DENVER (AP) -No matter how long it took, Eric Milton was determined to return from a career-threatening elbow injury.
t want to leave the game with a bitter taste in my mouth. I wanted to come back and show what I could do,” Milton said.
Tuesday night, nearly three years removed from his last big league win and two years after undergoing Tommy John surgery, Milton made a successful return that rewarded the Los Angeles Dodgers’ belief in him.
The left-hander allowed one run in five innings and Casey Blake hit a three-run double in a 7-1 win over the Colorado Rockies.
“It was a long time coming,” said Milton, who struck out three and walked none as the Dodgers won their seventh in eight meetings with the Rockies. He hadn’t won since beating St. Louis on Aug. 8, 2006, for the Cincinnati Reds.
“It’s got to mean a lot to him,” Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. “This kid worked very hard to get back here.”
A former All-Star who pitched a no-hitter a decade ago for Minnesota, Milton had reconstructive surgery on his left elbow in June 2007 and missed all of 2008 before joining the Dodgers as a free agent in February. Making his second start for the Dodgers after beginning the season with Triple-A Albuquerque, Milton scattered seven hits, including Clint Barmes’ leadoff homer in the fifth inning.
“He made some good pitches,” Barmes said. “He kept us off balance with his slider and changeup and then pounded us with his fastball.”
le to continue a torrid pace since stepping into the lineup earlier this month in place of the suspended Manny Ramirez. He has hit .410 (32 for 78) in 18 games since May 7.
Orlando Hudson went 2 for 3 with an RBI and a pair of walks, extending his career-best hitting streak to 16 games for the Dodgers, now a season-high 17 games over .500 with the major league’s best record (32-15).
“Offensively, we’re continuing to live up to our billing,” Dodgers catcher Brad Ausmus said. “When we lost Manny, a lot of the naysayers thought we would have trouble scoring runs but apparently, that isn’t true.”
Reds 6, Astros 4
At Cincinnati, Joey Votto hit a two-run homer in the seventh and the Reds sent Houston to its sixth straight loss.
Votto’s homer off Tim Byrdak (0-1) snapped a 4-all tie and Nick Masset (2-0) got the victory with one inning in relief.
Roy Oswalt gave up four runs and seven hits in six innings for Houston.
Diamondbacks 6, Padres 5
At Phoenix, Max Scherzer struck out 10 and drove in two runs, Chris Young made a leaping catch at the fence for the final out and the Diamondbacks snapped the Padres’ 10-game winning streak.
The Diamondbacks nearly blew a six-run lead for the second straight day. On Monday, they let the Padres rally from a 7-1 deficit in the eighth for a 9-7 victory in 10 innings.
ll to 6-4.
San Diego loaded the bases against Juan Gutierrez with no outs in the ninth. Scott Hairston grounded into a 5-4-3 double play, cutting Arizona’s lead to 6-5, and then Young ended the game with a terrific grab on a drive to center by Kevin Kouzmanoff.
Mets 6, Nationals 1
At New York, Livan Hernandez shut down the Nationals in the New York Mets’ first complete game of the season. Hernandez (4-1) worked around nine hits in going the distance for the 46th time in his career.
Ryan Zimmerman’s streak of safely reaching base ended at 43 games. He went 0 for 4 and struck out twice, falling three games short of the franchise record set by Rusty Staub for Montreal from 1969-70.
Phillies 5, Marlins 3
At Philadelphia, Joe Blanton had a career-high 11 strikeouts in seven scoreless innings.
Blanton (3-3) allowed five hits in his best outing since last August. Brad Lidge pitched out of a jam in the ninth to earn his ninth save in 13 chances.
Marlins starter Andrew Miller (1-2) gave up four runs – two earned – and seven hits in six innings.
Cubs 6, Pirates 1, 5 innings
At Chicago, Sean Marshall (3-3) allowed four hits and singled in a run, Kosuke Fukudome homered and the Cubs snapped an eight-game losing streak on a rain-shortened night.
– on Fukudome’s solo shot in the first, Marshall’s single in the second and Micah Hoffpauir’s double in the third.
Cardinals 8, Brewers 1
At Milwaukee, Adam Wainwright (5-2) hit one of four Cardinals homers and struck out a career-high nine in seven innings to lift St. Louis.
Nick Stavinoha, Colby Rasmus and Chris Duncan also homered for the Cardinals, who ended a four-game skid against their NL Central rivals.
Giants 4, Braves 0
At San Francisco, Tim Lincecum (4-1) pitched eight sharp innings to win for the first time in four starts.
Aaron Rowand hit a two-run double in the second and Edgar Renteria singled in two runs moments later to stake Lincecum to an early lead that held up. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner looked just like the dominant pitcher he was in 2008, striking out eight and walking two.
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