Blanton, Phillies shut out Braves

Joe Blanton's plan for a quick and efficient win yesterday keyed on his hope to take advantage of a marathon game the night before.

Blanton pitched a three-hitter for his first shutout in five years and Shane Victorino hit a two-run homer to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-0 victory over the host Atlanta Braves.

"I tried to use last night to my advantage a little bit with an early 12 o'clock start today," Blanton said. "I wanted to pound the zone a lot and hope that maybe they were coming out a touch lethargic. I don't know if that was the case or not."

Blanton needed only 2 hours, 2 minutes for his win in the noon start. It provided a dramatic reversal of the Braves' 15-13 win in 11 innings on Wednesday night, when the teams totaled 36 hits.

Blanton (3-3) did not walk a batter and had six strikeouts in his third career shutout, his first since June 2, 2007 for Oakland against Minnesota.

Marlins 3, Giants 2: Hanley Ramirez drove in a pair of runs without a hit to back Anibal Sanchez (2-0), and visiting Miami completed a three-game sweep.

Reds 4, Cubs 3: Wild closer Carlos Marmol helped host Cincinnati rally for three runs in the ninth to tie it, and Scott Rolen hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning that swept the Reds victory.

Marmol let a 3-0 lead slip away by walking three of the five batters he faced, allowing the Reds to tie it with only one hit in the inning.

Ryan Dempster returned from the disabled list and pitched eight shutout innings on his 35th birthday. He got the better of Homer Bailey, who was celebrating his 26th birthday.

Pirates 6, Cardinals 3: Erik Bedard (2-4) struck out a season-high 11, including seven straight batters, and Pedro Alvarez hit a go-ahead home run as visiting Pittsburgh avoided a three-game sweep.

Rays 4, Mariners 3: Jeff Keppinger hit a two-run homer and Desmond Jennings added a two-run triple as host Tampa Bay completed a four-game sweep.

Giants lose slugger Sandoval

Pablo Sandoval has a broken hamate bone in his left hand that will require surgery, and the free-swinging slugger is expected to miss four to six weeks . . . The ball that rolled through Bill Buckner's legs in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series between the Red Sox and the Mets will be part of an auction Friday in Dallas. Heritage Auctions said the ball is expected to bring in more than $100,000. -- AP