Braves win big, Cardinals clip Cubs
John Smoltz kept rising above the Braves’ otherwise poor play at home, pitching eight stellar innings in Atlanta’s 10-1 win over the Nationals on Saturday.
Smoltz won his sixth straight home start. Of the Braves’ 11 home wins since July 3, six belong to Smoltz.
The Braves are only 27-34 at Turner Field for the second-worst home record, only slightly better than the Cubs’ 27-36 mark.
Smoltz allowed one run and three hits. He struck out seven and did not walk a batter.
Smoltz (12-6) retired the first 13 Washington hitters before giving up a fifth-inning triple to Austin Kearns. But Kearns was stranded on third as Smoltz struck out the side.
Bob Wickman pitched the ninth, finishing the combined four-hitter.
Chipper Jones hit his 20th home run and Marcus Giles had three hits, stole a base and drove in two runs for Atlanta. Brian McCann had a two-run double in a four-run first inning.
Less than two weeks after recording his 12th career shutout in a 5-0 win over the Braves on Aug. 15, Pedro Astacio (3-4) couldn’t come close to matching that form.
Instead, for the second straight start, Astacio was chased in the third inning. After giving up seven runs in a 12-10 loss at Philadelphia on Sunday, Astacio gave up six runs on eight hits and five walks in 2 2-3 innings.
In the first inning, Astacio loaded the bases on two walks and Giles’ first hit. McCann doubled, Jeff Francoeur hit an RBI single and Ryan Langerhans had a sacrifice fly.
The Braves added two runs in the third on a balk and Giles’ RBI single. Langerhans’ sharp grounder skipped past first baseman Nick Johnson for a two-base error in the fifth and Giles’ double pushed the lead to 7-0.
Henry Mateo led off the seventh with Washington’s second hit of the game, a double, and scored on Marlon Anderson’s sacrifice fly.
Jones hit a two-run homer in the eighth.
Cardinals 2, Cubs 1
ST. LOUIS (AP) ? Chris Carpenter pitched eight sharp innings before walking off the mound following a talk with the trainer, and seldom-used Gary Bennett hit an RBI single with two outs in the ninth that sent the St. Louis Cardinals over the Chicago Cubs 2-1 Saturday.
Carpenter held the Cubs to two hits, struck out five and walked one. He threw 100 pitches, and took the mound to start the ninth. But after throwing a few warmups, the Cardinals ace consulted with trainer Barry Weinberg and manager Tony La Russa and left.
There was no immediate word on whether Carpenter was hurt.
Bennett also homered in second straight three-hit game for the NL Central-leading Cardinals. St. Louis had entered the series in a slump that had dropped them into a virtual tie for first place with Cincinnati.