Doug Davis did more than pitch the Diamondbacks to an easy win at Atlanta. He inspired several teammates – and a few opponents, too.
Making his first major league start since cancer surgery, the 32-year-old left-hander allowed one run in seven innings of Arizona’s 11-1 victory over the Braves on Friday night.
Doctors removed Davis’ thyroid gland on April 10 and declared him cancer-free this month.
“Everybody kind of realized what they are all about today, a little more than baseball,” Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin said.
Davis (2-1) looked strong and relaxed in his first big league start since April 8. He gave up five hits with four strikeouts and two walks before receiving a group hug in the dugout when he was pulled for a pinch-hitter.
“You’re talking about life-threatening stuff,” Atlanta catcher Brian McCann said. “To overcome it and to get back on the field so early, we all in here tip our hats to him. It was a great performance.”
The energized Diamondbacks, who had just been swept in Florida, scored five runs in the first inning en route to their highest output of the year. Arizona’s five homers also set a season high.
Davis came off the disabled list after going 1-1 with a 3.72 ERA in two rehab starts for Triple-A Tucson.
“It felt great,” he said. “It was kind of hard to control the emotions sometimes because I’m excited to be back and I’m anxious to throw my pitches.”
In other NL games, it was: San Francisco 8, Florida 2; Colorado 6, New York 5 in 13 innings; Chicago 12, Pittsburgh 3; Houston 4, Philadelphia 3; Cincinnati 3, San Diego 2; St. Louis 2, Los Angeles 1; and Washington 5, Milwaukee 1.
Stephen Drew and Eric Byrnes homered, and Chris Snyder added a two-run double in Arizona’s five-run first inning. Conor Jackson, Chris Young and Mark Reynolds also hit homers.
The Braves, coming off a four-game sweep of the New York Mets, had their five-game winning streak end.
Davis gave up a run-scoring single to Kelly Johnson in the second and gained momentum after pitching out of a third-inning jam. Mark Kotsay and Chipper Jones opened the inning with singles, but Mark Teixeira hit into a double play and Davis struck out Jeff Francoeur to end the threat.
“He took the mound, he had to have some goose bumps,” Melvin said. “But once he got into the flow of the game, it was just another game. He’s an amazing guy.”
Atlanta’s Jo-Jo Reyes (2-2) gave up six hits and eight runs, seven earned, in five innings. He walked three, including two in the first.
Before the game, Braves manager Bobby Cox said he agreed to a one-year contract extension through 2009.
Giants 8, Marlins 2
At Miami, Barry Zito earned his first win of the season after eight straight losses.
Bengie Molina and Aaron Rowand hit consecutive home runs off Scott Olsen (4-2), and Jose Castillo also connected to help the Giants win their third straight. Zito (1-8) allowed one run and three hits in 6 1-3 innings to avoid becoming the first starter in franchise history to begin a season 0-9.
Rockies 6, Mets 5, 13 innings
At Denver, Matt Holliday hit a tying homer in the ninth inning off Billy Wagner, then singled home the winning run in the 13th to rally Colorado past struggling New York.
Holliday’s homer is the only earned run allowed by Wagner in 20 innings this season.
Mets GM Omar Minaya voiced support for embattled manager Willie Randolph, but New York lost its fifth straight and fell to 22-24. The Mets have dropped nine of 13 overall despite an opening-day payroll of $138 million, leading to speculation that Randolph’s job is in jeopardy. Two games under .500 matches their low-water mark for the season.
Reds 3, Padres 2
At San Diego, Adam Dunn hit a leadoff homer against career saves leader Trevor Hoffman in the ninth to end Cincinnati’s four-game skid. Dunn’s 12th homer of the season was also the 250th of his career.
Hoffman (0-3) had allowed only one run in his last nine games. Reds starter Edinson Volquez pitched six innings with a career-high 12 strikeouts, and Francisco Cordero got his 10th save.
Cardinals 2, Dodgers 1
At Los Angeles, Adam Wainwright outpitched Derek Lowe with seven strong innings, and Ryan Ludwick hit a two-run homer.
Wainwright (4-2) won for the first time in five starts, helping the Cardinals win for the fifth time in six games following a 2-8 stretch that dropped them from first to third in the NL Central.
After a rare rain delay at Dodger Stadium that lasted 65 minutes in the ninth, Ryan Franklin fanned pinch-hitter Andruw Jones with runners at the corners for his third save.
Lowe (2-5) went seven innings, but remained winless in six outings since beating Arizona on April 23.
Cubs 12, Pirates 3
At Pittsburgh, Carlos Zambrano (7-1) had four hits to go with a stellar seven innings, and Reed Johnson hit a three-run homer and two doubles as NL Central-leading Chicago improved to 9-1 against the Pirates this season.
Zambrano’s four-hit game was the first by a Cubs pitcher since Lew Burdette on July 23, 1964. His 4-for-5 night elevated his average to .343, higher than any Pirates starting position player.
Astros 4, Phillies 3
At Houston, Jose Valverde earned his 15th save after getting hit in the face by Pedro Feliz’s line drive. Hunter Pence homered twice off Adam Eaton (0-3) to support Brandon Backe (4-5) as the Astros won for the 11th time in 14 home games. Houston will retire Craig Biggio’s No. 7 on Aug. 17.
Nationals 5, Brewers 1
At Washington, the Nationals turned Milwaukee shortstop J.J. Hardy’s error into four unearned runs in the sixth to give Brian Sanches (1-0) a win in his Washington debut. Jesus Flores hit a two-run double, and Jeff Suppan (2-4)lost.
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