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Diamondbacks End 14-Game Losing Streak

Posted on: Tuesday, 27 July 2004, 06:00 CDT

The Arizona Diamondbacks ended their club-record losing streak at 14 games Monday night, beating Andy Pettitte and the Houston Astros 4-1 behind Brandon Webb and Scott Hairston.

Pettitte left after only 62 pitches, his elbow aching again. It also has been a painful season for Arizona.

"It's been stressful. We're major leaguers and we don't like being embarrassed," Arizona outfielder Luis Gonzalez said. "We all made mistakes and we all shared in the frustration."

Pettitte came out after the fifth inning because of his troublesome left elbow, which has sent him to the disabled list twice this season. He has been limited to just 13 starts since leaving the New York Yankees to sign with Houston in the offseason.

"I aggravated it again a little bit. We're going to see how it feels the next couple of days and hopefully I'll be able to make my next start," Pettitte said. "It's the same thing, the flexor tendon in my elbow, but it's not as bad as it was before."

In other NL games, it was: St. Louis 9, Cincinnati 6 in 11 innings; Atlanta 4, Pittsburgh 2; Los Angeles 9, Colorado 7; Florida 11, Philadelphia 3; San Diego 3, San Francisco 2; Chicago 3, Milwaukee 1; and Montreal 19, New York 10.

The visiting Diamondbacks (32-69), who have the worst record in the majors, won for the first time since beating San Francisco on July 8. Arizona, which went 0-11 on a homestand that ended Sunday, improved to 5-30 since June 18.

Hairston finished 4-for-4, a career high for hits. Danny Bautista added a two-run single in the ninth.

"Everybody has been playing hard. It would be different if we had just been throwing our gloves out there," Hairston said. "It's tough to swallow losing 14 in a row, but tonight we put it all together."

Webb (4-11) ended his six-game losing streak, holding Houston to one run and six hits in 7 1-3 innings. Greg Aquino pitched a perfect ninth for his first career save.

"Tonight it seemed like I got stronger each inning. Now maybe we can get back on track," Webb said.

Pettitte (6-4) gave up three hits, including consecutive homers to Hairston and Gonzalez in the first inning. The left-hander struck out four and walked none before leaving with a sore elbow.

Pettitte was on the disabled list April 7-29 with a left elbow strain and again from May 27 to June 28 with a left forearm strain. He was to be examined by a doctor Tuesday to determine the extent of the injury.

"We didn't want him to push it. He probably could have gone back out," Houston manager Phil Garner said. "I know he has had trouble with it in the past, but let's wait and see what the doctor says."

Dodgers 9, Rockies 7

At Denver, Milton Bradley broke out of a slump with three RBIs, and Adrian Beltre hit his 28th homer in Los Angeles' ninth straight road victory.

Jose Hernandez also homered for the NL West-leading Dodgers, who won for the 18th time in 21 games overall. Eric Gagne got his 29th save in 30 chances.

Padres 3, Giants 2

At San Diego, Jake Peavy didn't allow a hit until the sixth inning, and Barry Bonds was thrown out at the plate trying to score the tying run in the eighth on a grounder to second.

Brian Giles' seventh-inning sacrifice fly put the Padres ahead 3-2. Trevor Hoffman got his 27th save. Bonds walked four times.

Braves 4, Pirates 2

At Pittsburgh, Jaret Wright (8-5) and four Atlanta relievers shut down the Pirates in what might have been Kris Benson's last start for Pittsburgh.

J.D. Drew ran his hitting streak to 22 games with a single in Atlanta's go-ahead fourth inning against Benson (8-8), expected to be dealt by Saturday's deadline for trading without waivers. John Smoltz earned his 22nd save.

Marlins 11, Phillies 3

At Miami, Jeff Conine hit a three-run double, and A.J. Burnett (2-5) beat Kevin Millwood (8-6).

The Phillies have lost 11 consecutive games in Miami, including four this year. They're 1-8 against the Marlins this season and 16-31 the past three years. Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run homer for Florida.

Cardinals 9, Reds 6, 11 innings

At Cincinnati, Tony Womack singled with the bases loaded in the 11th, sparking a four-run rally that sent the Reds to their sixth straight loss.

St. Louis improved to 9-2 against Cincinnati this season by taking advantage of a pivotal error by right fielder Wily Mo Pena. Scott Rolen, Jim Edmonds and Albert Pujols homered for the Cardinals.

Cubs 3, Brewers 1

At Milwaukee, Matt Clement (8-9) beat Victor Santos (9-5) for his first win since June 8, and Mark Grudzielanek had two RBIs. Milwaukee, 3-9 since the All-Star break, was 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Derrek Lee homered for the Cubs, and LaTroy Hawkins earned his 14th save.

Expos 19, Mets 10

At Montreal, Tony Batista had four hits and a career-high six RBIs to help the Expos extend their season-high winning streak to five.

Jose Vidro hit a three-run homer to spark a seven-run third. Montreal tagged Scott Erickson (0-1) and finished with a season-high 18 hits, including two-run homers by Batista and Ron Calloway.

Richard Hidalgo homered twice for the Mets, and David Wright hit his first major league home run.

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