki, Jeff Baker, and Chris Ianetta all had multi-RBI nights for Colorado. Five different players each drove in a run for Houston.

Franklin Morales (1-1) allowed four runs over five innings in the inning effort. Chris Sampson (0-2) was the losing pitcher after lasting only two-thirds of an inning and allowing six runs.

Cleveland 4, Minnesota 0

Cliff Lee (3-0) allowed only two hits over eight innings to earn his third victory early in the season. Rafael Perez pitched a scoreless ninth to finish off the shutout for Cleveland.

Casey Blake drove in three of Cleveland's four runs, including a solo home run in the seventh inning off Juan Rincon. Francisco Liriano (0-2) remained winless after allowing three runs in five innings.

St. Louis 11, San Francisco 1

The first three batters in the order for the Cardinals accounted for eight runs as the offense exploded against San Francisco. Chris Duncan and Albert Pujols homered off Matt Cain (0-2), who gave up nine runs.

Skip Schumaker scored three times and drove in two from the lead off spot for St. Louis. Fred Lewis drove in the only Giants run. Todd Wellemeyer improved to 2-0 on the year.

Arizona 9, San Diego 0

After managing just one run over 22 innings last night, the Padres offensive woes continued as three Arizona pitchers combined to shut them out. Dan Haren (3-0) scattered three hits and a walk over seven innings to earn his third victory.

Conor Jackson had a career night with a double, two triples, a home run, and four runs driven in, all against Greg Maddux. Maddux (2-1) surrendered nine runs and 13 hits over seven innings.

LA Angels 5, Seattle 4

Richie Sexson homered twice off Joe Saunders, but it wasn't enough as Sexson received little help on offense from his teammates. Saunders (3-0) allowed four runs over eight innings to pick up the victory.

Francisco Rodriguez pitched a scoreless ninth the pick up his seventh save of the season. Torii Hunter doubled three times and drove in three runs for the Angels against losing pitcher R.A. Dickey (0-1).

Oakland 13, Kansas City 2

Bobby Crosby drove in five runs and Emil Brown drove in three as the Athletics offense exploded in Oakland against the Royals. Brian Bannister (3-1) could not continue his winning ways allowing five runs over five innings.

Chad Gaudin (1-1) limited the Royals to two runs over seven innings and earned his first victory of the year. Billy Butler drove in a run for Kansas City.