Carpenter Is First to Win 18 Games

Even with a five-run lead in the first inning against the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates, Chris Carpenter took nothing for granted.

Carpenter gave up only four this and three runs in eight innings, becoming the majors’ first 18-game winner, as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pirates, 8-3, Wednesday night at Pittsburgh.

“If you go out there relaxed, you’re going to give up runs,” Carpenter said.

Carpenter (18-4) is 10-0 in his last 13 starts.

St. Louis Manager Tony La Russa tied Sparky Anderson for third place on baseball’s managerial wins list with his 2,194th win.

The teams engaged in a brief shoving match 90 minutes before the game, prompting umpires to ask for a pregame meeting between managers La Russa and Lloyd McClendon. The game was played without incident, and both managers refused comment after the game.

Milwaukee 6, Florida 4 -- Rookie Rickie Weeks drove in the go-ahead run with a single in the sixth inning and the Brewers took advantage of four Marlin errors at Milwaukee.

Washington 5, Cincinnati 3 -- John Patterson scattered 10 hits over 8 1/3 innings, working out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the seventh, to lead the Nationals at Washington.

New York 18, Arizona 4 -- David Wright and Mike Jacobs both hit two homers, and Jacobs and Jose Reyes both had four RBIs as the Mets pounded the Diamondbacks at Phoenix.

Atlanta 3, Chicago 1 -- Rafael Furcal hit a two-run single in the seventh inning to capitalize on pitcher Mark Prior’s error as the Braves rallied at Chicago.

San Diego 7, Houston 4 -- Trevor Hoffman earned his 425th save to move into second place on the career list as the Padres climbed back to .500 with the win at San Diego.

Philadelphia 7, San Francisco 4 -- Bobby Abreu had three hits and drove in two runs, and the Phillies maintained their lead in the NL wild-card race with a win at San Francisco.

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Winning ways

Tony La Russa, who has managed the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals, tied Sparky Anderson for third place on baseball’s managerial win list.

*--* MANAGER WINS 1. Connie Mack 3,731 2. John McGraw 2,763 3. Tony La Russa * 2,194 Sparky Anderson 2,194 5. Bucky Harris 2,157 6. Joe McCarthy 2,125 7. Bobby Cox * 2,074 8. Walter Alston 2,040 9. Leo Durocher 2,008 10. Casey Stengel 1,905

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* Active