Teixeira is sick, but homers twice again

CINCINNATI -- A 24-hour virus made Mark Teixeira sick to his stomach. Those pitchers he homered off felt even worse.

A sapped Teixeira hit a pair of home runs for the second consecutive game, leading the Atlanta Braves on Monday night to a 14-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds that showed what the power hitter can do on a nearly empty stomach.

“He said he wasn’t feeling good today,” said Tim Hudson (15-5), who kept his two-month unbeaten streak going. “You couldn’t tell from his at-bats. He was a one-man wrecking crew.”

Teixeira had a three-run homer in the second inning off Phil Dumatrait (0-2) and added a three-run shot off left-hander Mike Gosling in the fourth but he only led the hit parade.

Brian McCann hit a first-inning grand slam, and Andruw Jones added a two-run shot as the Braves sent the Reds to a loss that matched their most lopsided of the season.

With Atlanta’s offense fully revved, Hudson wasn’t quite up to form but still improved to 9-0 in his last 11 starts and became the first NL pitcher to reach the 15-win mark.

--

RESULTS

Milwaukee 9, at Arizona 0: Prince Fielder homered for the second straight day to help the Brewers move into a tie with the Cubs for the NL Central lead. Fielder drove in four runs and Bill Hall added a three-run homer.

St. Louis 6, at Chicago 4: Albert Pujols and Rick Ankiel homered, Scott Rolen drove in three runs with a pair of doubles to help the Cardinals move within three games of the NL Central’s co-leading Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers.

Pittsburgh 4, at Colorado 2 (11 innings): Freddy Sanchez singled in the winning run in the 11th to lift the Pirates. Damaso Marte (2-0) walked two, but retired pinch-hitter Jamey Carroll in the 10th for the win. Matt Capps pitched a perfect 11th.

Washington 7, at Houston 0: Tim Redding (3-3) threw seven shutout innings against his former team, Dmitri Young hit a three-run homer and the Nationals ended a four-game losing streak. Redding gave up six hits and struck out two.

San Francisco 8, at Florida 7: Bengie Molina drove in a pivotal run in the sixth inning with his third RBI single to help the Giants overcome a four-run deficit and complete a four-game sweep of the Marlins.

Atlanta 14, at Cincinnati 4: Mark Teixeria’s six RBIs were one shy of his career high in a game in which the Braves matched their season high in runs scored.

From the Associated Press