Braves silence Pirates
Russ Ortiz shut out Pittsburgh for seven innings to win his sixth in a row and Chipper Jones homered for Atlanta's only run off rookie Oliver Perez, leading the visiting Braves past the Pirates, 1-0, last night.
The game matched streaking pitchers in Ortiz and Perez, neither of whom had lost since June, and two of baseball's hottest teams -- the Braves have won 21 of 28, the Pirates 21 of 29.
Ortiz (12-6) gained his 100th major league victory and improved to 7-0 against Pittsburgh in 10 career starts, despite allowing at least one baserunner in every inning.
The Pirates had nine hits off Ortiz and 11 overall, only to strand 11 runners after scoring 36 runs in their previous five games.
The lefthanded Perez (6-5), only 22 but fast developing into one of the NL's best starters, was more in command than Ortiz except for one pitch -- Jones's 14th homer, a solo shot to left field with one out in the fourth.
Astros 6, Diamondbacks 1 -- Roger Clemens struck out eight and allowed one run in seven innings as host Houston beat Arizona.
Clemens (12-3) bounced back after tying a season high by giving up three homers in his loss to Milwaukee Friday.
He allowed only five hits and got his 322d win, moving three behind Nolan Ryan and Don Sutton for 12th place on the career list. He is the fourth pitcher in the majors to win at least 12 games this season.
Marlins 6, Phillies 3 -- Mother Nature and Hee Seop Choi made it another miserable night in Miami for Philadelphia, which endured two rain delays before losing again to Florida.
Choi hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the eighth inning, and Florida extended its winning streak against the Phillies at Pro Player Stadium to 13 games.
Cardinals 11, Reds 10 -- Scott Rolen hit two of St. Louis's four homers, repeatedly blunting Cincinnati's comeback and sending the hosts to their eighth straight loss.
Jim Edmonds homered in all three games of the series sweep, which put the Cardinals 11 games up in the NL Central. St. Louis is 42-14 since May 27, digging out of a fifth-place hole.
Rockies 5, Dodgers 4 -- Aaron Miles hit a tiebreaking single off Guillermo Mota in the eighth inning and Jeromy Burnitz homered in his sixth straight home game to tie a team record, leading Colorado over Los Angeles.
Expos 7, Mets 4 -- At Montreal, Tony Batista homered and drove in two runs, and Nick Johnson hit a go-ahead RBI double in the fifth in leading the Expos over New York.
Brewers 6, Cubs 3 -- Chris Capuano pitched effectively into the seventh inning, and Bill Hall and Ben Grieve homered to help host Milwaukee snap a four-game losing streak.
Padres 9, Giants 4 -- Sean Burroughs had a two-run single and Ryan Klesko added a two-run double in a five-run sixth inning as host San Diego beat San Francisco.
