Mark Teixeira hit a pair of homers for the second straight game, and Brian McCann had a first-inning grand slam Monday that powered the Atlanta Braves to a 14-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in Cincinnati.
With Atlanta's offense fully revved, right-hander Tim Hudson (15-5) settled in and stayed unbeaten for the last two months. Hudson improved to 9-0 in his last 11 starts and became the first NL pitcher to reach the 15-win mark.
The Braves lead the NL in batting on the road, and made themselves cozy at one of the majors' most hitter-friendly ballparks. They hit four homers in all — Andruw Jones added a two-run shot — while sending the Reds to a loss that matched their most lopsided of the season.
McCann set the tone with his third career grand slam off left-hander Phil Dumatrait (0-2), a 26-year-old rookie who was hit hard for the second consecutive start. Dumatrait also gave up Teixeira's three-run homer in the second inning.
Teixeira added another three-run shot off left-hander Mike Gosling in the fourth, giving him back-to-back multihomer games. His cheeks puffed and he emphatically exhaled while connecting on that homer, which flew an estimated 430 feet.
The Braves made a bold move on July 31, getting the power-hitting first baseman from Texas in a seven-player deal. That move has worked: Teixeira has nine homers and 25 RBIs in 18 games for the Braves.
CARDINALS 6, CUBS 4: At Chicago, Albert Pujols and Rick Ankiel homered, Scott Rolen drove in three runs with a pair of doubles and St. Louis beat the Chicago Cubs, moving within three games of the NL Central lead. The Cardinals salvaged one win in what was to have been a four-game series before the Sunday night game was postponed.
BREWERS 9. DIAMONDBACKS 0: At Phoenix, Prince Fielder homered for the second straight day and Milwaukee beat the Diamondbacks to move into a tie for the NL Central lead.
Fielder drove in four runs and Bill Hall hit a three-run drive for the Brewers, who won for the second time in eight games to pull even with the Cubs in the division.
GIANTS 8, MARLINS 7: At Miami, Bengie Molina drove in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning with his third RBI single, and last-place San Francisco overcame a four-run deficit to complete a four-game over Florida. The Giants won their fifth consecutive game for their longest road winning streak since Aug. 21-Sept. 5, 2005.
PIRATES 4, ROCKIES 2 (11): At Denver, Freddy Sanchez singled in the winning run in the 11th inning and Pittsburgh beat the struggling Rockies. Cesar Izturis drew a leadoff walk off Brian Fuentes (0-5). Nate McLouth bunted him to second and after Fuentes hit Matt Kata on an 0-2 pitch, Sanchez blooped an RBI single to short center field.
NATIONALS 7, ASTROS 0: At Houston, Tim Redding threw seven shutout innings against his former team, Dmitri Young hit a three-run homer and Washington ended a four-game losing streak. Newly acquired Wily Mo Pena homered for the second straight game and added an RBI single for Washington, which began its season-high 10-game road trip with a victory.
American League
RED SOX 6, D-RAYS 0: At St. Petersburg, Fla., Tim Wakefield continued his dominance over Tampa Bay, allowing four hits over seven innings as the Boston Red Sox blanked the Devil Rays. Wakefield improved to 19-2 — including a 9-0 mark at Tropicana Field — all-time against the Devil Rays.
ATHLETICS 6, BLUE JAYS 4: At Toronto, Jack Hannahan hit his first major league home run and Joe Blanton remained unbeaten in August for Oakland.
Nick Swisher also homered for Oakland, which has won six of eight. Swisher singled twice and went 3-for-4. Blanton (11-8) allowed one run and six hits over seven innings.
MARINERS 9, TWINS 4: At Minneapolis, Raul Ibanez hit two of Seattle's four home runs and the Mariners began a challenging stretch with a win over the Minnesota Twins. Richie Sexson and Kenji Johjima also went deep for the Mariners, who have won four straight and seven of nine.
WHITE SOX 4, ROYALS 3: At Chicago, Bobby Jenks failed to break the major league record for consecutive batters retired before getting three outs to help Chicago avoid its longest losing streak in 16 years. Jenks, who tied Jim Barr's mark of 41 for San Francisco in 1972 on Sunday, gave up a single to Joey Gathright to lead off the ninth.