Rockies Manage To Escape Sweep
National League
Kevin Ritz and two relievers combined on a five-hitter, and All-Star Eric Young had a pair of RBI singles as the Colorado Rockies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0 Sunday to avoid a four-game sweep in L.A.
The Dodgers won the series 3-1 after dropping three of four at Colorado last week. Their pitching staff, which allowed 52 runs and had an 11.76 ERA during the series at Coors Field, had a 2.00 ERA in this series.
Cubs 7, Reds 6 (13)
Chicago
Terry Shumpert lined a game-winning single off the left-field ivy with one out in the 13th inning as Chicago beat Cincinnati.
The Cubs had tied it with two outs in the ninth, getting two runs off Lee Smith.
Padres 10, Giants 3
San Diego
Ken Caminiti, added to the National League All-Star roster before the game, drove in three runs to lead San Diego to victory and a four-game sweep of San Francisco.
Caminiti was named as a replacement for Giants third baseman Matt Williams, who will miss the All-Star game with a bruised left elbow.
Pirates 8, Cardinals 2
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh finally figured out how to beat St. Louis, getting a two-run homer from Jeff King and three-run triple from Charlie Hayes.
The Pirates had been outscored 45-19 while losing six straight to St. Louis over two weekends.
Braves 9, Astros 1
Atlanta
Fred McGriff hit his first homer in 16 days and Greg Maddux won for the fourth time in five starts as Atlanta routed Houston.
McGriff, one of six Braves who will play in Tuesday’s All-Star Game at Philadelphia, showed signs of breaking out of his month-long slump. He hit two drives to the warning track - one a sacrifice fly - before his two-run shot to left-center in the eighth.
Expos 4, Mets 3
Montreal
Rheal Cormier pitched into the ninth and Darrin Fletcher hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the sixth inning as Montreal snapped a four-game losing streak, beating New York.
Marlins 7, Phils 4 (10)
Philadelphia
Charles Johnson hit an RBI double, and pinch-hitter Alex Arias had a run-scoring triple and scored on an error in the 10th as Florida won under interim manager Cookie Rojas. The Marlins had lost seven straight.
Clearing the bases
Giants pitchers have given up a league-high 118 homers. … The Cubs go to the All-Star break five games below .500 and five games back in the N.L. Central. A year ago, they were five games above .500 at the All-Star break (37-32) but were 6-1/2 games out.
Jeff King’s 21 homers are the most by a Pirates player at the All-Star break since Willie Stargell hit 24 in 1973. … Despite two straight losses, Houston has won 11 of 16 in Atlanta since 1993.
Philadelphia’s Mickey Morandini was caught stealing for the first time in 19 attempts this season. It happened during a firstinng hit-and-run. … Mike Blowers of the Dodgers had his hitting streak ended at 19 games, the longest of his career.