Hampton gets his 1st win in nearly 3 years
Mike Hampton is definitely going to remember this one. Josh Johnson also had a reason to feel good about his victory.
Hampton earned his first win in nearly three years and hit an RBI double, leading the Atlanta Braves past the San Francisco Giants 11-4 Tuesday.
The 35-year-old Hampton hadn't won since Aug. 14, 2005, for the Braves against Arizona — 1,087 days earlier — and wondered if he would ever get another 'W' by his name.
"There's always been some doubt with all the things I've been through, all the health issues," Hampton said. "I just kept pushing to get to this point I'm at today. One thing I've learned through this whole process is don't take anything for granted — cherish every single one of them."
Johnson pitched six scoreless innings and the Florida Marlins beat the Philadelphia Phillies 8-2 in a matchup of the two top teams in the NL East.
The Marlins, who have by far the lowest payroll in the majors, closed within 1Z\x games of first-place Philadelphia. The New York Mets are two games behind.
Johnson (2-0) allowed five hits and overcame four walks in his fifth start since returning from elbow surgery in August 2007. The Marlins improved to 5-0 in his starts this year.
"My changeup was real good. That's what I've been waiting for," Johnson said.
Hampton (1-0) allowed two runs and four hits in seven innings. He improved to 14-4 in 25 career appearances against the Giants with his first win over them since May 11, 2003, which also was his last start versus San Francisco.
Ryan Ludwick hit a two-run homer in the 11th inning off Jason Johnson, a starter called into duty, to give St. Louis the win.Manny Ramirez went 2-for-3 and Johnson recorded one out for the Dodgers.
Fernando Tatis homered twice and drove in four runs, giving the Mets' mix-and-match bullpen enough breathing room to close out visiting San Diego without injured Billy Wagner.
Alfonso Soriano hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the seventh inning and host Chicago rallied after blowing a five-run lead.
Prince Fielder made amends by apologizing, then hit a two-run homer that helped visiting Milwaukee quickly move beyond its ugly altercation in the dugout.The Brewers were on their best behavior a day after Fielder shoved pitcher Manny Parra in the dugout during the series-opening loss. Fielder apologized before the game, then helped Milwaukee's uptight offense relax by hitting his sixth homer in his last nine games.
Brad Hawpe's bases-loaded, two-run single in the bottom of the eighth sparked a six-run rally for host Colorado.
At Anaheim, Calif., Chris Walters, making his first major league start, held the team with baseball's best record to one hit over eight innings, and Baltimore beat Los Angeles.
Josh Hamilton hit his 27th homer, rookie Matt Harrison (3-2) pitched into the seventh inning and Texas hung on to beat visiting New York.
Jason Bay had four hits and two RBI and Josh Beckett pitched effectively into the seventh to lead visiting Boston.Beckett, 0-3 with a 5.31 earned run average while allowing 29 hits in 20 1-3 innings in his previous three starts, held the Royals to four hits and two runs in 6 2-3 innings. He struck out seven and walked two.
Nick Swisher hit a three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the 14th inning and the host White Sox rallied for four runs off Joel Zumaya (0-1) to beat Detroit.
Evan Longoria, Dioner Navarro and Cliff Floyd homered to help the host Rays get the win.
At Seattle, Raul Ibanez drove in five more runs and the Mariners rallied in the bottom of the eighth off Twins closer Joe Nathan, dropping Minnesota out of first in the AL Central.
Kevin Mench singled in the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning and Toronto extended visiting Oakland's season-high losing streak to eight games.
