@Padres 2, Brewers 1: A tricornered streak-buster, as the Pads had skidded through 5 straight overall and 7 straight home games, winning only their opener. In perhaps his most efficient outing ever, Edinson Volquez blanked the Brewers for 7 innings on 94 pitches, a personal low for that distance. Until 2 outs in the 9th, Milwaukee had gotten just one man to 2nd base, and that chance died when Carlos Gomez attacked a 3-0 pitch and grounded out.

• Good thing the Western Metal Supply Co. opted for plexiglas windows. You can’t hit a curve much harder than Carlos Quentin did, no matter how sweetly hung.
• First walk-free win for Volquez, with 4 no-pass starts out of 127 career. His 105 walks led MLB last year. From late 2007 to late ’12, he had 108 consecutive starts with at least 1 walk, the 2nd-longest streak of this century. But a leopard can change his spots: The owner of the #1 streak, Bartolo Colon, who twice topped 90 walks in a season, has become a superb control pitcher in his 30s. He’s averaged 1.9 BB/9 since 2005, 10th-best among those with 700+ IP, with 1 walk in 27 IP this year.
• A play to honor the NFL draft, starring Jean Segura as the open receiver, Nick Hundley as the safety in hot pursuit, and Rickie Weeks as the pocket passer. Score it a pick-six. A costly error, more mental than physical — the runner taking 3rd with 2 outs is almost meaningless, and it would have taken perfect execution on both ends to nail him. It wound up as the deciding run.
• From 2007-11, Gomez never put a 3-0 pitch in play. The first time he did — gone. Before that game, his career average was 1 HR per 67 PAs. From that game to now, 1 HR per 21 PAs.

Diamondbacks 3, @Giants 2 (10): More late theatrics by the Bay, but the guests laughed latest and loudest, claiming a hard-fought series win. Arizona leveled in the 8th, and edged ahead in the top of the 9th on a 2-out glove-scraper by Gerardo Parra, after a baffling IBB to Cliff Pennington, batting .214 since the start of last year. Brandon Crawford tied it for SF with his 4th HR, digging up a not-bad 1-2 slider from David Hernandez and planting it in the RF corner. But a walk, a Cody Ross double and a sac fly put the Snakes up again, Brandon Belt‘s 2-out blast was a biscuit short, and Matt Reynolds held on for his 2nd save.

• Crawford drilled a double on a fastball to score the game’s first run in the 7th, but was stranded on 3rd after 1 out. He’s hitting .320/.966 with a team-high 10 extra-base hits; he hit 4 HRs all of last year.
• Besides an extra baserunner and the shame that comes from ducking Pennington, that pass meant that if Jose Mijares didn’t retire Parra, Sergio Romo was coming in to get the last out, with his spot due up 4th in the bottom half. Romo did come in, and his spot did come up. And so Romo and Santiago Casilla combined for just 3 outs in this game, and the 10th inning was left to Chad Gaudin, who’s off to a good start but had a 5.16 ERA for the past 3 years. Was the Pennington pass based on his 2-for-3 career mark against Mijares, with a double on Monday? Pick your sample: Pennington is a career .229 hitter against southpaws, almost 500 ABs.

@Rockies 6, Braves 5: Nobody’s perfect. Craig Kimbrel‘s close, but Dexter Fowler‘s 2-out, 2-run double brought overtime, and Yorvit Torrealba’s hit dropped the curtain in the 12th. Tim Hudson’s “200” champagne stays on ice; next chance comes at home, against Gio Gonzalez.

• Kimbrel lost his scoreless streak at 22.1 IP over 23 games; he was unscathed since last August 31. Nothing like his longest streak, though.
• This streak’s still going: Braves win if they homer (15-0), lose if they don’t (0-6). They’re hitting .223 with RISP.

Cardinals 4, @Nationals 2: Gotta get ‘im early. Stephen Strasburg was near perfect from the 2nd through 7th, but the Redbirds opened with 2 quickies as 4 of their first 5 reached safely, and tacked on when the rook at 3B made the same misfire as the man he’s replacing. Nats fell below .500 for the first time since the end of 2011.

• Take it for whatever it’s worth: Strasburg’s K% was 31% for 2010-12, but 21% this year. He matched his career high of 7 IP, so that’s some kind of efficiency … I guess.

Blue Jays 6, @Orioles 5 (11): Jim Johnson threw 10 out of 12 strikes to start the 11th. But with 2 on, 2 outs and an 0-1 count, he hit Brett Lawrie (who’s 4 for 32), then missed 4 straight to #9 man Maicer Izturis to push in the lead run. The last pitch wasn’t close.

• As usual, the guy whose great throw ended the inning, came in and … made the last out of the next inning, with the bases loaded.
• J.P. Arencibia ended the game slugging .634 and batting .268, with 14 of his 22 hits going for extras. Such ratios have been attained in just 5 and 1 qualifying seasons, respectively, the former including Jose Bautista in 2010. (His .260 BA was also the lowest ever by a qualified .600 slugger.)
• Since becoming the closer last May, Casey Janssen has a 1.91 RA/9 and an 0.77 WHIP, converting 28 of 30 chances. So far this year, he’s fanned 11 of 27 batters, and had just three 2-0 counts.
• The last #9 hitter to walk with the bases loaded in the 9th inning or later was Izturis himself, last September, against the aptly named Grant Balfour. (Izturis stole home later in that inning.) The last to do it so late for the tying or go-ahead run was ex-pitcher Adam Loewen, hitting for Toronto in the final game of 2011. (And just for laffs, here’s the last walk-off walk to a pitcher.)
• Toronto’s 9 road games have seen 10 HRs, just 2 hit against the Jays (both within their first 4 road innings). Their 13 home games have hosted 38 HRs, 20 against the Jays. Tonight in the Bronx could be their 9th straight homerless road game, which would tie the 2011 Marlins for the longest of the last 10 years.

@Mets 7, Dodgers 3: A little ol’ fly woulda done it, but why not go for the gusto? “Goodnight, granny!” (Signed, Jordany.)

• Matt Harvey gave up 3 runs in 6 IP and left down a run, but David Wright got him off the hook at the last minute.
• LA nicked Harvey early, on 2 singles and a groundout. From there, he set down 15 of 16 (7 Ks), and triggered the tying run in the 5th with a leadoff double that smacked the wall. But with 2 outs in the 6th, 4 straight balls put him on the spot — the first 2 filling out a walk to Adrian Gonzalez, the next 2 falling behind Matt Kemp — and Kemp caught up to the ensuing fastball just enough to clear the wall down the RF line, his first HR this year.
• The Mets got a gift run back in their half, scoring without a hit after 2 opening walks from J.P. Howell, but it came at the cost of Harvey, who left for a pinch-hitter with 2 in scoring position.
• Improbably, the bullpen notched 9 stress-free outs, led by the 31-year-old rookie Scott Rice. But the bats couldn’t break through. One out in the 8th, Marlon Byrd doubled over the head of a wall-shy Carl Crawford (who didn’t start, but still was the goat of the game), but Mark Ellis made a nice play on Lucas Duda, and PH Valdespin rolled out.
• Brandon League came in for the 9th and got 2 quick strikes on PH Mike Baxter. But he laid off the next 2, then sliced a liner to shallow left. Crawford charged and slid — and it clanged off his glove. (Ron Darling and I had the same flashback.) Baxter always busts it, and he barreled into 2nd ahead of the throw with a leadoff “double.” They bunted him over. Daniel Murphy got ahead 2-0, then blooped one towards the seats behind third. Jerry Hairston (who had a great game on defense) raced over and backhanded the ball just beyond the railing, as he slammed into it. He kept his feet and threw home, freezing Baxter. Two outs. But David Wright stroked League’s first pitch on a line to the RF grass. The game was tied, and Harvey was off the hook. League has fanned 2 of 33 batters.

Tigers 7, @Royals 5: Do not adjust your box score: That wasPapa Grande getting the last 3 outs, as Detroit broke a 4-game slide.

• 2 RBI hits by Victor Martinez, who’d been 2 for 20 with RISP.
• The table-setters went 0-10, but KC gave out 8 passes, 4 in the decisive 4-run 4th.
• Tigers couldn’t cash a leadoff triple in the 5th with the top of the order coming up. Austin Jackson‘s back in whiff purgatory with 12 in his last 6 games, and 1 hit.

Pirates 5, @Phillies 3: Another good game by Roy Halladay went for nought, as the Bucs scored 4 off the bullpen in the last 3 innings. Nine saves and no runs for Jason Grilli, who’s fanned 16 of 37 batters and allowed 3 singled and 4 walks. Pedro Alvarez started the comeback with this off-balance, 1-2 HR off the lefty Bastardo, and Mike Adams dug his own grave by walking Jose Tabata to start the 8th. Brandon Inge has played 2 games and had 2 big RBI, knocking in the lead run with a pinch-hit grounder that found the hole with the infield in.

• Pirates won a series in Philly for the first time in over 10 years, by my count. They’re 4-0-1 in their last 5 series.

@Astros 10, Mariners 3: The buzz from King Felix’s 100th win wore off quickly, as Houston won the last 2 and the series, dropping the M’s to 8-15 and a tie for last place. Four RBI for Brandon Laird, and Chris Carter hit his 5th HR; still no doubles, but a long way from Rafael Belliard territory.

_______________

Late Tuesday

Diamondbacks 6, @Giants 4 (11): Sleepy in the middle, high drama on both ends. The Champs trailed 4-0 after 7, but pulled even in the next 2 frames; they nearly won in the 10th, but fell pennies short on Pence’s hit; and finally threw it away in the 11th. Patrick Corbin (2-0, 1.71) dominated through 7, but saw his win go bump in the 9th for the second straight start; still, the Snakes have won his 4 outings.

• “Puts on belt” — that’s not news. “Belt off Putz,” now … that’s a little splashier. Spring-stats watchers never thought Brandon’s first Belt would come in a pinch; it’s the first of his career in that role.
• Ain’t it always the way? The guy with the clutch pinch-HR to keep his team alive, makes the key bobble to advance the winning rally.
• Ain’t it always the way? The guy with the clutch peg to keep his team alive, has nothing to do with the winning rally. (Or was it his juju that made Belt bobble the throw and Casilla bounce the wild pitch? Casilla had only one wild pitch last year, and that was Belt’s first error this season. Hmmm…)
• Cody Ross played that hit perfectly and made a quick, strong throw. Dunno if Panda ran out of gas or just eased up when he saw the throw beat him home (and I believe that’s the first half-assed take-out-the-catcher bluff I’ve seen), but my goodness — he looks rounder than ever.
• Doesn’t Tim Flannery remember Ross’s arm? Cody played for SF in 2011, and has been among the leaders in OF assists/innings for the last couple years. Ross had the ball in his glove, in shallow RF, before Panda touched third. (Stop the clip at 0:27 for proof.) Home-run hero Belt was on deck. Kirk Gibson would have brought in lefty Matt Reynolds (can’t let Ziegler face a LHB with bases loaded in a walk-off situation). But Belt isn’t bothered by lefties; in fact, he’s hit them better than righties in his career, and he singled off Reynolds the next inning. But I shouldn’t second-guess; audentes fortuna iuvat, or so I’m told.
• In the 7th, Corbin slashed the first pitch down the LF line for a double. The other 3 batters whiffed on 9 pitches.
• A miscue and a chalk-o-pop fueled the first 2 runs off Matt Cain, but the second pair was a bit more persuasive.

@Angels 5, Rangers 4 (11):

• Ranger rookie Joe Ortiz handled the night’s toughest assignment, getting Pujols and Hamilton in the 10th with the bases loaded. And he whiffed Trumbo to start the 11th….
• A little team-building exercise.
• Kendrick’s first HR in extras, and first game-ending hit since 2010. But he’s generally thrived in high-leverage spots.
• Gotta think Albert (“I’m dying“) Pujols hits the DL soon. He drew a walk and grounded out 4 times, following a rare 3-strikeout game.
• That’s a fine running catch to save a late run. Did he really need the jump? Well, he’s a lot closer to the action than I am.

Brewers 6, @Padres 3: Yovani Gallardo won despite 13 baserunners in 6.2 IP; first to win this year with more than 11. Tom Gorzelanny bailed him out in the 7th after three 2-out walks, whiffing Yonder Alonso on 3 pitches. Jean Segura triggered the offense with a triple among his 3 hits, and the Crew won without homering for the first time in their 9-game streak.

• Milwaukee last won 9 straight in 2003 and ran that streak to 10 — which left them at 58-75, and they finished at 68-94. Nine straight in in ’97, but finished 78-83. So the last 9-game streak by a Brew Crew that finished over .500 was in 1988; that Yount/Molitor/Higuera/Plesac squad finished 2 games back in the AL East, but tied for 3rd.
• Yuniesky Betancourt had 2 RBI and has 13 during the streak (one less than Braun), on 9 hits.
• Alonso is 3 for 21 with the bases loaded in his career, and a .240 hitter with RISP (counting sac flies as ABs).
• Jimmy Henderson is now 5-for-5 in save tries, though he went full on the first 3 batters, walking one. Walks have been a weakness since he converted to relief — 4.5 BB/9 in the upper minors.
• Clayton Richard has been living on the edge since his K rate plunged in 2011. Guys who lead the league in hits and HRs rarely post a sub-4 ERA, as Richard did last year. This might be the year the house wins its money back: 7.94 ERA through 4 starts.