After almost 7,000 at-bats in almost 1,700 games covering 131/2 seasons, Tony Gwynn had never hit a grand slam or reached 73 RBIs.
He took care of both milestones with one swing of the bat Tuesday night.Gwynn hit a grand slam in the fifth inning, lifting San Diego to a 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies and keeping the Padres three games back in the NL West.
"To hit a grand slam after 13 years is like getting a big monkey off my back," Gwynn said. "I've never hit one since I've been playing. I've had opportunities, I've just never delivered. I wasn't even thinking about it, and even when I hit the ball I wasn't sure it was going out because of the way the wind was swirling," he said.
Pirates 10, Rockies 1
Orlando Merced, Jay Bell and Mark Parent homered and Jeff King had a two-run triple as Pittsburgh won its sixth in a row.
Dodgers 7, Expos 4
Eric Karros' RBI single in the 11th broke a tie, and Roberto Kelly added a two-run single.
Raul Mondesi and Mike Piazza both homered.
Braves 6, Astros 4
Steve Avery (6-9) allowed five hits in six innings and struck out three as the Braves prevailed.
Cardinals 7, Reds 3
Rookie right-hander Brian Barber (1-0) allowed just one run in five innings.
Marlins 8, Cubs 6
Florida ended a five-game losing streak as Steve Decker hit a two-run homer.
Giants 5, Mets 1
Mark Leiter (9-7) pitched his sixth complete game of the year, a four-hitter.
American League
Red Sox 6, Angels 4
Boston and California had a good old-fashioned beanball war.
Instead of fists, home runs followed hit batters and close pitches Tuesday night as the Red Sox prevailed 6-4.
Jose Canseco hit a two-run homer one pitch after being brushed back by Mike Harkey in the fifth inning, giving Boston a 5-2 lead.
Athletics 6, Yankees 2
At Oakland, Geronimo Berroa broke a 2-2 tie in the fifth with his 18th homer and lifted his average against New York this season to .406 (13-for-32).
White Sox 15, Tigers 7
Robin Ventura had two of Chicago's five homers and drove in four runs, and the Tigers gave up a season-high 15 runs.
Blue Jays 5, Indians 4
Joe Carter, who homered in the eighth inning, scored from first on third baseman Jim Thome's throwing error in the bottom of the ninth to cap a three-run rally in the last two innings.
Twins 9, Rangers 4
Kirby Puckett drove in three runs with a two-run homer and a double as Texas had a three-game winning streak snapped.
Brewers 8, Royals 1
Jeff Cirillo hit his third homer in two nights and Milwaukee used a seven-run fifth inning to defeat Kansas City.
Orioles 2, Mariners 1
Mike Mussina tied for the major league lead in wins as Bobby Bonilla's sacrifice fly in the sixth inning broke the final tie at Seattle.