Unhappy ending
The Philadelphia Phillies thought Marlon Anderson was out of line. So did second base umpire C.B. Bucknor.
The New York Mets' outfielder slid hard into second in the ninth inning Wednesday night, trying to break up a double play and allow the tying run to score. Instead, he knocked down Phillies second baseman Tadahito Iguchi and Bucknor ruled interference, giving Philadelphia a 3-2 victory over the division leaders.
"I know it shouldn't have been a double play, but at the same time we have to abide by the rule of the umpire," said Anderson, who ripped off his helmet and joined manager Willie Randolph in a futile protest.
"I'm just glad the umpire made the call and took care of it," Iguchi said through an interpreter. "I think we were fortunate he was right on the play."
Crew chief Joe West spoke on Bucknor's behalf.
"Marlon Anderson went after the second baseman to break up the double play and did not, and could not reach the base, which is what he argued," he told a pool reporter. "He went out of his way to interfere with the play that created the interference. C.B. made a great call, made a gutsy call and he didn't back down from the call at all."
Jimmy Rollins and Pat Burrell homered, and Brett Myers survived the wild ninth to help the Phillies to within three games of the NL East leaders.
At Chicago, Ben Sheets (11-4) came off the disabled list to work six strong innings, and Ryan Braun hit a bases-loaded double during a four-run seventh inning as the Brewers moved within 1Z\x games of the first-place Cubs in the NL Central.
At Houston, Roy Oswalt (14-6) allowed four hits and struck out nine in seven dominant innings as the Astros gave Cecil Cooper his first win since replacing Phil Garner as manager on Monday.The Cardinals, who remained two games back in the NL Central, lost for the third time in nine games.
At San Diego, Brian Giles homered in the third and scored the go-ahead run on Mike Cameron's double in the eighth, backing a strong outing by Greg Maddux and pushing the Padres a percentage point ahead of the Diamondbacks in the NL West.
At Los Angeles, Shea Hillenbrand hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning and a sacrifice fly off Saul Rivera (4-5) in the 12th as Los Angeles rallied from a five-run deficit to finish a three-game sweep.
At Miami, Matt Diaz homered twice and Atlanta beat Dontrelle Willis (8-14) to salvage a win at the end of a disappointing trip leading up to a series against the NL East-leading Mets.
At San Francisco, Jeff Francis (14-6) pitched a six-hitter for his second career shutout, Garrett Atkins homered twice and Colorado avoided a three-game sweep.
At Oakland, Calif., Jack Hannahan hit a game-ending single with two outs in the 11th inning to help Oakland snap a five-game losing streak.
Rookie Asdrubal Cabrera's two-run homer and Victor Martinez's solo shot off Johan Santana in a four-run first helped first-place Cleveland win their fifth straight.The Indians' seventh win in eight games, coupled with Detroit's 5-0 loss in Kansas City, upped Cleveland's lead in the AL Central to 4Z\x games over the second-place Tigers.
At Kansas City, Esteban German hit a go-ahead triple in a five-run first inning against rookie Andrew Miller and the Royals used four pitchers to hand the Tigers their second shutout of the year.
At Seattle, Jered Weaver (10-6) won for the fourth time in five decisions, Garret Anderson had four hits and Los Angeles completed a three-game sweep and open a five-game lead in the AL West.
At New York, Roger Clemens (6-5) allowed only two hits and outpitched a much younger ace in leading the Yankees past Josh Beckett (16-6) and Boston.
At Baltimore, Dioner Navarro singled in the tiebreaking run in the 12th inning, , handing the Orioles their eighth straight loss.
At Arlington, Texas, Sammy Sosa hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 11th inning to lift Texas.
