NL East Wrap: Cubs hold off streaking Braves

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Cubs 3, Braves 2

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CHICAGO -- In a lost season for Randy Wells, he may finally be starting to find himself.

Wells pitched effectively into the seventh, Alfonso Soriano homered and the Chicago Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves 3-2 on Wednesday night.

Wells (5-4) held the Braves to one run and two hits over 6 2-3 innings, striking out six and improving to 4-1 in his career against Atlanta.

"Randy was good, obviously," Cubs manager Mike Quade said. "Just a real good performance on the back of a game he threw pretty well."

The Cubs snapped the Braves' six-game winning streak and Atlanta remained 6 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East.

Soriano's two-run shot fueled Chicago's three-run rally in the second. He also walked and was hit by a pitch. Aramis Ramirez added a single and two walks, extending his hitting streak to 13 games.

"It felt good," Soriano said about his long home run. "That's all we needed runs because (Wells) threw a very good game tonight."

Carlos Marmol got the last three outs and joined Lee Smith as the only Cubs relievers to post consecutive 30-save seasons.

Wells has struggled this season, going 3-4 with a 6.16 ERA since coming off a seven-week stay on the disabled list on May 28. On Wednesday, he flashed the form that gave him the NL's 10th-best ERA as a rookie in 2009.

"I'm starting to feel a lot better," Wells said. "I'm starting to command the fastball a lot better. Tonight, I had a pretty good changeup."

He got off to a fast start, setting down the first 10 Braves and striking out four. The only hit he allowed through the first six innings was Martin Prado's infield single in the fourth.

"Not only (was it big) to come out and shut them down early, but do it pretty economically pitch count-wise," Quade said. "Those early innings got him to the seventh."

Wells appeared to tire in the seventh, giving up Freddie Freeman's flyout to the wall and Chipper Jones' home run into the batter's eye in center field. Wells threw 109 pitches and departed after Jones' blast.

Wells hasn't used his early-season forearm strain as an excuse for his struggles, but admitted it didn't help his cause.

"I still don't make an excuse about it, but it was definitely a hard thing to come back from," Wells said. "The biggest thing is the physical health, but besides that it's having the confidence to cut a ball loose."
Diamondbacks 4, Nationals 2
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WASHINGTON -- Daniel Hudson has never thrown a shutout in the majors, and that fact was very much on his mind with one out to go.

"Absolutely," he said. "Just two stupid pitches at the end."

Those two offerings left the ballyard. Laynce Nix to right field, Jonny Gomes to left field. Hudson was soon walking to the dugout, having lost the complete game as well as the shutout. But he was a winner nonetheless Wednesday night as the Arizona Diamondbacks held on to beat the Washington Nationals 4-2.

"At least we won the game," Hudson said. "And that's what's important right now."

Hudson (13-9) allowed nine hits, struck out six, walked none and threw 102 pitches before he hit the wall at 8 2-3 innings. J.J. Putz then came on to retire Wilson Ramos on a foul out to first for his 32nd save.

The Diamondbacks showed up at the ballpark later than usual and skipped batting practice for the second day in a row -- manager Kirk Gibson's way of getting everyone to relax after a six-game losing streak endangered Arizona's lead in the NL West.

It's working so far. Arizona won both games. Sure enough, Gibson announced there would be no BP again Thursday when the teams wrap up the series.

"Probably the rest of the season," catcher Miguel Montero said with a laugh. "We've got to keep the superstition going, you know? And this is a game with a lot of superstition, and we've got to keep going. You see the movie 'Bull Durham?' It's just kind of the same way."

The score the previous night was 2-0, which means the Nationals were nearly blanked in back-to-back games by the Diamondbacks for the second time this season. Livan Hernandez (7-12) allowed four runs and seven hits with one walk and five strikeouts over 7 1-3 innings.

"That's what that team is known for," said Washington third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who streak of 29 consecutive games reaching base came to an end. "They don't score that many runs, they get big hits when they need them, and then their pitching staff kind of carries them. The last two games, that's what they've done to us."

Marlins 6, Reds 5 (Game No. 1 of DH)

Reds 3, Marlins 2 (Game No. 2 of DH)

GAME 1 BOX SCOREGAME 2 BOX SCORE

MIAMI -- Joey Votto is locked in. That is a scary thought for the rest of the league.

Votto homered in each game of a doubleheader, and Bronson Arroyo pitched eight scoreless innings in the nightcap, leading Cincinnati Reds to a 3-2 victory Wednesday night for a split of the twinbill.

Logan Morrison returned from his demotion to Triple-A New Orleans by homering in the Marlins' 6-5 victory in the opener.

Votto went 5 for 7 with four RBIs in the two games as he extended his hitting streak to 10 games. The reigning NL MVP has 24 homers this season.

"Nobody gets locked in like Joey Votto," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "When he gets locked in, it's hard to fool him. He can hit you any part of the ballpark and he's climbing up the batting race. It's nice to see Joey get hot."

Votto is hitting .500 (16 of 32) with six home runs and 13 RBIs during his hitting streak.

"I've felt very good lately," Votto said. "I think the stuff I learned early in the season has started to actualize. I thought I've made a lot of improvements as a hitter and it's starting to pay off."

The doubleheader was scheduled to avoid potential inclement weather brought by Hurricane Irene, which was forecasted to hit South Florida Thursday.

"It's very tough to win doubleheaders especially in their ballpark," Baker said. "For years (the Marlins) have been tough here, real tough. I'm just happy to get a split, I'd be even happier if we had gotten the sweep."

Arroyo (8-10) beat the Marlins for the first time in his career, but he had to wait out an eventful ending to earn it.

"I've had a lot of leads down here," Arroyo said. "It was definitely nice to kind of put the nail in the coffin especially because they had a chance there to tie it. To get out of here with a win was nice."

Francisco Cordero relieved Arroyo in the ninth and allowed back-to-back run-scoring hits by Greg Dobbs and Gaby Sanchez. He got Bryan Petersen to fly out and Jose Lopez to ground out to end the game earning his 28th save in 33 opportunities.

After the Marlins scored six runs in the first game, including three in the pivotal eighth to lift them to a win, they were held in check for most of the second game.

"(Arroyo) changed speeds, he threw that soft stuff up there," Marlins manager Jack McKeon said. "I don't think he topped 87 on his fastball. The secret is location and he had good location on his pitches and he was successful."

Florida's Chris Volstad (5-11) lost his third consecutive decision since being recalled from Triple-A New Orleans. He allowed three runs in six innings.

Morrison played both games of the doubleheader for the Marlins after an 11-day demotion to the minors. He homered in the first game.

"It means a lot," said Morrison on making an immediate impact. "It doesn't matter what jersey I have on, I just want to contribute. I'm happy."

Morrison's 18th homer put the Marlins on the scoreboard in the opener.

"It was a different ballclub with Lo-Mo in there," McKeon said. "He's a threat, he did a great job. He played hard. It was a different attitude. The whole energy level was different."

In the opener, the Marlins scored three runs in the eighth to break a 3-all tie. Emilio Bonifacio tripled off reliever Jose Arrendondo (3-4) before Omar Infante drove him in. Dobbs followed and hit a two-run double to give the Marlins a 6-3 lead.

They needed the extra runs after Todd Frazier hit a two-run homer in the ninth off Edward Mujica. Steve Cishek relieved Mujica to get two outs to record his second save.

Bonifacio's triple over the head of center fielder Drew Stubbs with one out in the eighth keyed the pivotal inning.

"It was hit harder than he thought," Baker said. "The wind was wrecking havoc out there, too. Usually Stubby catches that ball."

Ryan Webb (2-4) struck out the only batter he faced.

Javier Vazquez fanned 11 in seven innings for the Marlins. He allowed three runs and six hits.

McKeon was ejected in the third inning for arguing balls and strikes with first base umpire Todd Tichenor during an at-bat with Homer Bailey.

Reds starter Homer Bailey allowed three runs in seven innings. He struck out four and picked up two hits at the plate.

"As the game went on I felt I kept getting a little bit better and I wanted to go out there for the eighth, but (Baker) wouldn't let me," Bailey said.

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