Major League Baseball roundup: September 7, 2007

September 8, 2007

Smoltz flirts with no-hitter, Braves win

 * Braves 7, Nationals 1: Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz lost a no-hitter after seven innings, giving up a single to Ronnie Belliard in the first at-bat of the eighth inning; after allowing the hit, Smoltz left the game to cheers from the home crowd. Belliard later scored, so Smoltz (13-7) finished with one hit and one earned run for the win.  Joel Hanrahan (4-3) pitched 4 1/3 innings, giving up five runs (four earned) for the loss.  The Nationals committed five errors in the game, three of them by third-baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who also went 0-4, striking out all four times he batted.  In the ninth inning of the game, a fan ran onto the field; he was immediately tackled by security officers, but one officer was injured after he landed on his head in the scuffle, and the game was halted while the officer was carted off the field for treatment.  The Braves (72-69) are 7.5 games back of the Mets in the NL East, and 4.5 games back of the Padres in the NL Wild Card race.

Other games

 * White Sox 11, Twins 10, 13 inn: In a wild game that saw the Twins score six runs in the 9th inning to break a 4-4 tie, only to allow six runs to the White Sox in the bottom half of the inning, A.J. Pierzynski finally won the game in the 13th inning with a bases-loaded walkoff single.  Heath Phillips (1-1) got the win, giving up one hit in the 13th.  Juan Rincon (3-3) pitched 1 1/3 inning, allowing the winning run for the loss.


 * Red Sox 4, Orioles 0: Jon Lester (4-0) gave up four hits in seven scoreless innings for the win.  The Red Sox (86-56) lead the Yankees in the AL East by 6.5 games.


 * Yankees 3, Royals 2: Bobby Abreu knocked in the winning run in the 7th on an RBI double.  The Yankees (79-62) lead the AL Wild Card race by 3 games over the Tigers.


 * Angels 3, Indians 2, 10 inn: Ryan Garko tied the game at 2-2 for the Indians in the 9th inning, but Kendry Morales hit a walkoff single to score Chone Figgins in the bottom of the 10th.  The Angels (84-57) lead the AL West by 9 games over the Mariners, while the Indians (81-60) lead the AL Central by 5 games over the Tigers.


 * Tigers 6, Mariners 1: Curtis Granderson went 2-4, hitting his 20th homer of the year and becoming only the 6th player in MLB history to hit 20 doubles, 20 triples and 20 home runs in the same season.  The Tigers (76-65) trail the Indians in the AL Central by 5 games, and trail the Yankees in the AL Wild Card by 3 games.


 * Mets 11, Astros 3: Carlos Beltran hit the game-winning solo homer and an RBI single in the game. The Mets (79-61) lead the NL East by 6 games.


 * Marlins 6, Phillies 3: Miguel Olivo hit a solo homer and an RBI double, and scored two runs in the game; all three of the Phillies' runs came off a Pat Burrell three-run homer in the 4th.  The Phillies trail the Mets by 6 games in the NL East, and trail the Padres by 3 games in the NL Wild Card.


 * Pirates 6, Cubs 1: Jack Wilson finished a triple shy of the cycle, hitting a two-run homer and an RBI double to help the Pirates to a victory.  The Cubs (71-69) are tied with the Brewers in the NL Central.


 * Reds 11, Brewers 4: A six-run first inning sealed the game for the Reds, led by Ken Griffey Jr., who hit his 30th homer of the year, a two-run shot in the 2nd, and drove in a run off a 1st inning single.  The Brewers (71-69) are tied with the Cubs in the NL Central.


 * Diamondbacks 4, Cardinals 2: Eric Byrnes drove in the tying run off an RBI double, and scored the winning run off a fielder's choice in the 6th inning.  The Diamondbacks (79-63) lead the NL West by 2 games, while the Cardinals (69-69) trail the Cubs and Brewers by 1 game in the NL Central.


 * Rockies 10, Padres 4: The Padres lost their third straight game; Rockies starting pitcher Elmer Dessens left due to injury in the third inning.  The Padres (76-64) trail the Diamondbacks by 2 games in the NL West, but lead the NL Wild Card by 2.5 games.


 * Rangers 5, Athletics 3: Rangers leadoff batter Frank Catalanotto went 3-4 with a solo homer, an RBI triple, and an RBI infield single.


 * Giants 5, Dodgers 4: After the Giants lost a one-run lead on a James Loney solo homer in the top of the 9th, the Giants' Dan Ortmeier answered back with a walk-off homer to win the game.


 * Blue Jays 7, Devil Rays 2: Matt Stairs hit RBI singles to right field in the 5th and 6th innings; in the 5th inning, John McDonald and Vernon Wells scored; in the 6th inning, McDonald scored, but Wells was thrown out at home.