Braves 3, Cubs 1
\nTwo bunts, a bad throw and a tricky hop turned around the Atlanta Braves' day and sent Mark Prior and the Chicago Cubs to another numbing defeat at Wrigley Field.\nShortly after a throwing error by Prior, Rafael Furcal hit a two-out, two-run single in the seventh inning that deflected off sure-handed Chicago first baseman Derrek Lee as the Braves rallied Wednesday for a 3-1 victory.\n"The ball ate him up. If anybody can make it in all of baseball, it would be Derrek Lee," Atlanta manager Bobby Cox said.\nPrior (9-5) gave up just one hit in the first six innings, Andruw Jones' single to center in the fourth.\nAfter the Cubs took a 1-0 lead against Braves starter Jorge Sosa, rookie standout Jeff Francoeur led off the seventh with a bunt single.\n"I felt like it was a big enough moment in the game where we needed to get something going," Francoeur said. "Right when I hit it, I figured it was one of my best bunts ever. I was a little shocked. The last time I tried to bunt I got hit in the face last year."\nWhen Ryan Langerhans followed with another bunt, Prior attempted to get the force at second. Instead, he threw it into center field.\n"It just kept flying," Prior said.\n"Jeff did a great job of hustling and making Prior rush the throw," Langerhans said.\n"I thought he would go to first," Francoeur said. "It was a break for us that he threw it a little high. It's a tough throw for any pitcher."\nThe error put runners at first and third, and Langerhans reached second on Prior's wild pitch. Pinch-hitter Adam LaRoche fanned for the second out of the inning, but Furcal hit a hard shot that Lee couldn't handle.\n"I can't say I normally get that one. It was a tough hop, kind of hit or miss," Lee said. "I threw my glove at it, got my glove on it, but it didn't stick."
Nationals 5, Reds 3
\nWith Washington's pitching staff in disarray, John Patterson gave the Nationals exactly what they desperately needed: a long, strong outing.\nPatterson scattered 10 hits during 8 1/3 innings, working out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the seventh, to lead Washington to a 5-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night.\nPatterson wasn't dominant, giving up three runs, and allowing leadoff singles in every inning from the fourth through the seventh. He gave up Rich Aurilia's RBI double in the fourth, and Javier Valentin's two-run homer in the ninth, but the right-hander truly excelled when he needed to in improving to 8-4.\nAfter Valentin's 11th homer, closer Chad Cordero came on and got the final two outs for his major league-leading 40th save.\nThe biggest jam for Patterson came in the seventh, with the Nationals clinging to a 2-1 lead thanks to Jose Guillen's solo homer off Reds starter Ramon Ortiz (8-9) in the fifth. Sean Casey and Valentin singled, and Austin Kearns was hit by a pitch to fill the bases.\nBut Patterson got Edwin Encarnacion to ground to first baseman Nick Johnson, who threw home for a forceout. Then Patterson struck out pinch-hitter Jacob Cruz, and got Felipe Lopez -- 3-for-3 to that point -- to tap a comebacker that Patterson easily tossed to first.\nWhen that final out was recorded, the normally unflappable Patterson pumped his right fist a half-dozen times, then jogged and even skipped his way to the dugout.
Cardinals 8, Pirates 3
\nChris Carpenter became the major leagues' first 18-game winner and Albert Pujols hit his 34th home run Wednesday night as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-3.\nCarpenter (18-4) is 10-0 in his last 13 starts, all St. Louis victories. He allowed three runs and four hits in eight innings, improving to 10-0 on the road.\nCardinals manager Tony La Russa tied Sparky Anderson for third place on baseball's managerial wins list with his 2,194th career victory. Only Connie Mack (3,731) and John McGraw (2,763) have won more games.\nDavid Eckstein had three hits and John Rodriguez homered and drove in three runs for St. Louis, which jumped to a 5-0 lead in the first inning. The Cardinals have won 16 of the last 19 meetings against the Pirates.\nThe teams engaged in a brief shoving match 90 minutes before the game, prompting umpires to ask for a pregame meeting between managers La Russa and Lloyd McClendon. The game was played without incident.\nEckstein's third hit, a two-out triple to left-center field off reliever Rick White, scored Hector Luna to give St. Louis a 7-3 lead in the eighth. Luna had walked with one out and stolen second base. Pujols added a solo homer, his 34th, in the ninth.
White Sox 6, Twins 4
\nCarl Everett homered and drove in four runs, Mark Buehrle scattered six hits over eight innings and the Chicago White Sox beat Minnesota 6-4 on Wednesday night to snap a four-game losing streak to the Twins.\nBuehrle (14-6), benefiting from four double plays, gave up one run and struck out six without allowing a walk to end a personal five-game losing streak against Minnesota.\nEverett and former Twins catcher A.J. Pierzynski each had three hits for Chicago, which had lost eight of its last nine.\nNick Punto hit a two-run homer off Cliff Politte in the ninth to bring Minnesota within 6-3. Dustin Hermanson gave up an RBI double to Matthew LeCroy in the inning but got the last two outs for his 31st save.\nLeCroy spoiled Buehrle's shutout bid with a two-out homer in the seventh, but the Twins dropped to 10 1/2 games behind the White Sox in the AL Central. Second-place Cleveland also lost, falling to eight games back.\nBuehrle faced the minimum through five innings.\nWhile the rest of Minnesota's starting pitchers have surged in the second half, Joe Mays (6-9) has stumbled -- going 1-6 with a 7.48 ERA after posting marks of 5-3 and 4.13 before the All-Star break. He gave up nine hits and five runs in 4 2/3 innings, walking one and hitting one without a strikeout.\nManager Ron Gardenhire said recently that he hasn't thought about skipping Mays in the rotation, or removing him altogether. But with top prospects Scott Baker and Francisco Liriano thriving with Triple-A Rochester, Mays can't keep this up if he's going to stay in.
