Soriano Steals Way Into Elite Company

Alfonso Soriano entered the 40-40 club, and the Nationals defeated the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-5, on Saturday night.

Soriano became the fourth player in major league history to record 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a season when he stole second base in the first inning. He has 40 steals and 45 home runs.

Soriano led off the bottom of the first with a single to left field. On a 2-0 count to the next batter, Felipe Lopez, Soriano raced for second base. Brewers catcher Mike Rivera did not attempt a throw.

Jose Canseco (Oakland, 1988), Barry Bonds (San Francisco, 1996) and Alex Rodriguez (Seattle, 1998) are the other players who have topped 40 in each of those categories in a single season.

Nationals starter Pedro Astacio (4-5) overcame a shaky start for his first win since Aug. 15, a span of five starts. Prince Fielder hit a two-run homer in the first and David Bell doubled in a run in the second, but Astacio limited the Brewers to one more run in his 5 2/3 innings.

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ROUNDUP

at Pittsburgh 3, New York 2 -- Ronny Paulino hit an RBI double with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning for the Pirates. The Mets’ magic number for clinching their first division title since 1988 remained at one.

at Atlanta 2, Florida 1 -- John Smoltz won for the first time in four starts, and Marcus Giles had an RBI double in the seventh for the Braves. The Marlins, who have lost three of four, had beaten Atlanta in seven of the last 10 meetings.

Philadelphia 7, at Houston 2 -- The Phillies’ David Dellucci broke up a scoreless game when he led off the seventh with his 13th home run against Jason Hirsh (3-4).

at St. Louis 6, San Francisco 1 -- Chris Carpenter earned his 100th win, and Juan Encarnacion’s three-run homer capped a four-run first for the Cardinals.

at Chicago 4, Cincinnati 0 -- The Reds lost for the 14th time in 20 games since moving into a virtual tie with the Cardinals for the NL Central lead on Aug. 24.

at Arizona 7, Colorado 6 -- Chris Snyder’s sacrifice fly with two out in the 16th inning scored Chris Young.