Hairston’s slam helps Cubs clip Bucs

? After hitting his first grand slam, Jerry Hairston wasn’t sure what to think when Jose Mesa threw a pitch that went sailing past his back.

“I was kind of taken back by it,” Hairston said. “His first pitch was behind me. From the box, it looked like he was throwing at me, but you’d have to ask him.”

Hairston’s homer backed a stellar six innings by Kerry Wood and the Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 11-1, Friday. Wood allowed just one run on two hits and retired 18 of 21 hitters.

But a brief confrontation between Hairston and Mesa in the eighth inning added a little excitement to a game dominated by Wood and the Cubs.

Hairston and Mesa exchanged words after the Cubs center fielder was retired in the eighth inning by the Pirates closer.

Mesa took a couple of steps off the mound as Hairston ran by him and toward the dugout. Mesa kept jabbering and was eventually thrown out of the game by umpire Gary Darling.

Giants 6, Dodgers 0

Los Angeles – Noah Lowry took a two-hitter into the eighth inning, and Ray Durham had season highs with four hits and four RBIs, leading San Francisco over Los Angeles and sending the defending NL West champions to their sixth straight loss. Michael Tucker went 4-for-5 with a leadoff homer in the first inning.

Padres 10, Diamondbacks 7

San Diego – Mark Sweeney had a home run, and Damian Jackson had three RBIs to lead San Diego over Arizona.

Cardinals 4, Astros 3, 13 innings

St. Louis – Albert Pujols hit a two-run homer off Chad Harville in the bottom of the 13th inning to give St. Louis a victory over Houston

Brewers 4, Nationals 3, 10 innings

Milwaukee – Mike Stanton balked home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning, giving Milwaukee a win over Washington.

Marlins 9, Phillies 7

Philadelphia – Miguel Cabrera had four hits, Alex Gonzalez added three and Paul Lo Duca homered to lead Florida’s 17-hit effort.

Braves 2, Mets 1

New York – John Smoltz won his first matchup with old pal Tom Glavine, leading Atlanta over New York for his sixth straight victory. Smoltz (10-5) gave up just four hits through seven innings.

Reds 4, Rockies 3

Cincinnati – Ken Griffey Jr. hit a tiebreaking solo homer, and Aaron Harang pitched seven solid innings for his first win since May 30, leading Cincinnati over Colorado.