Latos picks up first win as Reds beat Giants

By JOE KAY

Associated Press

CINCINNATI — Mat Latos finally got his first win for Cincinnati after putting his price tag out of mind.

The right-hander pitched seven shutout innings against an old NL West nemesis, and Brandon Phillips homered and drove in three runs Tuesday night, leading the Reds to a 9-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants.

Latos (1-2) came to the Reds in a four-player deal with San Diego that included starter Edinson Volquez and two prospects who were first-round draft picks. He found himself trying to pitch up to that high price in his first three outings.

“It’s always in the back of your mind,” Latos said. “It’s like you’re saying, ‘Wow, they traded four players for me.’ Who’s to say you’re worth four players, but it’s always in the back of your mind that, if you come here and don’t perform, it’s going to be a long season.”

He was back on his game against the Giants, allowing only four singles.

“It’s good to get him that first win, big-time,” manager Dusty Baker said. “He told me after his last start, ‘Skip, that won’t happen again.’ He’s a man of his word.”

Latos pitched out of the Giants’ only big threat, getting Nate Schierholtz to ground into a forceout after the Giants loaded the bases on a single and two walks with two outs.

“He pitched like he’s capable,” Phillips said. “It’s all about getting comfortable. He looked very good. I was very proud of him.”

Phillips hit a two-run homer in the first inning off Matt Cain (1-1) after being called out on a foul tip. The umpires decided the tipped ball hit the dirt, giving him another swing.

The Giants have lost six straight and 11 of 15 at Great American Ball Park.

Pablo Sandoval singled in his final at-bat, leaving him with a hit in each of the Giants’ 17 games. It’s the second-longest hitting streak to open a season in franchise history, one behind Johnny Rucker of the 1945 New York Giants.

Buster Posey hit a two-run homer in the ninth after Cincinnati’s Sam LeCure threw a pitch inside, drawing a warning to both benches. Cincinnati’s Joey Votto was hit in the seventh.

Cain was in one of the best stretches of his career when he loosened up on a cool, breezy evening in Cincinnati. The right-hander had thrown 18 shutout innings in his last two starts, two innings shy of his career best. In those two starts, only four runners reached base.

A foul tip led to the end of his scoreless streak.

Drew Stubbs doubled in the first inning. Phillips worked the count to 2-2, then tipped a pitch that Posey caught by the dirt. Plate umpire Vic Carapazza called Phillips out, but first base umpire Gerry Davis indicated that the foul tip hit the ground before reaching the catcher’s mitt.

Given the reprieve, Phillips homered to center on the next pitch.

Instead of having a quick, scoreless inning, Cain wound up throwing 38 pitches in the first. He got into a rhythm after that inning. Ryan Ludwick hit a solo homer off him in the seventh, when the Reds batted around for six runs.

Jay Bruce and Scott Rolen each had two-run doubles in the seventh off Dan Otero.

Latos’ win was his latest notable moment against the Giants. After San Francisco eliminated San Diego from contention in 2010, he signed three baseballs with “I Hate SF!” in the offseason as part of a fundraiser for major league players’ alumni association, insisting it was in good humor.

“That’s old news,” Latos said. “I’ve moved on. People have moved on. The Giants have moved on.”

METS 2, MARLINS 1

NEW YORK — Jose Reyes went hitless in his return to Citi Field and Lucas Duda lined a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning that caromed off reliever Edward Mujica.

,Johan Santana and Josh Johnson zipped through the first six innings in a crisp pitchers’ duel between healthy-looking aces. Santana, coming off the shortest start of his career, struck out 11 for the Mets while Johnson whiffed nine.

Both working on six days’ rest, each pitcher was charged with one run and three hits in 6 2-3 innings. Santana and Johnson both threw 67 strikes.

PIRATES 5, ROCKIES 4

PITTSBURGH — Andrew McCutchen had three RBIs, Casey McGehee drove in the go-ahead run with an eighth-inning single and the Pirates beat the Rockies.

McGehee’s two-out single to right off Matt Belisle (1-1) scored pinch-runner Nate McLouth. Clint Barmes had led off the eighth with his second home run to tie the game at 4-4.

Carlos Gonzalez hit his second two-run homer of the game in the top of the eighth to give Colorado the short-lived lead.

Tony Watson (1-0) earned the victory getting one out.

BREWERS 9, ASTROS 6

MILWAUKEE — Rickie Weeks capped a five-run sixth inning with a three-run homer — one of four Brewers’ homers in the game — and Randy Wolf picked up his first win of the season, as Milwaukee beat the Astros.

Corey Hart, Travis Ishikawa and Carlos Gomez also homered for Milwaukee, which moved back to .500 (9-9) and beat Houston for the 11th straight time.

The Astros have lost eight of 10.

Wolf (1-2) struggled over six innings, giving up four hits and four walks, and striking out four. Bud Norris (1-1) surrendered seven runs and nine hits in 5 2-3 innings — with Weeks sending his 102nd and last pitch deep above the Brewers bullpen.

John Axford allowed a single in the ninth but picked up his fourth save and 47th straight dating to last season.

CUBS 3, CARDINALS 2, 10 innings

CHICAGO — Alfonso Soriano hit a game-ending RBI single in the 10th inning and the Cubs beat St. Louis, ending the Cardinals’ run of 13 consecutive winning series.

Tony Campana sparked the winning rally with a one-out single off Fernando Salas (0-1). Campana then stole second in a close call that led to the first ejection for Cardinals manager Mike Matheny.

After Starlin Castro struck out, Bryan LaHair was walked intentionally before Soriano hit a full-count pitch off second baseman Tyler Greene and into the outfield. Campana scored easily to give the Cubs their second consecutive dramatic victory against the Cardinals

James Russell (1-0) pitched a scoreless inning to get the win.

PHILLIES 8, DIAMONDBACKS 5

PHOENIX — Hunter Pence hit a two-run homer, snapping an 0-for-16 slump, and the Phillies went on to beat the Diamondbacks.

Laynce Nix and Shane Victorino also homered and Vance Worley scattered five hits over six innings for the Phillies, who ended a three-game losing streak.

Worley (2-1) walked one and struck out six for his second straight win and Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth for his sixth save.

The Phillies’ eight runs were their most since an 8-2 win April 15 against the New York Mets. Philadelphia entered the game next-to-last in the majors with 48 runs scored.

Josh Collmenter (0-2) lost for the second consecutive outing, allowing a season-high six runs on nine hits over six-plus innings. He struck out six.

BRAVES 4, DODGERS 3

LOS ANGELES — Chipper Jones homered on his 40th birthday, Martin Prado had two RBIs including a run-scoring triple in the ninth inning, and the Braves beat the Dodgers.

Tyler Pastornicky greeted Dodgers closer Javy Guerra (1-2) with a leadoff single in the ninth and advanced on a sacrifice by pinch-hitter Jack Wilson. Michael Bourn struck out, but Prado drove a 1-2 pitch to center field and over the head of two-time Gold Glove winner Matt Kemp, who caught up to it in the warning track but couldn’t hold onto the ball.

Eric O’Flaherty (1-0) pitched 1 1-3 hitless innings for the victory and Craig Kimbrel worked a scoreless ninth for his sixth save in as many attempts.

NATIONALS 3, PADRES 1

SAN DIEGO — Gio Gonzalez ran his scoreless innings streak to 20 over three starts and the NL East-leading Nationals beat the Padres on just four hits at spacious Petco Park.

Chad Tracy, pinch-hitting for Gonzalez, hit a two-run single with one out in the seventh to chase Clayton Richard.

San Diego, last in the NL West, was trying for its first three-game winning streak of the season after splitting a four-game series with Philadelphia.

Gonzalez (2-0) allowed two singles in six innings, struck out six and walked two. Henry Rodriguez pitched the ninth for his fifth save in as many chances.

Richard (1-2) allowed two runs and three hits in 6 1-3 innings, struck out six and walked five.

Royals lose 12th straight

CLEVELAND — Derek Lowe allowed one run over six innings and the Cleveland Indians handed the Kansas City Royals their 12th straight loss, 4-3.

The Royals have been outscored 73-44 during the streak, which ties for third-longest in team history. They also lost 12 in a row in 1997 and 2008. Kansas City lost 13 straight in 2006 and had a team-record 19 consecutive losses in 2005.

Cleveland built upon a recently completed 7-2 trip by returning to Progressive Field and earning their second home win in six games.

Lowe (3-1) gave up eight hits and struck out five. Chris Perez got his seventh save, allowing a ninth-inning run.

MARINERS 7, TIGERS 4

DETROIT — Alex Liddi had a career-high three hits, including a solo homer, and the Mariners beat the Tigers.

Miguel Cabrera and Alex Avila homered for the Tigers, but it wasn’t enough to overcome an early 4-0 deficit. Michael Saunders drove in three runs for Seattle, which snapped a four-game losing streak.

Jason Vargas (3-1) pitched six innings for the Mariners, allowing four runs and six hits. He struck out four and walked one. Three relievers finished, with Brandon League pitching a hitless ninth for his sixth save.

Max Scherzer (1-2) allowed five runs and 10 hits in five innings. He struck out six and walked two.

ORIOLES 2, BLUE JAYS 1

BALTIMORE — Tommy Hunter allowed three hits over six innings, Matt Wieters homered off the glove of left fielder Eric Thames, and the Orioles beat the Blue Jays.

Hunter (2-1) allowed one run, walked three and struck out three. The only runner to get past first base against the right-hander was Thames, who hit a long home run in the third inning.

Pedro Strop, the fourth Orioles reliever, pitched the ninth for his first career save. Baltimore’s usual closer, Jim Johnson, spent Monday night in a hospital with flulike symptoms and was unavailable, manager Buck Showalter said before the game.

Henderson Alvarez (0-2) took the loss despite allowing only two runs and five hits over seven innings.

RAYS 5, ANGELS 0

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — David Price pitched a five-hitter for his second career shutout, Tampa Bay homered four times, and the Rays beat the Angels.

Price (3-1) gave up all singles in his first shutout since a four-hitter against Toronto on April 25, 2010. His only other complete game came July 2, 2010, against Minnesota.

Desmond Jennings, Luke Scott, B.J. Upton and Carlos Pena hit solo homers off Angels starter Ervin Santana (0-4), who has given up at least two home runs in each of his first four starts this season — a total of 10 overall. Don Sutton, in 1986, is the only other Angels pitcher to allow multiple homers in his first four starts, according to Stats LLC.

RED SOX 11, TWINS 2

MINNEAPOLIS — Josh Beckett had five strikeouts and one confrontation with an umpire in six sharp innings and David Ortiz homered with three RBIs to lead the Red Sox to a romp over the Twins.

Beckett (2-2) allowed two runs and five hits and Mike Aviles went 4 for 5 with a homer and two RBIs for the Red Sox, who had no trouble with this big lead after squandering a nine-run advantage in a loss to the New York Yankees on Saturday.

Beckett jawed with home plate umpire Adrian Johnson after a rough first inning, but the fiery Texan finished his evening by striking out the side in the sixth.

Nick Blackburn (0-2) gave up five runs and eight hits in just three innings for the Twins.

ATHLETICS 2, WHITE SOX 0

OAKLAND, Calif. — Pinch-hitter Kurt Suzuki doubled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, Tommy Milone outdueled Gavin Floyd and the Athletics beat the White Sox.

Daric Barton drew a leadoff walk in the eighth and Luke Hughes struck out before Matt Thornton relieved Floyd (1-3). Suzuki doubled to left and Barton scored easily, then Eric Sogard added an RBI single as the A’s ended a 16-inning scoreless stretch going back to Sunday’s 5-1 victory against Cleveland.

Chicago’s stellar pitching produced yet another strong outing on a road trip full of them, but the White Sox had their four-game winning streak snapped along with a six-game road winning streak.

Milone (3-1) matched Floyd all night until Oakland’s offense finally capitalized.