Tommy Hanson shook off an agonizing start to outpitch Gio Gonzalez, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Washington Nationals 3-2 Sunday to end a six-game skid against their NL East rivals. Hanson (6-4) gave up homers to the first two batters he faced, with Steve Lombardozzi and Bryce Harper connecting on consecutive pitches. They became the first pair of rookies in modern baseball history to homer in succession leading off a game, the Nationals said in citing the Elias Sports Bureau. Hanson then blanked the Nationals over the next six innings. The right-hander allowed two runs, six hits and no walks in seven innings. Eric O'Flaherty worked the eighth and Craig Kimbrel struck out the side in the ninth for his 16th save in 17 tries. Gonzalez (7-2) was seeking to win his sixth straight start. Mets 6, Cardinals 1: Jonathon Niese struck out a career-high 10 in six scoreless innings and the Mets shut down the slumping Cardinals for the third straight game, getting a homer and three RBIs from rookie Kirk Nieuwenhuis. Andres Torres added a two-run triple and finished a homer shy of the cycle. Nieuwenhuis, batting leadoff, also had three hits. Niese (4-2) became the latest New York pitcher to dominate the Cardinals, following Johan Santana's no-hitter in the series opener Friday night — the first in Mets history — and knuckleballer R.A. Dickey's seven-hit shutout Saturday. The only thing that prevented the Cardinals from being blanked in three consecutive games for the first time since October 1976 was a two-out RBI single by Adron Chambers in the eighth off Elvin Ramirez, who was making his major league debut. Giants 2, Cubs 0: Barry Zito pitched 8 1-3 scoreless innings for his 150th career win and Joaquin Arias snapped an 18 at-bat hitless stretch with an RBI single that led the San Francisco Giants over the Chicago Cubs. Marlins 5, Phillies 1: Carlos Zambrano homered and pitched into the eighth inning, and Hanley Ramirez went deep, too, to lead the Miami Marlins over Philadelphia. Diamondbacks 6, Padres 0: Trevor Cahill threw a six-hitter and Paul Goldschmidt, Miguel Montero and Gerardo Parra homered to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks past San Diego. Cahill (3-5) threw his second career shutout and complete game. His other came with Oakland on Aug. 2, 2010 in a 6-0 win against Kansas City when he threw a three-hitter. Astros 5, Reds 3: Jordan Lyles pitched seven strong innings, Justin Maxwell hit his third pinch-hit home run this season and the Houston Astros ended a season-worst eight-game losing streak by beating Cincinnati. Rockies 3, Dodgers 2: Alex White gave the overworked Colorado bullpen some much-needed rest, pitching shutout ball into the seventh inning as the Rockies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers. Pirates 6, Brewers 5: Andrew McCutchen and Garrett Jones hit consecutive homers and James McDonald struck out eight and won for the third time in four starts when the Pittsburgh Pirates beat Milwaukee.
