CINCINNATI (AP) - Homer Bailey threw his second no-hitter in 10 months and the first in the majors this season, pitching the Cincinnati Reds to a 3-0 victory over the slumping San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night.
Bailey (5-6) became the third Reds pitcher with more than one no-hitter, joining Jim Maloney and Johnny Vander Meer - still the only big leaguer to toss two in a row. Bailey beat the Pirates 1-0 in Pittsburgh last Sept. 28 and got another 17 starts later.
The last pitcher to throw one no-hitter and then another before anyone else in the majors accomplished the feat was Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, according to STATS. Baseball's career strikeout king did it for the California Angels on Sept. 28, 1974, against Minnesota, and June 1, 1975, vs. Baltimore.
Bailey walked Gregor Blanco leading off the seventh, the only Giants batter to reach base. First baseman Joey Votto alertly threw out Blanco as he tried to advance from second to third on a soft one-hopper that otherwise could have become an infield single for Buster Posey.
With 27,509 fans on their feet chanting "Homer! Homer!" Bailey finished it off in the ninth. He jumped to glove Brandon Crawford's high comebacker, struck out Tony Abreu and retired Blanco on a grounder to third baseman Todd Frazier.
DODGERS 8, ROCKIES 0
DENVER (AP) - Clayton Kershaw tossed a four-hitter for his second shutout of the season and rookie sensation Yasiel Puig had three more hits, including a solo homer, to lead the Dodgers to a win over the Rockies.
The 22-year-old Puig also added a double and a single to raise his average to .443 this season.
Kershaw (7-5) kept the Rockies off balance all night, even top hitter Michael Cuddyer, who had his franchise-record 27-game hitting streak halted after going hitless in four plate appearances. Cuddyer flied out to Puig in right to end the game.
The hard-throwing Kershaw had eight strikeouts and walked none. He only allowed one runner to get to second all evening.
Roy Oswalt (0-3) was roughed up in his first start at Coors Field this season. He allowed five runs and nine hits in five innings.
PHILLIES 3, PIRATES 1
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Jonathan Pettibone pitched neatly into the sixth inning, and the Phillies snapped the Pirates' nine-game winning streak.
Phillies slugger Ryan Howard ended an 0-for-22 slump - 12 strikeouts - with an RBI single in a three-run sixth to open the scoring. Howard and Michael Young each had two hits for Philadelphia, which scored all of its runs against Pirates rookie spot starter Brandon Cumpton (0-1).
Pettibone (4-3) won for the first time since May 14 - a span of nine starts - by limiting Pittsburgh's offense to Garrett Jones' homer in the sixth. In 5 2-3 innings, Pettibone gave up three hits.
BREWERS 4, NATIONALS 0
WASHINGTON (AP) - Stephen Strasburg had hitters flailing at curveballs for seven scoreless innings, getting all eight of his strikeouts with the same pitch in a magnificent outing that was wasted when the Brewers scored off the Nationals bullpen.
Strasburg put on a gem of performance that dropped his ERA to 2.24 and nearly overshadowed the game's actual outcome. Once again, the Nationals' bats abandoned him, and Juan Francisco's two-run double in the eighth started a scoring spree off Drew Storen (2-2) as the Brewers snapped a six-game losing streak.
Martin Maldonado knocked in Francisco with a warning track fly ball that left fielder Bryce Harper dropped - it was nevertheless ruled a double - and scored on Jeff Bianchi's groundball single that got through the infield only because Maldonado was trying to steal third with an absurd jump off Storen.
The earned runs were the first allowed by Storen in 10 appearances, and they made Jim Henderson (3-2) the winning pitcher. Brewers starter Wily Peralta had his own shutout in the making until he left during the sixth inning with a strained left hamstring. Henderson was one of four relievers who finished the eight-hitter.
BRAVES 11, MARLINS 3
ATLANTA (AP) - Chris Johnson's two-run, go-ahead double was the big hit in a four-run sixth inning that helped the Braves to a win over the Marlins.
The Braves set a season high with 16 hits and matched their high for runs.
The game was tied at 3 before the Braves opened the sixth with three straight hits off Dan Jennings (0-1), loading the bases. Ryan Webb struck out Dan Uggla and Reed Johnson before Chris Johnson gave Atlanta the lead with his double past first baseman Logan Morrison.
Kris Medlen (6-7) gave up three runs and nine hits and two walks in six innings as the NL East-leading Braves took their fourth straight win. The Marlins' three-game winning streak ended.
METS 9, DIAMONDBACKS 1
NEW YORK (AP) - Jeremy Hefner and the Mets handed Patrick Corbin his first loss, breaking away from the Diamondbacks on a drizzly night and sending the NL West leaders to their season-worst fifth straight defeat.
Josh Satin hit an RBI double that put the Mets ahead 2-1 in a seven-run seventh inning.
Hefner (3-6) outpitched Corbin (9-1) as the Diamondbacks continued a most curious streak - their starting pitchers are 0-11 in 24 games since June 5. Arizona fell to 1-7 on its road trip after two straight losses to begin this four-game visit to Citi Field.
INTERLEAGUE
RED SOX 4, PADRES 1
BOSTON (AP) - Brandon Snyder hit a bases-loaded double and John Lackey struck out six over eight strong innings for Boston in a win over slumping San Diego.
Lackey (6-5) scattered six hits and walked one while moving above .500 for the first time since late in 2011. The only run Lackey allowed was a solo homer by Jesus Guzman in the seventh.
Koji Uehara replaced Lackey in the ninth and struck out two, earning his fifth save for the Red Sox, who improved to 6-1 during a nine-game homestand.
San Diego rookie Robbie Erlin (1-1) threw 93 pitches over 3 2-3 innings before getting pulled after Snyder's bases-clearing double in the third put Boston up 3-0.