Valentin Makes Most of Chances Again for Mets

John Valentin has one of the toughest jobs in baseball, and he’s getting very good at it.

Starting in place of the ailing Edgardo Alfonzo, Valentin hit a two-run double with two out in the seventh inning to send the Mets past the Cincinnati Reds, 6-5, Sunday at New York.

Signed as a free agent last winter, the 11-year veteran has 23 runs batted in in only 134 at-bats this season, many as a pinch-hitter.

“John has made some of the best adjustments,” Met Manager Bobby Valentine said. “He keeps himself ready to play. He has a regular program and sometimes even hits during the game to keep himself sharp. He savors these chances when he gets to start.”

Steve Trachsel got stronger over seven solid innings, and some shaky Cincinnati defense helped the Mets recover from a 4-0 deficit after four innings. New York took two of the three one-run games in a key series between playoff contenders.

Ken Griffey Jr. homered for the Reds, who are tied with the Mets for third in the NL wild-card race--within striking distance of the Dodgers.

St. Louis 10, Chicago 9--Edgar Renteria’s three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the Cardinals the victory.

Renteria drove in four runs as the Cardinals came back from a 6-0 deficit after three innings.

The Cardinals entered the ninth trailing, 9-4, but Fernadno Vina led off the inning with an infield single.

An RBI double by pinch-hitter Miguel Cairo scored Vina and an RBI single by Jim Edmonds brought in closer Antonio Alfonseca.

Alfonseca (1-2) walked Albert Pujols, struck out J.D. Drew and gave up an RBI single to Tino Martinez before Renteria hit a towering shot to left-center to end the game.

Arizona 5, San Diego 4--Luis Gonzalez hit a game-winning single in the 10th inning at Phoenix and also had an inside-the-park home run in the fifth to lead the Diamondbacks to their seventh consecutive victory.

Junior Spivey singled and stole second before Gonzalez, who went four for four, singled to center off San Diego closer Trevor Hoffman (1-2). The win gave the Diamondbacks their first 7-0 homestand.

Arizona starter Brian Anderson struck out a career-high 11 in eight innings. He gave up two runs and five hits.

Montreal 4, Florida 1--Bartolo Colon pitched a two-hitter for his seventh complete game of the season, and Jose Vidro and Fernando Tatis homered to lead the Expos at Montreal.

Colon (4-1) held the Marlins to a one-out double by Eric Owens in the first and Andy Fox’s two-out triple in the eighth. Colon, who has one career one-hitter, struck out nine and walked one.

Philadelphia 7, Atlanta 1--Scott Rolen homered, and a strong outing by Vicente Padilla carried the Phillies at Atlanta.

The Braves lost two of three games during the weekend at Turner Field--their first series loss since May 7-9 against the Dodgers.

Jimmy Rollins had three RBIs for the Phillies.

Milwaukee 5, Colorado 3--Ronnie Belliard hit a tiebreaking two-run single in the sixth inning at Milwaukee as the Brewers completed their first series sweep against the Rockies.

The Brewers, who have the worst record in the NL, swept the three-game series and have won four in a row overall.

Houston 4, Pittsburgh 0--Wade Miller and four relievers combined on a five-hitter at Houston as the Astros shut out the Pirates for the third time in four games. Houston swept the four-game series, outscoring Pittsburgh, 19-3. The Pirates hadn’t been shut out three times in four games since August 1986.