Randy Johnson took care of business on the mound and at the plate, ensuring Adam Dunn’s Arizona debut would be a winning one.
Johnson pitched six solid innings and singled in a run, Dunn went 1-for-3 with a double and the Diamondbacks beat the Colorado Rockies 4-2 on Tuesday night.
“It felt good,” Dunn said. “It’s the first time I’d been a part of a win in a long time.”
Dunn also walked twice and Chad Tracy homered for Arizona, which has won two straight after a four-game skid. The Diamondbacks acquired Dunn from the Cincinnati Reds on Monday for a minor leaguer and two players to be named.
“I didn’t think I’d be as nervous as I was,” Dunn said in Denver. “I swung at pitches I shouldn’t have and took some pitches I probably should have swung at.”
In other NL games, it was: Milwaukee 5, San Diego 2; Houston 12, San Francisco 4; New York 4, Washington 3; Los Angeles 4, Philadelphia 3; Florida 4, St. Louis 3; and Cincinnati 5, Pittsburgh 1. The Chicago Cubs at Atlanta Braves game was rained out.
Chris Iannetta homered and Clint Barmes had two hits for the Rockies, who have lost three straight and five of six. Ubaldo Jimenez (8-11) got the loss.
Johnson (10-8) allowed two runs and five hits, struck out seven and walked one to earn his sixth win in his last seven starts and career win No. 294. Brandon Lyon pitched a perfect ninth for his 25th save in 30 chances.
“You could tell early on he was pretty good,” Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin said of Johnson. “He gave up the two, but after that he was pretty stingy.”
Brewers 5, Padres 2
Prince Fielder hit a three-run homer and Jeff Suppan pitched eight strong innings to lead visiting Milwaukee to its seventh straight victory.
Suppan (8-7) gave up four hits and two runs to win his third straight start. Salomon Torres pitched the ninth for his 23rd save.
Fielder connected against Cha Seung Baek (4-6) in the fourth inning, giving Milwaukee a 4-1 lead with his 27th homer.
Kevin Kouzmanoff and Jody Gerut homered for the Padres.
Astros 12, Giants 4
Lance Berkman hit a grand slam in an eight-run seventh for Houston, two innings after San Francisco ace Tim Lincecum left the game with an injured knee.
Roy Oswalt (10-8) allowed 10 hits and three runs in seven innings for the host Astros, who extended their winning streak to six.
Lincecum allowed one hit and struck out seven before he was hit on the right knee by Brad Ausmus’ line drive in the fifth. The right-hander limped off the field and went for X-rays which manager Bruce Bochy said were negative. He said Lincecum would be re-evaluated Wednesday.
Mets 4, Nationals 3
New York snapped an eighth-inning tie when Damion Easley was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and the beleaguered bullpen finally saved one for Johan Santana.
The loss was the sixth straight for the host Nationals.
Easley was hit by Saul Rivera (3-5) to make it 4-3, and a shaky relief corps that has struggled badly without injured closer Billy Wagner held the lead.
Joe Smith and Pedro Feliciano each worked a scoreless inning. Feliciano struck out two in a perfect ninth for his third major league save.
Santana (10-7) went seven solid innings, allowing three runs and eight hits.
Dodgers 4, Phillies 3
At Los Angeles, Andre Ethier singled home the winning run with one out in the bottom of ninth.
Casey Blake had two RBIs for the Dodgers, including a sacrifice fly that tied it in the eighth.
Phillies reliever J.C. Romero (4-4) began the ninth by hitting Russell Martin with a pitch. Martin went to second on a groundout and scored when Ethier lined a 1-2 pitch into the outfield.
Hong-Chih Kuo (4-2) pitched two hitless innings for the win.
Chase Utley opened the scoring in the first with his 30th homer for Philadelphia. Utley has five homers in his last 14 games after hitting just four in his previous 44.
Marlins 4, Cardinals 3
At Miami, Hanley Ramirez hit a three-run homer and Florida held St. Louis scoreless over the last eight innings.
Chris Volstad (4-2) pitched five innings for the win in his sixth major league start. He gave up five hits and three walks.
Four Florida relievers combined for four shutout innings after a rain delay of 1 hour, 53 minutes in the bottom of the fifth. Kevin Gregg pitched a perfect ninth for his 26th save.
Kyle Lohse (13-5) gave up four runs and six hits, losing for the third time in four decisions.
Reds 5, Pirates 1
Edinson Volquez pitched into the seventh inning to snap a post All-Star break slump, leading Cincinnati to the win in its first game since trading Adam Dunn.
Brandon Phillips and Javier Valentin homered to help the visiting Reds end a season-worst six-game losing streak.
Volquez (14-5) allowed one run and five hits in 6 2-3 innings. He entered 1-2 with a 6.64 ERA in four starts since the break.
Phillips hit a two-out, two-run homer in the first off Jeff Karstens (2-1), who tossed 15 scoreless innings in his first two starts after being acquired from the Yankees.
Karstens allowed four runs and seven hits in seven innings.
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