Wolf Continues Winning Ways for Phillies

Randy Wolf has unexpectedly become one of the Philadelphia Phillies’ most reliable starters.

The 22-year-old former Pepperdine left-hander became the first Phillie pitcher in 19 years to win his first five decisions, and Ron Gant drove in five runs Saturday, including a two-run homer, as the Phillies added to the Boston Red Sox’ interleague woes with an 11-3 victory at Boston.

“We had a lot of good things happen,” Philadelphia Manager Terry Francona said of Wolf, who was recalled from triple-A Scranton last month. “But it started with him. He went out there in that 98-degree heat and he didn’t wilt. He gave up a Fenway homer and didn’t let it bother him.”

Wolf (5-0) gave up a two-run homer to Nomar Garciaparra in the first. He then held the Red Sox to one hit over the next four innings despite temperatures of almost 100 degrees.

Wolf, who also yielded an unearned run in the sixth, gave up six hits, walked four and struck out three over 7 1/3 innings for his fifth win in seven starts.

“I just happened to be the guy on the mound today,” he said. “The way they were playing, it didn’t matter who was pitching.”

Wolf, who led the International League in strikeouts before he was recalled, became the first Phillie pitcher since Marty Bystrom in 1980 to win his first five decisions.

New York Yankees 11, Atlanta 4--Andy Pettitte, squarely on the trading block during a disappointing season, survived one bad inning at New York and may have saved his spot in the Yankees’ rotation.

Bernie Williams and Chuck Knoblauch homered early, and the Yankees batted around in a five-run fifth to block the Braves’ bid for a three-game sweep. Atlanta had won four in a row overall.

Milwaukee 11, Kansas City 3--Mark Loretta had a career-high five hits and Alex Ochoa homered twice for the Brewers at Milwaukee in a game interrupted by a power outage.

The game was delayed 29 minutes in the top of the seventh when nearly all the floodlights in County Stadium simultaneously went dark.

But the delay didn’t faze Hideo Nomo (8-2), who retired Jed Hansen seconds before the lights went out. He returned to the game after the delay and finished the seventh inning.

All-star outfielder Jeromy Burnitz of the Brewers suffered a broken bone in his right hand when he was hit by a pitch from Jose Rosado in the fourth inning.

Baltimore 2, Montreal 1--Will Clark and Harold Baines homered to back the six-hit pitching of Scott Erickson as the Orioles completed a three-game sweep at Baltimore.

Baines hit his 21st of the season in the sixth, a 443-foot shot to right-center against Dustin Hermanson. The homer was Baines’ 220th as a designated hitter, breaking a tie atop the all-time list with former Angel Don Baylor.

Arizona 8, Texas 6--Tony Womack’s fly ball into the sun turned into a two-run, 10th-inning double as the Diamondbacks took advantage of a rare summer day game at Arlington, Texas.

Jay Bell hit two homers for the Diamondbacks, including a solo shot against John Wetteland (3-4) in the ninth inning to tie the score at 6-6.

San Francisco 7, Oakland 2--Barry Bonds broke out of a slump with two hits, including a three-run double in a six-run eighth inning at Oakland.

The Athletics lost Billy Taylor during the Giants’ rally when Bill Mueller’s line drive struck the A’s closer near his forehead.

The impact knocked Taylor down and he was on the mound for several moments before getting up on his own. He left the game because of a small laceration and swelling above his right eye.

Minnesota 8, Chicago Cubs 0--Rookie Joe Mays pitched his first major league shutout and Denny Hocking homered on the game’s first pitch at Chicago.

Mays (2-3), who had never pitched more than six innings in any of his five previous starts, gave up three hits and three walks while striking out a career-high seven.

St. Louis 8, Chicago White Sox 6--Eli Marrero hit a three-run double in the eighth inning to bail out Kent Bottenfield at St. Louis.

Bottenfield squandered a chance to become the National League’s only 15-game winner when he gave up six runs in the fifth inning, including a grand slam to Magglio Ordonez.

The Cardinals played all but one inning without Mark McGwire, who left because of tightness in his lower back after striking out to end the first.

Toronto 6, Florida 1--Jose Cruz Jr. hit a tiebreaking two-run double at Toronto and David Wells pitched his third complete game.

After giving up a double in the fourth, Wells (10-6) retired 15 consecutive batters before Chris Clapinski singled in his first major league at-bat.

Tampa Bay 3, New York Mets 2--Wade Boggs moved within 15 hits of 3,000, singling twice and driving in a run for the Devil Rays at St. Petersburg, Fla.

Houston 3, Detroit 2--Derek Bell walked with the bases loaded in the 10th inning at Houston to give the Astros their sixth consecutive victory.

Cincinnati 3, Colorado 2--Larry Walker tied the score with a pinch-hit two-run homer in the ninth, but Jeffrey Hammonds homered in the bottom of the inning to lift the Reds in a National League game at Cincinnati.

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The Race to 3,000 Hits

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Player Team Hits Wade Boggs Tampa Bay 2,985 Tony Gwynn San Diego 2,982 Cal Ripken Baltimore 2,950

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