WASHINGTON — Ryan Zimmerman’s line drive to right-center kept going — and going and going — until it landed in the first row, highlighting another big Fourth of July for the resurgent third baseman as the NL East-leading Washington Nationals
WASHINGTON — Ryan Zimmerman’s line drive to right-center kept going — and going and going — until it landed in the first row, highlighting another big Fourth of July for the resurgent third baseman as the NL East-leading Washington Nationals beat the San Francisco Giants 9-4 Wednesday.
Zimmerman missed another home run by inches — he had to settle for an RBI double — on a humid day when the ball carried well at Nationals Park. He is 10-for-20 with four homers and 13 RBIs in six Independence Day games.
Undeterred by an 11:08 a.m. holiday start time that followed a late-finishing game, Washington rallied from an early deficit to move 15 games above .500, matching its season-high.
PHILLIES 9, METS 2
NEW YORK — Cliff Lee finally posted his first win of the season, and the Phillies hit three late homers, breaking past the Mets and stopping a six-game losing streak.
Chase Utley and Carlos Ruiz hit consecutive home runs in the seventh inning as the Phillies rallied from a 2-0 deficit. Ty Wigginton’s two-run homer in the ninth capped the surge.
Lee (1-5) had gone a puzzling 13 starts this year without a victory, a big reason the five-time NL East champions have fallen far behind.
Facing the Mets, Lee wound up going eight innings, and he struck out nine, most of them looking.
PIRATES 6, ASTROS 4
PITTSBURGH — Mike McKenry and Pedro Alvarez drove in two runs apiece, and the Pirates looked pretty comfortable during their first day in first place, beating the Astros.
Kevin Correia (5-6) won his third straight decision as the streaking Pirates moved nine games above .500 (45-36) for the first time since Barry Bonds was swinging for the fences at Three Rivers Stadium 20 years ago. Joel Hanrahan pitched the ninth for his 21st save. Garrett Jones added two hits for Pittsburgh, which has won seven of eight.
MARLINS 7, BREWERS 6 (10)
MILWAUKEE — Hanley Ramirez hit an RBI single off reliever Manny Parra in the 10th inning, and the Marlins went on to beat the Brewers.
Ramirez’s big hit came after the Marlins rallied from a one-run deficit in the ninth, when Gaby Sanchez hit a solo home run off Brewers closer John Axford to tie the game at 6.
After the Brewers left a pair of runners on base in the bottom of the ninth, Parra got two quick outs to start the 10th. But he gave up a double to Donovan Solano, and Ramirez singled up the middle to give the Marlins the lead.
CARDINALS 4, ROCKIES 1
ST. LOUIS — Adam Wainwright pitched six strong innings, and Matt Holliday had three hits to lead the Cardinals over the Rockies.
Wainwright (7-8) gave up one run, struck out seven and allowed eight hits to help the Cardinals win for the third time in four games.
CUBS 5, BRAVES 1
ATLANTA — Bryan LaHair, Jeff Baker and Anthony Rizzo hit home runs, and the Cubs continued their success against Atlanta.
Paul Maholm (6-6) gave up one run on eight hits in six innings.
DODGERS 4, REDS 1
LOS ANGELES — Aaron Harang pitched seven strong innings against his former team, and the Dodgers defeated the Reds to win consecutive games for the first time since June 9-10.
Harang (6-5) allowed one run and three hits, struck out five and walked one.
PADRES 8, D’BACKS 6
PHOENIX — Yasmani Grandal hit a two-run pinch-hit homer in the eighth inning that propelled the Padres to a victory over the Diamondbacks and their first ever three-game sweep in Phoenix.
