Pedro Martinez's return to the big leagues was a winner.

No surprise there. It's what he's done his entire career. And this time, he also had a promise to keep.

Pitching in a major league game for the first time since last September, Martinez mixed it up, changed speeds and lasted five innings to get the victory for his new team, the Philadelphia Phillies, in a 12-5 rout of the host Chicago Cubs last night.

"It was really fun to actually get back to the game. Last year was a horrible year. It was a very tough year," Martinez said of his final injury-slowed season with the New York Mets. "I actually feel good and it shows."

The Phillies gave their 37-year-old newcomer plenty of support. Shane Victorino, Jimmy Rollins and Raul Ibanez homered as the World Series champs sent Chicago to its fourth straight loss.

Victorino's ninth homer followed a leadoff double by Rollins in the third and made it 4-1.

With the Phillies ahead 12-1, Chicago loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth and Milton Bradley hit an RBI single. Jake Fox hit a sacrifice fly to center on a ball Victorino caught as he was being doused by what was apparently a beer thrown out of the bleachers.

Victorino didn't want to talk about the incident.

"That shouldn't happen," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "It's not good sportsmanship. ... We apologize to Victorino and the Phillies for that."

GIANTS 4, DODGERS 2:

Juan Uribe hit a game-ending, two-run homer with one out in the 10th inning and San Francisco avoided a three-game sweep by its archrival.

PADRES 6, BREWERS 5:

Adrian Gonzalez hit a go-ahead double in a four-run seventh inning for visiting San Diego. Earlier in the day, the Brewers sent shortstop J.J. Hardy to the minors to give top prospect Alcides Escobar a chance.

CARDINALS 5, REDS 2:

Chris Carpenter won his seventh straight decision and beat Cincinnati for the third consecutive time, and Albert Pujols homered for the second game in a row for host St. Louis.

ROCKIES 8, PIRATES 0:

Ubaldo Jimenez pitched three-hit ball for eight innings and Carlos Gonzalez homered for host Colorado.

METS 6, DIAMONDBACKS 4:

Cory Sullivan tripled twice and Gary Sheffield had two singles in his return to the lineup, helping the visiting Mets avoid a three-game sweep.

BRAVES 6, NATIONALS 2:

Adam LaRoche gave the Braves the lead with a seventh-inning homer, his second of the game, as host Atlanta continued its second-half surge. The Braves' 17-9 record since the All-Star break is the best in the National League.

ASTROS 14, MARLINS 6:

Hunter Pence hit two three-run homers for a career-high six RBIs to power visiting Houston.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

MARINERS 1, WHITE SOX 0:

Pinch-hitter Ken Griffey Jr. lined a single off the right-field wall to drive in Adrian Beltre with two outs in the bottom of the 14th, ending the longest scoreless game in Seattle's 33-year history.

RED SOX 8, TIGERS 2:

Josh Beckett pitched seven inning en route to his major league-high 14th win, and Mike Lowell and Jason Bay homered as host Boston beat Detroit. Beckett (14-4) gave up two runs and three hits. He struck out six and walked one, improving to 8-0 at home this season.

YANKEES 4, BLUE JAYS 3:

Robinson Cano homered and hit a game-ending RBI single in the 11th inning for New York. Alex Rodriguez got the winning rally started when he was hit by a pitch from Shawn Camp (1-6) with one out. Rodriguez was checked by manager Joe Girardi and a trainer but stayed in the game, eventually moving up on Jorge Posada's single and scoring when Cano lined Camp's first pitch into the gap in right-center.

RANGERS 5, INDIANS 0:

Texas rookie Tommy Hunter (5-2) gave up six hits and struck out five without a walk over a career-high 7 2/3 innings for the visiting Rangers.

ATHLETICS 6, ORIOLES 3:

Landon Powell homered in Oakland's four-run fourth inning, and the visiting Athletics won their third straight series for the first time since April 2008.

ANGELS 10, RAYS 5:

Gary Matthews Jr. put the Angels ahead with a three-run homer in the sixth, Howie Kendrick added another three-run shot in the seventh, and host Los Angeles (68-44) finished a three-game sweep of the Rays to move a season-best 24 games over .500.

TWINS 7, ROYALS 1:

Joe Crede hit a three-run homer in his return to the lineup, and Francisco Liriano won for the first time since June 28 for host Minnesota.

NOTES

Suspension: Boston star Kevin Youkilis and Detroit pitcher Rick Porcello were suspended for five games each yesterday and fined by Major League Baseball, a day after their brawl at Fenway Park. Youkilis began his suspension with last night's game against Detroit. Porcello appealed, and no penalty will take effect until the process is complete. MLB vice president Bob Watson cited Youkilis for charging the mound, throwing his helmet at Porcello and inciting Tuesday night's bench-clearing tussle. Porcello was penalized for intentionally throwing pitches at Victor Martinez in the first inning and Youkilis in the second.

Nationals: Jordan Zimmermann will have reconstructive elbow surgery next week, leaving Washington without its top pitching prospect for at least a year.

Mariners: Left-hander Erik Bedard is having another surgery on his throwing shoulder, all but ending his season. Manager Don Wakamatsu said that Bedard will have exploratory surgery tomorrow in Los Angeles with Dr. Lewis Yocum, who removed a cyst from Bedard's shoulder in September.