Major Leagues: National League Roundup

Saturday, July 04, 2009 12:35 AM  |  Printer friendly version | E-mail to a friend |

Associated Press

The National League roundup ...CINCINNATI — Albert Pujols hit his club-record fourth grand slam of the season, and Jarrett Hoffpauir drove in the go-ahead runs in the ninth inning with his first career hit as St. Louis beat Cincinnati 7-4 on Friday night.

Hoffpauir, playing his first major league game after being recalled Wednesday from Triple-A Memphis, capitalized on shortstop Paul Janish's two-out error with a bases-loaded single off Daniel Ray Herrera (1-4) to snap a 4-4 tie.

The win gave the Cardinals sole possession of first place in the NL Central, a game ahead of Milwaukee.

Pujols gave the Cardinals a 4-3 lead in the eighth with his 10th career slam, also a team record, but the Reds tied it on Ramon Hernandez's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning.

Pujols, who leads the majors with 31 home runs and 82 RBIs, added an RBI double in the ninth.

Rockies 5, Diamondbacks 0

DENVER — Jorge De La Rosa pitched eight innings and Ian Stewart hit a solo homer for Colorado.

The Rockies have won a season-best six straight at Coors Field, and moved to 24-9 overall since Jim Tracy replaced Clint Hurdle as manager.

De La Rosa (5-7), who has never had a complete game, won for the fifth time in six starts, allowing four hits and striking out six. The left-hander got 14 groundball outs.

Pirates 7, Marlins 4

MIAMI — Brandon Moss and Ramon Vazquez homered and Charlie Morton pitched six shutout innings for Pittsburgh.

Hanley Ramirez failed to drive in a run for the first time in 11 games for Florida, which was coming off a three-game sweep of Washington.

The Pirates improved to 14-8 against the NL East.

Phillies 7, Mets 2

PHILADELPHIA — Rodrigo Lopez took a three-hitter into the seventh inning in his first outing in two years, helping Philadelphia snap a six-game home losing streak.

Lopez (1-0) allowed two runs and six hits in 6 1-3 innings to earn his first win since beating the Phillies on July 7, 2007, when he played for Colorado. The right-hander hadn't pitched in the majors since having elbow ligament replacement surgery 23 months ago.

The NL East-leading Phillies were swept by Toronto and Baltimore in consecutive three-game series at Citizens Bank Park last month. They won for just the fifth time in 19 games.

Mets starter Livan Hernandez (5-4) lasted three-plus innings, allowing seven runs and 10 hits.

Jayson Werth hit a solo homer and Jimmy Rollins had two hits and two RBIs for the Phillies.

Cubs 2, Brewers 1, 10 innings

CHICAGO — Chicago's Jake Fox drew a bases-loaded walk from Mark DiFelice to force in the winning run with two outs in the 10th inning.

Ryan Theriot singled off second baseman Craig Counsell's glove with one out in the 10th and went to second on a wild pitch from DiFelice (4-1).