Penny Gets 10th; Sabathia Goes Distance for 11th

National League St. Louis 1 NY Mets 2, 11 innings - The New York Mets got only 3 hits off Mike Maroth and two Cardinal relievers, but two of them were home runs, the last a blast by Shawn Green to end the game with nobody out in the 11th. Maroth, recently acquired by the Cardinals from Detroit to shore up a dismal pitching staff, pitched more than well enough to win, allowing just 2 hits and 2 walks over 7 1/3 innings. The only run came on a Carlos Gomez solo shot in the 5th. Reliever Aaron Heilman picked up his 6th win against 3 losses, all in relief. Heilman won for the first time since May 25. He posted 4 wins in May. With Philly idle, the Mets assumed a 3 1/2-game lead in the NL East. LA Dodgers 8 Arizona 1 - Dodger starter Brad Penny (right) became the National League's first 10-game winner with another superior effort Monday night. Facing the D-Backs, who only yesterday took sole possession of first place in the NL West, Penny (10-1) dominated, allowing just 4 hits and 2 walks over 8 innings. The only run for Arizona came in the 4th, when Chris B. Young doubled home Conor Jackson who had singled off Penny with two outs. Jackson had 2 of the 4 hits allowed by Penny and singled in the ninth off reliever Jonathan Broxton to finish 3-4. With San Diego losing at San Fran, the Dodgers took over 2nd place, just 1/2 behind Arizona. The two teams continue their series with the 2nd of 2nd of 4, tonight. Colorado 9 Chi Cubs 10 - Leading 8-3 entering the ninth, the fun was just beginning for the Cubs and Rockies. Colorado scored 6 times in the top of the inning off relievers Scott Eyre and Bob Howry to take a 9-8 lead, but the Cubbies struck back with a pair in the final at-bat, on Alfonso Soriano's clutch 2-out single off closer Brian Fuentes, plating both the tying and winning runs. It was Fuentes' 4th blown save and 2nd straight, even though Monday's two runs were unearned as 2nd baseman Kazuo Matsui committed his first error of the season on what should have been the game's final out. Other NL Scores Washington 1 Atlanta 4 - Atl., more runs in last 5 games combined Houston 1 Milwaukee 6 - B. Sheets (W, 9-3); P. Fielder, HR (27, leads NL) San Diego 3 San Francisco 4, 11 innings - P. Feliz singles home B. Bonds with game-winner American League Oakland 2 Cleveland 5 - C.C. Sabathia (right) joined Josh Beckett as the only pitchers in the majors with 11 wins, as he went the full 9 innings and got Cleveland back to within a game of the AL Central-leading Tigers. Sabathia scattered nine hits, 4 of them in the 2nd inning when the A's scored their only runs of the game. Between the 2nd and 6th inning, Sabathia (11-2) put down 13 straight Oakland batters, including striking out the side in the 3rd. He finished with 8 Ks, boosting his season total to 108. Sabathia didn't walk a batter. He has issued only 17 free passes all season. Other AL Scores Texas 8 Detroit 3 - M. Byrd, 2-5, 3 RBI (19), .379 ba (39-103) Toronto 8 Minnesota 5 - Jays 10 games back of Boston in AL East Kansas City 5 LA Angels 3 - Angels, 10-3 at home in June Boston 4 Seattle 9 - Jeff Weaver (2-6), 2nd straight win Chi White Sox 5 Tampa Bay 4 - Sox, 3-7 on road in June Interleague Scoreboard (6/8 - 6/24 Final): Total: AL: 107 NL: 90 Best records (AL): California Angels (11-4), Detroit Tigers (11-4), Boston Red Sox (10-5) Worst records (AL): Chicago White Sox (3-12), Baltimore Orioles (4-11) Best records (NL): Colorado Rockies (9-6), Chicago Cubs (6-3) Worst records (NL): Atlanta Braves (3-9) San Diego Padres (4-8), San Francisco Giants (4-8), Pittsburgh Pirates (5-10)