Valdez Adjusts and Beats Brewers

Ismael Valdez made a small adjustment to his motion, and it made all the difference. He pitched seven strong innings for his first victory in more than a month, leading the San Diego Padres over the Brewers, 5-2, Sunday at Milwaukee.

“I kept the ball down, and my pitches were working a lot better. My body was going toward first base instead of toward home plate,” Valdez said, adding that he also moved to the left side of the rubber to help his balance.

Valdez (4-2), who had not won since beating Montreal on April 27, gave up nine hits and two runs. He helped his own cause with a run-scoring ground-rule double with two out in the sixth inning to make it 5-1.

Florida 8, New York 6 -- The Marlins, who completed a three-game sweep at Miami and are a league-best 30-20, lost right-hander Josh Beckett, who left after 2 2/3 innings because of a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand. The Marlins will put him on the 15-day disabled list today and activate right-hander A.J. Burnett, who will make his return Thursday on the road against the Mets.

Houston 7, St. Louis 1 -- Mike Lamb, Jeff Bagwell and Lance Berkman hit two-run homers at Houston. Albert Pujols hit his major league-leading 15th homer for the Cardinals, a ninth-inning drive that gave him six homers in his last eight games.

Chicago 12, Pittsburgh 1 -- Derrek Lee broke out of a one-for-20 slump with three hits and four RBIs at Pittsburgh, helping the Cubs end a five-game losing streak, their longest skid since Sept. 22-27, 2002.

Philadelphia 4, Atlanta 1 -- At Philadelphia, Eric Milton pitched seven strong innings, and Jim Thome hit his 12th home run to lead the Phillies. Milton (6-1) gave up one run and three hits, striking out eight.

Montreal 6, Cincinnati 2 -- The Expos’ Tomo Ohka (3-5) became the first major league pitcher in more than five years to bat higher than ninth in the starting lineup. He batted eighth and was hitless in two at-bats, but worked 6 2/3 strong innings at Montreal.