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HOUSTON (AP) -Adam Wainwright allowed five hits and struck out four in his first career start Friday night, leading the defending World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals to a 4-2 victory over the winless Houston Astros.
Wainwright (1-0), who got the last out against Detroit to help St. Louis win the title, also had an RBI double and scored on Chris Duncan’s two-run homer in the third inning to help the Cardinals avoid their first 0-4 start since 1997.
Duncan also had an RBI double in the eighth as St. Louis snapped a five-game losing streak to the Astros.
Pinch-hitter Orlando Palmeiro hit an RBI single off of Jason Isringhausen with two outs in the ninth, but Jason Lane flied out and Isringhausen earned his first save of the season and 250th of his career.
Carlos Lee had a sacrifice fly to drive home the first run for the Astros, who are off to their worst start since they opened 0-4 in 1990.
Wandy Rodriguez (0-1) gave up only four hits and struck out five in seven innings, but still lost his fifth straight decision.
Mets 11, Braves 1
ATLANTA (AP) – Jose Reyes hit two triples and drove in four runs, and Oliver Perez tossed seven strong innings to lead the New York Mets.
The Mets are 4-0 for the first time since 1985, when they opened the season with five straight wins for their best start ever. New York can match that by beating the Braves on Saturday. The Mets won their first four games, including three against St. Louis, by a combined margin of 31-3. They scored six runs in the eighth against the Braves to turn the game into a rout.
Atlanta suffered its first loss after sweeping three games at Philadelphia.
Perez (1-0) continued the Mets’ season-opening string of terrific starting pitching. He gave up only five hits and one run and did not walk a batter. He struck out six.
Mark Redman (0-1) made his first start for Atlanta after signing with the team in spring training, giving up nine hits and five runs in 5 2-3 innings.
Diamondbacks 7, Nationals 1
WASHINGTON (AP) – Micah Owings allowed one hit in five shutout innings in his big league debut, and Chris Young homered and drove in four runs for Arizona.
Owings (1-0) struck out six, including Ryan Zimmerman on three pitches with the bases loaded in the fifth. The victory stretched Owings’ undefeated streak to 20 starts and made him 13-0 in decisions dating to May 23, 2006: That includes 2-0 at Double-A Tennessee and 10-0 at Triple-A Tucson last season.
Jerome Williams (0-1) went six innings – the first Nationals starter to pitch more than five – and allowed five runs, four earned.
Ryan Church homered with two outs in the ninth for Washington’s only run.
Cubs 9, Brewers 3
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Rich Hill retired his first 15 batters and allowed one hit in seven innings for the Chicago Cubs.
Hill’s run at a perfect game and a shutout ended in the sixth when Corey Hart led off and hit a fastball deep into the Brewers’ bullpen to cut Chicago’s lead to 6-1.
Hill (1-0) got all the run support he needed before he stepped on the mound as the Cubs scored six times in the first inning, capped by Mark DeRosa’s two-run homer.
Dave Bush (0-1), who won nine of his 12 games last season at Miller Park, allowed six runs, eight hits and struck out seven in six innings.
Phillies 8, Marlins 2
MIAMI (AP) – Pat Burrell homered and drove in four runs, Jamie Moyer pitched 6 2-3 innings and the Philadelphia Phillies earned their first victory after three consecutive losses.
Burrell hit a three-run homer and an RBI single, and Jimmy Rollins hit a two-run homer for the Phillies, who scored four unearned runs thanks to two Florida errors.
The 44-year-old Moyer (1-0) allowed seven hits and two runs before departing after 93 pitches.
Hanley Ramirez hit a solo homer for Florida, which had its home opener and drew 40,397 – its largest crowd at home since the 2005 opener.
Florida’s Sergio Mitre (0-1) pitched five innings and allowed five runs, only one earned. He missed most of last season with a shoulder injury.
Reds 6, Pirates 1
CINCINNATI (AP) – Jeff Conine hit a three-run homer and tripled, leading the Reds to a victory that ended the Pittsburgh Pirates’ unbeaten streak.
The 40-year-old outfielder, acquired in a December trade to platoon at first base, led the Reds to a win for the second day in a row. Conine also had a game-tying, pinch-hit single and scored the go-ahead run against the Cubs on Thursday.
He homered off Pittsburgh’s Paul Maholm (0-1) in the third inning for a 4-1 lead on Friday. He also beat out a triple to the wall in center field in the sixth.
The Pirates opened the season 3-0 for the first time since 2003, but couldn’t keep the winning streak going against right-hander Matt Belisle (1-0), who retired 14 in a row over the middle innings.
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