Clement Leads Cubs Past Diamondbacks

After leaving his father’s bedside to pitch against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Matt Clement wasn’t about to come out of the game.

Clement persuaded Manager Bruce Kimm to leave him in after a conference at the mound and got the last two outs for a three-hitter as the Chicago Cubs defeated the Diamondbacks, 4-0, Saturday at Phoenix.

“It was a nice win, and good for him,” said Clement, whose father, Paul, had quintuple-bypass surgery Thursday. “Unfortunately he couldn’t watch it, but he got updates. It was a nice win to get, especially under the circumstances.”

Mark Bellhorn hit his 21st home run, and the Cubs handed the National League West leaders only their second loss in 14 games.

Clement (10-9) was undecided about leaving his father in a Pittsburgh hospital room but spent Friday afternoon there and caught a late flight for Phoenix. It didn’t affect his stamina--he threw a season-high 126 pitches.

“There was no way that he wanted to come out of that ballgame,” Kimm said. “At least 99% of the time you’re ready to make a decision in that situation, but this was one of those times you let yourself be influenced.”

Cincinnati 5, Houston 3--Adam Dunn hit a two-run homer against Tom Gordon in the 11th inning at Houston and the Reds ended a five-game losing streak.

Philadelphia 4, St. Louis 0--Vicente Padilla (13-8) pitched eight scoreless innings, and Bobby Abreu and Pat Burrell each homered at St. Louis.

New York 5, Colorado 2--Timo Perez hit a two-run homer with two out in the ninth inning at Denver and the Mets ended a 12-game skid.

Pittsburgh 17, Milwaukee 10--Craig Wilson drove in four runs at Milwaukee and Kip Wells (12-11) became the Pirates’ first 12-game winner in three years.

Florida 8, San Diego 4--Derrek Lee hit a three-run homer, his 21st, and Kevin Millar drove in two runs at San Diego to help the Marlins rebound from their worst loss this season, 18-2 to the Padres on Friday.