PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Roy Halladay threw seven sharp innings and the Philadelphia Phillies broke out of their offensive slump, beating the Marlins 7-1 on Wednesday night in Miami's first game without suspended manager Ozzie Guillen.
A once-potent offense that's missing Chase Utley and Ryan Howard struggled in the first four games, scoring eight runs total. But they rocked Marlins ace Josh Johnson, chasing the big right-hander in the fourth.
Before the game, the focus was on Guillen. He was suspended five games by the Marlins on Tuesday for saying he admired Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.
Guillen returned to Miami after the Marlins beat the Phillies on Monday and called the remark the biggest mistake of his life in a news conference in Little Havana. He spoke to the team before the clubhouse opened and players expressed their support afterward. Bench coach Joey Cora managed the team in Guillen's absence.
Halladay (2-0) allowed one run and five hits, striking out three.
Johnson (0-2) gave up six runs and a career-high 11 hits in 3 2-3 innings.
ROCKIES 17, GIANTS 8
DENVER (AP) - Carlos Gonzalez tripled twice, drove in four runs and scored three times, leading the Rockies to a wild win over Tim Lincecum and the Giants that recalled the pre-humidor days at Coors Field.
The Rockies collected 22 hits - half of them for extra bases - on a cool, sometimes damp evening.
Matt Reynolds (1-0) got the win with 1 2-3 innings in relief of Jeremy Guthrie, who failed to hold a 6-0 lead, and Tyler Chatwood picked up his first career save with a three-inning stint.
Guillermo Mota (0-1) took the loss in relief of an ineffective Lincecum, who was tagged for six runs and eight hits in a career-low 2 1-3 innings.
PADRES 2, DIAMONDBACKS 1
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Chris Denorfia hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning that sent the Padres past the Diamondbacks, who had been the last unbeaten team in the major leagues.
Denorfia's clutch shot to straightaway center field - his first of the season - came on a 2-1 pitch from David Hernandez (0-1). Cameron Maybin was aboard on a walk.
Center fielder Chris Young lost his glove over the fence trying to make a leaping grab. Someone from the Padres' bullpen retrieved it for him.
Ernesto Frieri (1-0) threw 1 1-3 innings, and Huston Street pitched a perfect ninth for his first save with the Padres.
Arizona was trying for the first 5-0 start in franchise history.
Hernandez had replaced Joe Saunders, who allowed four hits over seven innings in his season debut.
NATIONALS 4, METS 0
NEW YORK (AP) - Stephen Strasburg outpitched Johan Santana for six innings in a marquee matchup of aces on the mend, and Washington's bullpen made the lead stand up on the 50th anniversary of the Mets' first game.
Meeting in a blustery, chilly matinee, Strasburg (1-0) and Santana each got off to an erratic start but settled into a duel between pitchers coming back from major arm operations.
Strasburg allowed just two hits and struck out nine in helping the Nationals take the final two games of the three-game series against their division rival with stellar pitching - Ross Detwiler shut down the Mets on Tuesday night.
Santana (0-1) allowed five hits in five-plus innings but his wild pitch gave Washington a 1-0 lead in the second inning of a game that lasted 3 hours, 36 minutes even though the Mets had only three hits. New York pitchers combined to walk 10 and hit one batter.
REDS 4, CARDINALS 3
CINCINNATI (AP) - Joey Votto tied a career best with four hits and scored the go-ahead run on pinch-hitter Chris Heisey's ninth-inning single, capping Cincinnati's comeback from a three-run deficit.
Down 3-0 in the third against Jaime Garcia, the Reds tied the score in the fifth.
Votto doubled off Marc Rzepczynski (0-1) leading off the ninth. Ryan Ludwick was intentionally walked, and Jay Bruce struck out. Fernando Salas relieved and Heisey lined a single to left.
Aroldis Chapman (2-0) struck out five in two scoreless innings, helping the Reds avoid a three-game sweep.
Jon Jay hit a two-run homer for St. Louis. Garcia allowed three runs and 11 hits in 4 2-3 innings.
DODGERS 4, PIRATES 1
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Andre Ethier hit an RBI single for his second go-ahead hit in two days, leading the Dodgers to the victory.
Chad Billingsley (2-0) allowed five hits - including a home run by Clint Barmes - struck out four and walked none.
Juan Rivera singled home Mark Ellis in the third and Dee Gordon in the seventh. Matt Guerrier and Kenley Jansen each pitched a scoreless inning and Javy Guerra worked a perfect ninth for his fourth save.
Erik Bedard (0-2) gave up two runs and eight hits in five-plus innings and struck out three. The Canadian-born left-hander, looking for his first NL victory, was coming off a 1-0 loss to Philadelphia ace Roy Halladay last Thursday at Pittsburgh.
BREWERS 2, CUBS 1
CHICAGO (AP) - George Kottaras hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning and Yovani Gallardo outdueled Ryan Dempster to lead Milwaukee to its third straight win in the four-game series.
Starlin Castro hit a sacrifice fly in the first and Dempster (0-1) had a three-hit shutout before Mat Gamel doubled leading off the seventh. Kottaras, Milwaukee's backup catcher, followed with his second homer.
Gallardo (1-1) allowed five hits in seven innings. Francisco Rodriguez worked around a pair of walks in the eighth, and John Axford pitched a one-hit ninth for his second save, dropping the last-place Cubs to a 1-5 start.
Dempster allowed two runs, five hits and three walks in 6 2-3 innings.
Milwaukee gave Ryan Braun, Corey Hart and regular catcher Jonathan Lucroy off from the starting lineup.
BRAVES 6, ASTROS 3
HOUSTON (AP) - Jason Heyward homered and drove in two runs for Atlanta, and David Ross hit a two-run double in his 2012 debut.
Ross, the backup catcher, drove in Chipper Jones and Dan Uggla with a double to center in the fourth, giving the Braves a 3-1 lead. Heyward, who finished with three hits, added an insurance run with his solo shot to right in the eighth.
J.D. Martinez homered and drove in two runs for the Astros, who committed four errors after not making any since having four on opening day.
Atlanta starter Randall Delgado (1-0) struck out six in five innings while yielding two runs and five hits. Craig Kimbrel worked the ninth for his second save.
Houston left-hander Wandy Rodriguez (0-1) gave up four runs, three earned, and six hits in five innings.