DENVER (AP) - Juan Nicasio threw 6 1-3 solid innings for his first win since returning from a broken neck, lifting the Colorado Rockies over the San Diego Padres 8-4 on Wednesday night.
Nicasio (1-0) gave up four runs and seven hits as he made his second start at Coors Field since Aug. 5, when he was hit in the right temple by a line drive and suffered a fractured skull along with the neck injury.
The hard-throwing righty earned a spot in the rotation with a strong spring - a remarkable recovery considering that doctors were fearful he might not walk again after the accident, let alone take the mound.
Nicasio also singled home a run, the first RBI of the young pitcher's career. That hit finished Clayton Richard (1-1), who didn't have his best command as he surrendered eight runs in 5 1-3 innings.
PIRATES 2, DIAMONDBACKS 1
PHOENIX (AP) - Neil Walker's two-out bloop single fell near three players in shallow center field and drove in Clint Barmes with the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth.
The Pirates, who won two games in the three-game series with Arizona, got back-to-back two-out singles from Barmes and Andrew McCutchen in the eighth off Diamondbacks starter Daniel Hudson (1-1) before Walker's hit off reliever David Hernandez.
Chris Resop and Tony Watson combined to pitch a scoreless eighth inning, and Juan Cruz earned his second straight save after allowing a leadoff single in the ninth.
The Diamondbacks went ahead 1-0 after leadoff man Willie Bloomquist tripled and scored on Jason Kubel's single in the first inning.
BRAVES 14, METS 6
ATLANTA (AP) - Dan Uggla ended his struggles against R.A. Dickey with a two-run homer, and Juan Francisco and Freddie Freeman also hit two-run drives.
Uggla had been 0 for 24 against the knuckleballer before his home run capped a four-run third and gave Atlanta a 6-3 lead.
Francisco homered in the second and Freeman hit an opposite-field drive to left in the fifth that chased Dickey (2-1), who allowed eight runs and eight hits in 4 1-3 innings in his worst outing in four years.
Atlanta has won seven of eight since opening the season with four losses, including three straight in New York.
David Wright had three RBIs, tying Darryl Strawberry for the Mets' career record at 733. Ike Davis homered for New York, which completed a 3-3 trip.
Cristhian Martinez (1-0) gave up one run and three hits in two innings to win in relief of Jair Jurrjens, whose ERA rose to 8.10.
MARLINS 9, CUBS 1
MIAMI (AP) - Hanley Ramirez homered for the third game in a row, Mark Buehrle pitched eight innings for his first victory with Miami and the Marlins beat the slumping Chicago Cubs 9-1 on Wednesday night.
Ramirez put the Marlins up 4-0 with a two-run homer in the fifth inning. He started the season slowly, but in the past four games has gone 9 for 16 with nine RBIs to hike his average from .133 to .283.
Ramirez hit a walk-off RBI single in the 11th inning Sunday, and broke an eighth-inning tie with a three-run homer in Tuesday's victory. He has four homers after hitting only 10 last year, when he struggled with injuries and a prolonged slump.
Buehrle (1-2), one of the Marlins' offseason All-Star acquisitions, allowed one run and six hits while pitching at Marlins Park for the first time.
NATIONALS 3, ASTROS 2
WASHINGTON (AP) - Jayson Werth drew a bases-loaded walk and Wilson Ramos hit a sacrifice fly as the Washington Nationals rallied in the eighth inning for their third straight win.
The Nationals improved to 10-3 - they became the first team in the majors to reach 10 wins this season. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Texas each began the day with nine victories.
Washington drew three walks in the eighth and scored twice against three Astros relievers.
Houston lost its fourth in a row.
CARDINALS 11, REDS 1
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Jaime Garcia pitched seven effective innings and hit a two-run triple and Carlos Beltran homered again.
Beltran hit a two-run shot, his fifth homer overall and second of the series. Tyler Greene also had a two-run homer while Rafael Furcal had four hits and drove in two runs.
Garcia (2-0) allowed one run on seven hits and three walks. He was aided by four double plays and helped his cause with a triple off the wall in center field in the sixth that made it 7-1 and chased Mat Latos (0-2).
Brewers 3, Dodgers 2, 10 innings
MILWAUKEE (AP) - Nyjer Morgan scored on a fly ball by Ryan Braun in the 10th inning in the second late-inning thriller in a row for Milwaukee.
With the bases loaded and one out, Braun lofted a shallow fly ball to center field. Morgan took off for home despite a stop sign from third base coach Ed Sedar and was called safe on a close play at the plate - although replays showed that he may have been tagged out before reaching the plate. It didn't matter to Morgan, who was mobbed by his teammates after sliding home.
Reliever Matt Guerrier (0-1) took the loss for the Dodgers, who have lost the first two games of the series.
Kameron Loe (1-0) earned the win.
Aramis Ramirez hit his first home run of the season for the Brewers, shaking off what has been a sluggish start to the season with his new team.