San Diego – Chris Young did his final lobbying for an all-star berth, even if he didn’t get the decision.
Young, left off the NL all-star team when it was announced Sunday, struck out nine while holding Florida to five hits in seven innings, and Mike Cameron scored on an error by catcher Miguel Olivo with no outs in the ninth to give the San Diego Padres a 1-0 victory over the Marlins on Wednesday night.
Young was leading the balloting in online voting for the final spot on the NL team. Voting ends tonight.
The 6-foot-10 right-hander lowered his ERA to 2.00, tying Brad Penny of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best in the majors.
Cameron opened the ninth with a double to left off Matt Lindstrom (1-3). Khalil Greene was intentionally walked and Hiram Bocachica’s bunt single moved Cameron to third. Third baseman Miguel Cabrera gloved Kevin Kouzmanoff’s grounder and threw home, but Olivo dropped the ball as Cameron scored.
BRAVES 5, DODGERS 2 at Los Angeles: Andruw Jones homered and Chipper Jones and Brian McCann added RBI singles as Atlanta snapped a three-game losing streak.
Chuck James (8-7) allowed one run and four hits in five innings, struck out three and walked two in the left-hander’s first appearance against the Dodgers this season.
The Dodgers did get the tying run to the plate in the inning, but pinch hitter Olmedo Saenz struck out to end the game.
CARDINALS 5, DIAMONDBACKS 4 at St. Louis: Juan Encarnacion and Scott Rolen hit consecutive RBI doubles in the eighth inning, helping St. Louis overcome an early three-run deficit.
Starting pitcher Livan Hernandez and Miguel Montero each hit a two-run homer off Brad Thompson for Arizona, which has five homers in the past two games.
GIANTS 9, REDS 5 at Cincinnati: San Francisco’s Fred Lewis hit another grand slam and slumping starter Matt Cain turned it into a long-awaited win.
Lewis had three hits, including a fourth-inning grand slam off Matt Belisle (5-6). Two of his three homers this year are grand slams, making him the first rookie in team history to hit two in a season.
PHILLIES 8, ASTROS 3 at Houston: Ryan Howard had a two-run homer as Philadelphia defeated Houston.
Wes Helms, Jimmy Rollins and Pat Burrell also homered and Chase Utley went 3-for-4 with a single, double and triple for the Phillies, who won for the third time in nine games.
NATIONALS 6, CUBS 0 at Washington: Dmitri Young hit a grand slam and Matt Chico pitched seven innings of four-hit ball to lead Washington.
Ryan Zimmerman also homered for the Nationals, who had lost seven of eight.
PIRATES 5, BREWERS 3 at Pittsburgh: Adam LaRoche hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the sixth inning and Ryan Doumit added a two-run drive to lead Pittsburgh.
