Phillies Win Again Despite Key Injuries

The Philadelphia Phillies are on quite a roll considering their closer is hurt and their power-hitting first baseman is nursing a thumb injury.

Vicente Padilla (2-4) pitched six-plus effective innings in the Phillies’ 4-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Thursday.

Ryan Madson worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth for his first save as the Phillies took two of three from the defending West Division champions to improve to 5-1 on their 10-game trip, which concludes with four games at Colorado.

A.J. Pierzynski hit his first homer since joining the Giants in the off-season to lead off the second. But he flied out to end the game with runners on second and third.

Closer Billy Wagner had warmed up and was ready to pitch in the ninth when he felt a twinge in his left groin, which he wraps every day.

Wagner’s status was unknown, but he said his groin hurts more than it has in years. First baseman Jim Thome, who has 10 homers, returned after sitting out Wednesday’s game and was one for four.

Colorado 7-2, Pittsburgh 5-11 -- Oliver Perez pitched his second complete game of the season, and the Pirates had a season-high 21 hits, giving them a split of the first traditional doubleheader at Coors Field -- there have been 15 day-night doubleheaders in which fans had to buy separate tickets for each game.

Perez (3-1) yielded seven hits and allowed no runners past first base after the fifth inning. The left-hander struck out seven and walked one.

Florida 3, Houston 2 -- A mental mistake by catcher Brad Ausmus allowed the go-ahead run to score in the ninth inning at Houston.

After Juan Pierre tied it at 2-2 with a run-scoring triple off Octavio Dotel (0-2), the Marlins loaded the bases with none out for Miguel Cabrera. He hit a grounder to third base, and Jose Vizcaino stepped on the bag for a forceout before throwing home.

Ausmus, a two-time Gold Glove winner, took the throw at the plate and relayed to first, failing to realize he needed to tag Pierre because of the force at third.

San Diego 8, Cincinnati 2 -- Ryan Klesko drove in two runs and scored twice, and Jake Peavy (3-2) escaped two early jams to lead the Padres at San Diego.

Peavy settled down after throwing 37 pitches in the first inning and 70 through three. He allowed five batters to reach in the first, and trailed, 2-1, after three innings. He left the bases loaded in the first and third.

Atlanta 6, St. Louis 5 -- J.D. Drew homered against his former team for the second day in a row, helping the Braves avoid a three-game sweep in St. Louis. The Braves won for only the second time in eight games.

Milwaukee 7, Montreal 4 -- Lyle Overbay extended his career-best hitting streak to 14 games with his major league-leading 19th double at Milwaukee, and the Brewers swept the Expos for the first time since joining the National League in 1998.

New York 7, Arizona 4 -- Catcher Vance Wilson, making only his sixth start of the season, hit his first homer -- a three-run shot off Brandon Webb (2-3) -- and the Mets split a four-game series in Phoenix.