Associated Press
The National League roundup …
ATLANTAó Chipper Jonesí sore knee forced Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez to juggle his lineup and make rookie Freddie Freeman the cleanup hitter against the Rockies.
Freeman certainly looked comfortable in the role.
Freeman homered twice to drive in three runs, Tommy Hanson combined with two relievers on a four-hitter and Atlanta beat Colorado 4-1 on Monday night.
Freemanís two-run shot in the first inning drove in Brian McCann, who singled with two outs off Ubaldo Jimenez (3-8). Freeman hit his 11th homer in the eighth off Matt Reynolds for his first career two-homer game.
ěHeís been great,î Gonzalez said. ěFor a 21-year-old young man, heís been able to compete in the major leagues, get better and help us win ballgames.î
Jimenez was facing the Braves for the first time since throwing a no-hitter at Turner Field on April 17, 2010. It was the first no-hitter in Rockies history.
Freeman hit fourth ó McCannís normal spot ó for only the sixth time. Freeman has four homers and 11 RBIs in his last 11 games.
ěItís just one of those things,î Freeman said. ěI feel like Iím doing the same thing.î
Freeman, a left-handed hitter, said he was trying to go up the middle against Jimenez because ěyou donít want to try to pull a 96 mph two-seamer.î
Freeman hit the first-inning homer to left-center and then pulled his second homer of the game to right.
Hanson (10-4) gave up one run on four hits and one walk in seven innings. He had six strikeouts while lowering his ERA to 2.52.
Phillies 1, Marlins 0
MIAMI ó Vance Worley pitched seven sharp innings and Philadelphia scored the only run on a close play in the seventh to beat Florida.
Michael Martinez, playing for an injured Shane Victorino, got his fifth RBI with a single to center. A sliding Domonic Brown barely beat the throw home, although a TV replay appeared to show he was out.
Worley (4-1) allowed two singles and walked two while lowering his ERA to 2.21 in 10 games.
Cardinals 1, Reds 0
ST. LOUIS ó Chris Carpenter outdueled Cincinnati Reds nemesis Johnny Cueto with eight impressive innings, then watched from the dugout as pinch-hitter Mark Hamilton drove in the lone run with an infield hit for St. Louis.
Cueto (5-3) allowed six hits in eight innings in his first appearance against the Cardinals since he spiked Carpenter on the back and dealt Jason LaRue a career-ending concussion with kicks during a brawl in Cincinnati Aug. 11.
Pirates 5, Astros 3
PITTSBURGH ó Rookie Alex Presley had three of Pittsburgh’s 14 hits and the Pirates moved three games over .500 this late in the season for the first time in 12 years with a 5-3 win over Houston.
A day after matching a season high for hits with 16, the Pirates’ offense had 13 off Houston’s Brett Myers (3-8) ó the most he’s allowed in 234 career starters.
Padres 5, Giants 3
SAN FRANCISCO ó Will Venable hit his second home run of the season and San Diego pounced on Tim Lincecum in a victory over San Francisco.
Chase Headley, Orlando Hudson and Ryan Ludwick each had an RBI off Lincecum (6-7) to chase the Giants’ ace after five innings.
Diamondbacks 8, Brewers 6
MILWAUKEE ó Chris Young drove in the go-ahead run with a two-out single in the ninth inning and Arizona overcame a grand slam by pitcher Shaun Marcum, rallying from a five-run deficit to beat slumping Milwaukee.
Nationals 5, Cubs 4, 10 innings
WASHINGTON ó Jayson Werth turned boos to cheers by scoring the winning run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning, and the Nationals snagged another one-run victory.
Mets 5, Dodgers 2
LOS ANGELES ó Angel Pagan, Carlos Beltran and Daniel Murphy had RBI doubles in the sixth inning after the Mets were held hitless through five by Rubby De La Rosa, and New York went on to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-2 on Monday night.
Chris Capuano (8-7) allowed six hits and two runs in six innings. Francisco Rodriguez pitched the ninth to earn his 21st save in 24 chances.