Alou’s 10th-Inning Double Lifts Giants

Moises Alou doubled in a run with two outs in the 10th inning to give the San Francisco Giants a 9-8 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night at Phoenix.

It was the sixth consecutive victory for the third-place Giants, who pulled to within two games of the Western division-leading Dodgers. Arizona, which had rallied from a 6-1 deficit, remained 1 1/2 games back in second place.

Catcher Mike Matheny hit San Francisco’s fourth grand slam of the season, but his passed ball on what would have been the third out of the seventh inning cleared the way for pinch-hitter Tony Clark’s three-run double that tied it, at 7-7.

Tyler Walker pitched the 10th for his first save, getting out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam.

San Diego 5, Colorado 4 -- A radical Padre lineup change to counteract Rocky left-hander Jeff Francis’ effectiveness paid off with Adam Hyzdu’s hitting a pivotal three-run double to give host San Diego a 4-2 lead in the second inning.

Hyzdu, who was batting .125, had replaced Dave Roberts in the leadoff spot as part of Padre Manager Bruce Bochy’s decision to use only one left-handed hitter in his lineup. Francis had held lefties to .111 hitting in four previous starts.

Sean Burroughs, the lone Padre left-handed hitter in the lineup, did drive in the go-ahead run in the third inning, but Bochy wasn’t in the dugout, having been ejected in the top of the second inning for arguing a call at first base.

St. Louis 10, Cincinnati 9 -- Jim Edmonds hit a three-run homer off Red closer Danny Graves, and John Mabry added a two-run shot to complete the biggest ninth-inning comeback in Cardinal history. Ken Griffey Jr.’s disputed homer -- a drive that hit the top of the wall and bounced back -- helped host Cincinnati pull ahead, 9-3, after eight innings. St. Louis then sent 12 batters to the plate and scored seven runs in the ninth. The last time the Reds blew a six-run lead in the ninth was June 29, 1952, when an 8-2 lead turned into a 9-8 loss to the Cubs.

Houston 11, Pittsburgh 4 -- Andy Pettitte (2-2) gave up three runs -- two earned -- and four hits in 7 2/3 innings for the victory at Houston, where the Astros are 10-3.

New York 5, Philadelphia 1 -- Carlos Beltran hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning to snap a 1-1 tie. Pedro Martinez (3-1) got the win in a game that was delayed 2 hours 17 minutes because of rain.