Marlins Get Breaks; Braves Get Nothing

Overdue for a break, the Florida Marlins caught a bunch of them Saturday night against the Atlanta Braves.

Ryan Dempster pitched around five walks in six shutout innings, Mike Lowell’s popup fell safely to score two runs, and the struggling Marlins earned an 8-0 victory at Miami.

With an 0-4 start, matching the worst in franchise history, the Marlins were the last winless team in the major leagues. But their fortunes changed in the first inning when Lowell’s two-out popup deflected off center fielder Andruw Jones’ glove for a two-run single.

Dempster allowed four hits and 10 baserunners but stranded nine and was helped by a bases-loaded double play.

“That’s the most bizarre shutout I’ve ever seen,” Marlin Manager John Boles said. “I’m not demeaning the performance, but it wasn’t a good one. He was all over the place.”

Dempster threw 108 pitches, 59 for strikes, and struggled with command of his fastball.

“If I keep pitching like that, my arm will fall off,” Dempster said.

Charles Johnson ended a slump with three runs batted in.

“We had our chances,” Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox said. “We couldn’t do anything.”

Chicago 8, Philadelphia 4--Julio Zuleta drove in five runs and Sammy Sosa hit his first homer of the season at Philadelphia and Bill Mueller also homered as the Cubs won their third game in a row.

Chicago’s bullpen pitched four scoreless innings. The Phillies loaded the bases with one out in the ninth, but Kyle Farnsworth struck out pinch-hitter Gary Bennett and Travis Lee.

Zuleta had a two-run double that capped a four-run sixth inning. He added a two-run single in the seventh and a sacrifice fly in the ninth.

Pittsburgh 5, Houston 3--Pat Meares homered and drove in three runs to give the Pirates their first win at Houston’s Enron Field.

The Pirates tied it 3-3 in the fifth on Jason Kendall’s first home run of the season, then took the lead in the sixth when Meares singled in John Vander Wal. Meares finished with three hits. Pinch-hitter Emil Brown’s double to the right-field corner drove in Vander Wal in the eighth.

Bronson Arroyo went five innings, struck out five, and gave up three runs and five hits.

St. Louis 8, Arizona 4--J.D. Drew hit a two-run home run and an RBI sacrifice fly as the Cardinals won at Phoenix despite the absence of Mark McGwire and Jim Edmonds from the lineup for the third game in a row.

Luis Gonzalez hit his fifth home run, a three-run shot that cut St. Louis’ lead to 5-4 in the fifth.

The Cardinals came back with three runs in the sixth, two on a two-out single by Mike Matheny.

Mark Grace struck out on a checked-swing in the ninth and was ejected, along with Diamondback Manager Bob Brenly.

Darryl Kile (1-1) gave up four runs on eight hits in six innings. Bobby Witt took the loss, and left the game because of an injury to his right elbow.

An MRI is to be done Monday to determine the severity of the injury, which is most likely a sprained ligament or a strained tendon.

Milwaukee 6, Cincinnati 1--Jamey Wright held the Reds hitless until the seventh inning in the first day game at Milwaukee’s Miller Park.

Aaron Boone ended Wright’s no-hit bid with one out in the seventh when he lined a ball up the middle that second baseman Ronnie Belliard couldn’t reach.

Montreal 10, New York 0--Lee Stevens homered twice and had a career-high six RBIs and Javier Vazquez pitched seven shutout innings to lead the Expos at Montreal.

Stevens, who went three for four, hit an RBI single in the second off Steve Trachsel. He hit a two-run shot in the fourth and added a three-run homer off the Met newcomer in the fifth.

Making his second start of the season, Vazquez held New York to four hits--two by Japanese rookie Tsuyoshi Shinjo--and didn’t issue a walk while striking out nine.