A matchup with Jake Peavy wasn’t exactly the antidote for a struggling St. Louis Cardinals offense.
Peavy became the first pitcher in San Diego franchise history to strike out at least 10 in four straight starts, holding the Cardinals to three hits in seven scoreless innings and leading the Padres to a 7-0 win over the defending World Series champions on Friday night.
“He was filthy out there,” said Albert Pujols, who went 0-for-4. “Today was the first time I saw the ball real well against him and I still couldn’t get him.”
It was the first time the teams met since the Cardinals eliminated the Padres from last year’s division series in four games. In 2005, the Cardinals swept the Padres out of the playoffs.
It turned out a lot different than the playoff series opener here last year, when Pujols hit a two-run homer off Peavy to launch the Cardinals to a 5-1 win.
Peavy (5-1), who is 0-2 with a 12.19 ERA in two career postseason starts against the Cardinals, was lights out Friday night, striking out 10 and walking only two. He’s struck out 46 in 28 innings over four starts, a span in which he’s 2-1 with a 0.96 ERA.
“It was a good night,” Peavy said. “We needed a good start from our starter and I was glad I was able to get it. It’s just a good team win.”
In other NL games, it was: Atlanta 4, Pittsburgh 1; Philadelphia 7, Chicago 2; Washington 6, Florida 0; New York 5, Milwaukee 4; Arizona 3, Houston 1; San Francisco 8, Colorado 3; and Los Angeles 2, Cincinnati 0.
San Diego’s listless offense came alive on a cool, windy evening at Petco Park. Russell Branyan hit a pair of two-run homers and Khalil Greene drove in two runs, including on a solo shot, as the Padres snapped a three-game losing streak.
Kip Wells (1-7) had another rough start for St. Louis, allowing four runs and seven hits in six innings. He struck out eight and walked three. He picked up his major league leading seventh loss and tied his career high with his sixth straight defeat. In his last four starts, the Cardinals have been outscored 37-4.
Mets 5, Brewers 4
David Wright, Carlos Delgado and Damion Easley homered to help host New York snap Milwaukee’s six-game winning streak.
Jorge Sosa (2-0) won his second straight start since coming back from the minors and beat Jeff Suppan (5-3), who pitched at Shea Stadium for the first time since helping the St. Louis Cardinals win Game 7 of last year’s NL championship series.
New York won for the seventh time in nine games and cooled off the hottest team in the majors. Milwaukee came to town with a big league-best 24-10 record and had won 10 of 11.
Geoff Jenkins, Prince Fielder and J.J. Hardy homered for the Brewers, whose seven-game lead in the NL Central was the franchise’s largest since divisional play began in 1969.
Phillies 7, Cubs 2
Pat Burrell homered twice and drove in five runs and Cole Hamels pitched seven strong innings for host Philadelphia.
The much-maligned Burrell entered with only one homer and 11 RBIs in 97 at-bats, but he connected twice off Rich Hill (4-2).
Hamels (5-1) allowed two runs on solo homers by Alfonso Soriano and Aramis Ramirez and seven hits. He struck out seven and walked two.
Braves 4, Pirates 1
At Pittsburgh, Andruw Jones and Jeff Francoeur homered on consecutive pitches in the sixth inning to help Atlanta end its longest streak without a homer in 24 years.
The Braves won their fourth straight despite the 72-inning homer drought, the team’s longest since a 13-game streak in 1983. Kyle Davies (1-1) limited the Pirates to one run and seven hits over seven innings.
Pirates starter Zach Duke (1-4) allowed four runs and nine hits in 5 2-3 innings.
Manager Bobby Cox tied Sparky Anderson for fourth place in career victories with 2,194.
Nationals 6, Marlins 0
Shawn Hill threw five no-hit innings before leaving with a sore right elbow, helping host Washington end an eight-game losing streak.
Hill (3-3) walked two and retired the other 15 batters he faced. He took the mound to start the sixth, but left without throwing a pitch. Hill will have an MRI exam on Monday and probably will be shut down for a week to 10 days, team doctor Ben Shaffer said.
Ryan Church drove in Washington’s first two runs off Scott Olsen (3-3) with a groundout in the first and a double in the sixth.
Diamondbacks 3, Astros 1
Brandon Webb pitched his sixth career complete game and Houston native Chris Young homered twice to lead visiting Arizona to the win.
Chad Tracy added an RBI double off Houston starter Chris Sampson (3-3), and the Diamondbacks won for the fourth time in five games.
Webb (3-2) allowed five hits, struck out 10 and walked one.
Giants 8, Rockies 3
At Denver, San Francisco’s Tim Lincecum earned his first major league victory.
The hard-throwing Lincecum (1-0) gave up seven hits in seven innings. He struck out six and walked one in his second major league start.
Colorado’s Josh Fogg (1-4) took a no-hitter into the sixth inning only to see it evaporate.
San Francisco teed off on the Rockies’ bullpen once Fogg was lifted. The Giants had four hits against Fogg and seven off the Rockies’ bullpen.
Dodgers 2, Reds 0
Randy Wolf struck out a season-high 11 in seven innings and host Los Angeles picked up its seventh consecutive win over Cincinnati.
Wolf (4-3) allowed four hits and walked none in winning for the first time since April 20 against Pittsburgh.
Reds starter Bronson Arroyo (2-3) gave up two runs and six hits in six innings, walked four and struck out two. The right-hander twice loaded the bases in the first. The first time Russell Martin drove in two runs; the second time Adam LaRoche struck out to end the inning.
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