Dobbs, Marlins finish sweep of Cubs

The Miami Marlins did not score after the third inning. They didn't need to, thanks to a big effort by their bullpen.

Given an early lead, starter Ricky Nolasco settled down and five relievers combined to throw 3 2/3 perfect innings yesterday as the Marlins completed a three-game sweep of the visiting Cubs, 5-3, sending Chicago to its fifth straight loss.

"Every championship team has a great bullpen, and I think we do," said Marlins closer Heath Bell, who recorded his second save in four opportunities.

Greg Dobbs hit a two-run double for the Marlins, who have won five of six. Hanley Ramirez and Logan Morrison each had two hits and Emilio Bonifacio stole two bases.

A crowd of 23,168 saw the Marlins complete their first home series sweep against the Cubs since September 2007 and improve to 5-2 in their new ballpark. "It was pretty cool," Dobbs said of the crowd. "This is a beautiful park. It's pretty breathtaking. Our goal is to play winning baseball. If we win, they will come. It's a rebirth, new name, new stadium, new players. This stadium is very, very special."

Dodgers 4, Brewers 3: Matt Kemp hit his seventh home run as visiting Los Angeles avoided a three-game sweep.

Andre Ethier and Juan Rivera added RBI singles and Jerry Hairston Jr. made two big late-inning defensive plays for the Dodgers.

Brewers manager Ron Roenicke raved about Hairston.

"He's a great ballplayer," Roenicke said. "I can't think of anybody that's a better utilityman than him. The plays he can make defensively -- it showed this series, it showed last year."

Reds 6, Cardinals 3: Bronson Arroyo (1-0) worked eight strong innings and visiting Cincinnati got home runs from Brandon Phillips, Ryan Ludwick and Drew Stubbs to avoid a three-game sweep.

Astros 11, Nationals 4: Houston set a franchise record by hitting three triples in a five-run first inning, backing starter Bud Norris (1-0) with a season-high 17 hits.

Rangers 10, Tigers 3: Yu Darvish (2-0) pitched two-hit ball into the seventh inning and Mike Napoli homered for the fourth straight game, leading visiting Texas.

Rays 9, Blue Jays 4: Evan Longoria hit a two-run homer and came within a triple of the cycle and Desmond Jennings added a solo shot as visiting Tampa Bay ended a 10-game road trip.

Longoria went 3-for-4 with four RBIs.

Orioles 5, White Sox 3: Jason Hammel struck out 10 and Jim Johnson fanned Alex Rios with the bases loaded in the third inning for visiting Baltimore. Adam Jones hit his fifth homer and a run-scoring double for the Orioles.

The game was briefly delayed in the top of the seventh when a young boy who appeared to about 4 or 5 years old slipped through a barricade and went running across the outfield.

With the crowd laughing, White Sox leftfielder Dayan Viciedo scooped him up and handed him over to a security guard. The child and his family were ejected from the game but no charges were filed.

-- AP