MILWAUKEE – Corey Patterson hit a two-run homer off Brooks Kieschnick in the 17th inning Thursday to give the Chicago Cubs a 4-2 victory over Milwaukee and a four-game sweep of the Brewers.
The Brewers set an NL record for strikeouts in an extra-inning game with 24, two more than the previous mark, set by the New York Mets on May 31, 1964, and tied by Cincinnati on Aug. 8, 1972.
Ending what began as a pitcher’s duel between Kerry Wood and Ben Sheets, Patterson connected with two outs for his eighth homer, hitting a 2-0 pitch from Kieschnick (0-1).
It was only the second 17th-inning homer in Cubs history – the other was hit by Keith Moreland against Houston on Sept. 2, 1986.
Kyle Farnsworth (2-0) pitched three innings for the win, and Todd Wellenmeyer struck out the side for the save in his major league debut.
It was the second-longest game in the majors this season. St. Louis beat Florida 7-6 in 20 innings on April 27.
Cardinals 6, Reds 3
ST. LOUIS – Garrett Stephenson pitched two-hit ball for seven innings and Edgar Renteria’s RBI double woke up a slumbering offense as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-3.
Jim Edmonds hit a two-run homer for the Cardinals, who avoided being swept by Cincinnati for the second time in a row. Renteria’s hit snapped a seventh-inning tie.
Braves 15, Padres 6
SAN DIEGO – Julio Franco’s two-run triple highlighted an eight-run fifth inning and the Atlanta Braves routed the San Diego Padres 15-6.
There was a scary moment when Padres slugger Ryan Klesko – a former Braves star – was beaned by Atlanta rookie left-hander Horacio Ramirez leading off the fifth. Klesko, a left-hander, was knocked to the ground after getting hit near the right ear flap on his batting helmet.
Trainer Todd Hutcheson held a compress to Klesko’s head, then helped the woozy player off the field. The Braves were leading 10-3 at the time and the beaning appeared to be unintentional.
Astros 6, Pirates 2
PITTSBURGH – Richard Hidalgo drove in two runs with a home run and double and the Houston Astros beat the Pittsburgh Pirates for the seventh time in 11 days, winning 6-2.
Hidalgo had a run-scoring double in a two-run fourth inning and a go-ahead homer in the sixth.
Phillies 6, D-Backs 4
PHILADELPHIA – David Bell hit a go-ahead double in a three-run seventh inning, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-4.
Bobby Abreu and Ricky Ledee hit solo home runs for the Phillies, who snapped a three-game losing streak.
avoided being swept for the first time this season.
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