Hamels leads Phils past Rockies

A little smallball and more strong pitching got the Philadelphia Phillies back on track.

Cole Hamels threw eight impressive innings, Jimmy Rollins drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly and the Phillies beat the Rockies, 2-1, Wednesday night to snap a four-game losing streak.

"We got a bunt, a sacrifice. It's good to see us doing that. That's baseball," Hamels said.

Hamels (5-2) allowed one run and five hits, striking out eight for his first career win against the Rockies. He entered 0-3 with an 8.22 ERA in three career starts against Colorado, including two in the postseason.

The NL East-leading Phillies had just seven runs and 17 hits in the previous four games. They got just enough this time.

Pirates 5, Reds 0: Charlie Morton shut down Cincinnati again, throwing a five-hitter for his second career shutout, and Pedro Alvarez hit a three-run homer as host Pittsburgh snapped a six-game losing streak.

Morton (5-1) avoided heavy rain for a change and stymied the Reds again. He threw a five-hitter for a 6-1 win at Great American Ball Park on April 15, coming within one out of his second career shutout.

Cubs 7, Marlins 5: Pinch hitter Reed Johnson tied the game with a two-run homer in the sixth, and Marlon Byrd put visiting Chicago ahead to stay with a leadoff homer in the eighth as the Cubs snapped a three-game losing streak.

Cardinals 5, Astros 1: Kyle Lohse (5-2) threw eight dominant innings to beat Houston for the second time in less than a month for host St. Louis. Manager Tony La Russa used three players in leftfield and three at second base to compensate for what he believed to be minor injuries to leftfielder Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman.

Red Sox 1, Tigers 0: Jarrod Saltalamacchia doubled off the leftfield wall in the eighth inning, scoring Carl Crawford from first and giving host Boston its fifth straight win. The Red Sox's Clay Buchholz and Detroit's Phil Coke each pitched seven shutout innings.

Rays 6, Blue Jays 5: Matt Joyce homered and Elliot Johnson had three RBIs as Tampa Bay snapped host Toronto's six game winning streak.

White Sox 1, Indians 0: Jake Peavy (1-0) pitched a three-hitter in his home debut this season, outdueling Justin Masterson (5-2) and making Adam Dunn's sacrifice fly in the first inning stand up for host Chicago.

Rangers 5, Royals 4: Adrian Beltre hit a two-run single off Jeremy Jeffress in the 11th inning for visiting Texas.

Matsuzaka on DL again

Red Sox righthander Daisuke Matsuzaka, placed on the 15-day disabled list yesterday, could miss a month with a sprained ligament in his elbow, the third straight season he'll be out for quite a while. -- AP