Benes Shakes Off Discouraging Start

After giving up two runs in the first inning Saturday to the San Francisco Giants, St. Louis pitcher Andy Benes sat quietly by himself in the dugout.

“I thought about what happened and I put it behind me,” he said. “Anytime you have a bad inning, it’s important to put it behind you and go on.”

Benes’ time alone in the dugout certainly did the trick. He went on to strike out 12 as the Cardinals beat San Francisco 9-3 Saturday in San Francisco.

Benes (3-2) allowed five hits, leaving after seven innings with an 8-2 lead.

“He pitched a tremendous ballgame,” said St. Louis left fielder Ron Gant. “He could have given up a little bit after that first inning, but he didn’t. He came right back that next inning.”

Dodgers 10, Braves 3

Los Angeles

Tom Glavine, making his first start since becoming baseball’s highest-paid pitcher, was roughed up for five first-inning runs as Los Angeles beat Atlanta.

Ramon Martinez (4-3) pitched a three-hitter for his first complete game since last Sept. 19. The right-hander struck out eight and walked three while ending Atlanta’s seven-game winning streak and the Dodgers’ six-game losing streak.

Glavine, the winningest pitcher in the majors since 1991, signed a four-year extension for $34 million to vault past Roger Clemens on the salary list. The deal included an option year that could bump the total package to $42 million.

Astros 7, Rockies 0

Denver

Darryl Kile pitched seven strong innings and Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio each homered to lead Houston over Colorado.

Kile (5-2), who is 4-0 in his last five games with a 0.47 ERA, won his first game in four starts at Coors Field. He limited Colorado to four hits and three walks, while striking out five.

The Rockies lost for the 13th time in 17 games.

Reds 4, Cubs 1 (12)

Cincinnati

Curtis Goodwin’s three-run homer in the 12th inning gave Cincinnati a victory over Chicago, which blew a ninth-inning lead and had a homer overturned on appeal.

Until the Reds rallied in the ninth, everything revolved around Sammy Sosa, who hit one homer and had another overturned on appeal in the ninth inning.

In the top of the ninth, third-base umpire Frank Pulli initially ruled that Sosa’s drive down the left-field line was fair, even though the ball appeared to hook foul.

As Sosa rounded the bases for what would have been a two-run homer and a 3-0 lead, Pulli consulted with home plate umpire Greg Bonin, who ruled the ball had gone foul.

Mets 8, Phillies 4

Philadelphia

Darren Daulton grounded out with the bases loaded to end the game and Philadelphia’s ninth-inning rally fell short, giving New York the win.

Down 8-1, the Phillies started to come back in the final inning. Ruben Amaro hit a two-out, two-run single off Rick Trlicek, and Mickey Morandini had an RBI single off Greg McMichael.

Expos 7, Pirates 3

Montreal

Rookie Vladimir Guerrero drove in a season-high four runs and Jeff Juden won his 10th consecutive decision as Montreal defeated Pittsburgh.

Juden (5-0) gave up three runs and six hits in 6-2/3 innings while extending a winning streak dating to the end of the 1995 season.

Marlins 9, Padres 7

San Diego

Edgar Renteria hit a tiebreaking RBI double in a three-run eighth inning as Florida beat San Diego.

Clearing the bases

Colorado’s Vinny Castilla was given the day off. After hitting .360 in April, with nine homers and 25 RBIs, Castilla is at .151 (11 for 73) with six RBIs in May. … Giants reliever Jim Poole’s wife gave birth to a girl Saturday morning. … The Reds put Reggie Sanders on the 15-day disabled list after he severely sprained his right ankle.