Associated Press
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WASHINGTON — Rookie Jason Heyward gave Atlanta its first steal of home in a decade, and Tim Hudson shut down Washington the way he almost always does, helping the NL East-leading Braves beat the last-place Nationals 3-1 Wednesday night.
Hudson (11-5) allowed one run in 7 2-3 innings, improving to 10-1 with a 1.49 ERA for his career against the Nationals franchise.
Livan Hernandez (7-7) gave up three runs in 4 1-3 innings, his shortest outing of 2010.
Chipper Jones drove in two runs, and Martin Prado had three hits for Atlanta, which had lost four of its previous six games. The Braves were shut out by the Nationals on Tuesday, when reliever Miguel Batista went five innings as a last-minute replacement for Stephen Strasburg, whose pitching shoulder felt stiff.
The last Braves player to steal home was Rafael Furcal on April 9, 2000, against San Francisco.
Blue Jays 5, Orioles 0
TORONTO — Rookie left-hander Brad Mills pitched seven innings for his first major league win, Lyle Overbay hit a three-run homer and the Blue Jays beat the Orioles, Toronto’s 12th consecutive win over Baltimore.
Adam Lind went 3 for 3 with an RBI and an intentional walk for the Blue Jays, who have won five of six.
Toronto, which faces Baltimore six more times this season, is one victory from matching its club-record 13-game winning streak against Baltimore, set between April 11, 1999, and May 10, 2000.
The Blue Jays, who lead the majors with 155 homers, have gone deep in 10 straight games and hit 25 homers in that span. Toronto has a league-high 40 homers in July.
It was the eighth shutout of the season for the Blue Jays, and the seventh time the Orioles have been blanked.
Baltimore has lost five straight and is 2-11 since the All-Star break.
Called up from Triple-A Las Vegas to make his first start of the season and just the third of his career, Mills (1-0) allowed two hits, both singles, walked three and struck out four.
Jeremy Guthrie (4-11) allowed six hits in seven innings, walked one (intentional) and struck out three.
Reds 10, Brewers 2
MILWAUKEE — Brandon Phillips smacked a 450-foot grand slam and Travis Wood earned his first win in the majors in Cincinnati’s victory over Milwaukee.
The Reds scored 10 straight runs, capped by Phillips’ shot and Joey Votto’s solo homer in the eighth, for their 30th come-from-behind victory of the season.
Wood (1-1) won in his sixth career start.
Astros 8, Cubs 1
HOUSTON — Carlos Lee hit two home runs, including the go-ahead homer in the sixth inning, for Houston.
The game was tied at 1 before Lee connected for his 13th homer, a two-run shot. His second one, a two-run shot, made it 5-1 in the seventh.
Astros starter Bud Norris (3-7) allowed four hits, an unearned run and struck out seven in six innings for his first win since May 13.
Rays 7, Tigers 4
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays got out of a seventh-inning jam for the second consecutive game after intentionally walking AL triple crown contender Miguel Cabrera with runners on first and second and two outs en route to a win over the Detroit Tigers.
Grant Balfour, who ended the late threat in Monday’s 3-2 win over the Tigers by striking out Brennan Boesch, this time retired the right fielder on a fly ball to preserve Tampa Bay’s 5-4 lead.
