Jonathan Lucroy

FREDDIE FREEMAN knew Brian Wilson had to throw a strike. He correctly guessed it would come with heat. Freeman capped a three-run, ninth-inning rally against San Francisco's star closer with a two-run, bases-loaded single to lift the Atlanta Braves to a 5-4 win over the visiting Giants last night. "I knew I was going to get a pitch to hit," Freeman said. "He's got to throw a strike or walk in the tying run . . . I got a pitch to hit and got it up the middle. " Wilson (6-4)

Dan Uggla was a last resort for the Atlanta Braves. He ended up having the game's biggest hit. Uggla's first career pinch-hit home run lifted the Braves to a 6-4 win over the host Cincinnati Reds last night. Uggla, who missed the last two starts with a strained left calf, batted with two outs in the ninth inning for reliever Jonny Venters (5-1) with Alex Gonzalez on second base. He lofted a 3-2 pitch from Nick Masset (1-4) 402 feet into the right-centerfield seats for the go-ahead runs.

Omar Infante used a clever slide to score on Greg Dobbs' double in the 11th inning, lifting the Florida Marlins to a 6-5 win over the Washington Nationals last night. On a night of spectacular plays, Infante made the most important one. With one out, Infante singled off Brian Broderick (0-1), then came all the way around on Dobbs' drive to right. The ball beat Infante to home plate and Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos was in position to make a tag, but Infante slid head first and reached over and around Ramos to touch the back tip of the plate for the go-ahead run. The Marlins, who have won seven straight in Washington, could have gone ahead in the fifth but Roger Bernadina made a sensational catch to keep it tied.

Jason Marquis picked up a milestone victory last night against a familiar team. Laynce Nix and Jayson Werth hit three-run homers for Washington to send Marquis to his 100th career win, though the visiting Nationals had to hold on at the end for the 7-6 triumph after Atlanta nearly wiped out a big lead. Trailing 7-1, the Braves scored five times in the eighth off Marquis and two relievers. Pinch-hitter Brooks Conrad hit one to the wall in the ninth that was hauled in just a few feet short of a tying homer.

No one would have blamed Cole Hamels for skipping the 24-hour trip to Denver on Thursday. The pitcher was starting Friday's game, so he could have flown home ahead of the Phillies for a good night's sleep. A few days ago, Hamels laughed at the idea. He has an 11-month son, Caleb, who makes quiet nights a rare occurrence. "I know how to function without sleep," Hamels joked. So here he was, about 17 hours after walking off the plane, nearing the end of his night in the seventh inning of the Phillies' 1-0 win over Milwaukee.

Edwin Jackson was so wild early, there was no reason to think he would even finish the game, forget throw the fourth no-hitter of the season. This being the Year of the Pitcher, though, anything was possible. Jackson made it happen, all right, throwing a whopping 149 pitches - the most in the majors in 5 years - leading the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks to a 1-0 victory last night over his former team, the Tampa Bay Rays. "It's one of those moments where you're just caught up in the moment.

He's human after all . . . sort of Nationals rookie phenom Stephen Strasburg, incredibly, lost a game Wednesday at home against the Royals. He allowed nine hits in six innings, but only one run in the 1-0 loss. Hardly a case of Superman exposed to kryptonite. Oh, and he struck out nine batters of the 18 outs he logged to set a major-league record for strikeouts (41) in his first four starts. "For the most part, I went out there and threw strikes," Strasburg told mlb.com of the outing.

LAKEWOOD, N.J. - The West Virginia Power swept a doubleheader against the Lakewood BlueClaws yesterday in the South Atlantic League. Evan Anundsen and Rob Bryson combined on a three-hitter in the first game, a 5-2 Power win. Jonathan Lucroy homered in Game 2, a 6-4 decision. Camden 10, Southern Maryland 2 WALDORF, Md. - The Riversharks grabbed an Atlantic League win over the Blue Crabs, a new franchise.