Padres Get 21st Victory This Month

Pinch-hitter Miguel Ojeda doubled in the winning run with two out in the bottom of ninth inning, and the San Diego Padres beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 2-1, on Monday night, for their 21st win in May.

The Padres extended their lead in the NL West to a season-high three games over idle Arizona. The Padres, who extended their overall win streak to five, tied the franchise record with their 10th consecutive win at home. San Diego improved to 21-6 in May, extending the franchise record for most wins in a month.

Geoff Blum singled to center with two out and scored from first on Ojeda’s double into the left-field corner off Jorge de la Rosa (2-1).

Blum slid in ahead of the relay throw from Junior Spivey to catcher Chad Moeller.

Scott Linebrink (2-1) gave up one hit in two innings for the win.

Milwaukee’s Jeff Cirillo ran himself out of a scoring chance after reaching third with none out in the ninth. Cirillo started to break toward home on Bill Hall’s grounder to shortstop but stopped, and was far enough off the bag that Khalil Greene threw him out.

St. Louis 5, Colorado 4 -- Albert Pujols hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning to lift the Cardinals at Denver. Pujols put a 1-and-2 pitch from Jay Witasick (0-2) barely over the left-field wall for a 4-3 lead.

The homer halted Witasick’s 10-game streak without giving up an earned run and marked the major league-high 11th blown save of the season for Colorado’s beleaguered relievers.

Washington 3, Atlanta 2 -- Marlon Byrd had two RBI doubles, Tomo Ohka (4-3) gave up only one unearned run and two hits over seven innings, and the Nationals were helped by a reversal of an umpire’s call that turned Brian Jordan’s apparent tying homer in the seventh inning into a foul ball at Washington.

Third base umpire Jerry Layne ruled it a homer, but Washington Manager Frank Robinson jogged to the outfield to argue the call, and crew chief Ed Montague eventually changed it.

Pittsburgh 3, Florida 2 -- Freddy Sanchez’s opposite-field single in the 10th inning drove in the winning run, and the Pirates won a one-run game at home for the first time this season.

Pittsburgh was 0-7 at home and 3-11 overall in one-run games. Florida dropped to 1-9 at Pittsburgh since the 2002 season.

Cincinnati 9, Houston 0 -- The Reds’ Joe Randa homered and had three RBIs, and Aaron Harang struck out 10 to spoil a solid effort by the Astros’ Roger Clemens at Houston. Clemens (3-3) gave up two runs in eight innings.