SAN FRANCISCO — It might be a little while before Pedro Martinez returns to his dominant old self. He took a big first step just by getting back on the mound, then went out and won.

The 36-year-old Martinez came off the disabled list to make his second 2008 start last night for the New York Mets in a 9-6 victory over the San Francisco Giants, more than two months after leaving his first start of the year April 1 with a hamstring injury.

"I'm thankful to be back. I hope I can stay a little longer," Martinez said. "It was a while back (the last outing), especially with all the distractions I had off the field, which made it even tougher. ... I still feel like every time I'm given the ball I have the same responsibility, to set an example."

Martinez (1-0) even got to celebrate a pair of singles and an RBI that helped his cause and improved his line, which read: six innings, seven hits, three runs, three walks and three strikeouts on 109 pitches.

Barry Zito (1-9), who began the season 0-8, allowed six runs, five earned, on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings, walked five and struck out one.

New York's Jose Reyes went 0 for 5 and had his 18-game hitting streak snapped.

PHILLIES 3, REDS 2: Pat Burrell hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning for a 3-1 lead and Philadelphia beat Cincinnati for its eighth victory in nine games.

Braves 5, Marlins 4: Chipper Jones hit his 399th career homer, a three-run shot, and Greg Norton had a two-run double in the bottom of the eighth to rally Atlanta.

Astros 2, Pirates 0: Lance Berkman and Miguel Tejada doubled in runs, and Wandy Rodriguez pitched six shutout innings to help visiting Houston end a five-game losing streak.

Brewers 7, Diamondbacks 1: Randy Johnson moved into sole possession of second on baseball's career strikeout list with 4,673, but visiting Arizona lost to Milwaukee.

Rockies 3, Dodgers 0: Jeff Francis (2-5) gave up four hits in seven innings to help visiting Colorado beat Los Angeles to snap an eight-game losing streak.

Cardinals 6, Nationals 1: Yadier Molina's three-run homer capped a four-run top of the first inning as St. Louis endured more than 2 1/2 hours of rain delays.

Cubs 9, Padres 6: Alfonso Soriano hit a three-run homer and Mark DeRosa added a two-run shot to lead visiting Chicago over San Diego for its ninth straight win.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

ANGELS 5, MARINERS 4: Joe Saunders (9-2) became the AL's first nine-game winner and Maicer Izturis drove in three runs to lead visiting Los Angeles over Seattle.

Blue Jays 9, Yankees 3: Reliever-turned-starter Joba Chamberlain gave up one earned run in 2 1/3 innings in his first start, but visiting Toronto battered four relievers to beat New York.

Red Sox 7, Rays 4: Coco Crisp, in a 1-for-25 slump, hit a two-run double in a four-run sixth inning as host Boston won the matchup of the AL East's top two teams.

Orioles 5, Twins 3: Radhames Liz (1-0) allowed two runs and four hits in 5 1/3 innings, and Kevin Millar and Melvin Mora hit homers to lead visiting Baltimore.

Rangers 12, Indians 7: Josh Hamilton and Milton Bradley hit consecutive homers to set the tone in a four-run bottom of the first inning as Texas outslugged Cleveland.

White Sox 9, Royals 5: Carlos Quentin, A.J. Pierzynski, Nick Swisher and Alexei Ramirez homered in support of Gavin Floyd (6-3) as host Chicago beat Kansas City.

Athletics 5, Tigers 4: Jack Cust beat out an infield single with the bases loaded and no outs, scoring Kurt Suzuki in the bottom of the 11th inning to lift Oakland over Detroit.