Clemens, Houston stay hot
Roger Clemens got his 326th win to tie Eddie Plank for 11th on the career list and the Astros hit four first-inning home runs to beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-2, yesterday in Houston and move into the wild-card lead with their 12th straight win.
Jeff Bagwell, Lance Berkman, Craig Biggio, and Mike Lamb homered in the first off Ron Acevedo (5-11).
Clemens (16-4) won his fourth straight start, allowing four hits in seven innings. He gave up his only run in the first on Sean Casey's sacrifice fly, and Cincinnati managed only three singles over Clemens's next six innings. The Rocket finished with six strikeouts and two walks.
Phillies sweep Braves, 5-3, 4-1 -- Six Philadelphia pitchers combined on a three-hitter and the Phillies beat host Atlanta to complete a doubleheader sweep.
In the opener, Jim Thome hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth inning to lead the Phillies. Philadelphia outhit the Braves, 21-7, in the two games.
Giants 5, Rockies 3 -- Edgardo Alfonzo homered and Deivi Cruz hit a two-run double in San Francisco's four-run eighth at Denver, as the Giants moved within one percentage point of the wild-card lead.
Alfonzo finished 3 for 5 with two RBIs, Marquis Grissom had three doubles, and the Giants had 16 hits to win for the fourth time in five games. San Francisco (77-64) is just behind the surging Astros (76-63) and a half-game ahead of Cubs (74-62).
Marlins 3, Mets 0 -- Josh Beckett pitched eight innings and blanked visiting New York for his second start in a row, and Florida matched a franchise record with its ninth consecutive victory.
Beckett (7-8) pitched a six-hit shutout against the Mets last week for the first regular-season complete game of his career. This time he, allowed four hits, struck out nine, and walked two.
Expos 6, Cubs 0 -- Scott Downs outpitched Greg Maddux with a five-hit shutout -- the first of his career -- and Montreal won in Chicago.
Terrmel Sledge homered for the Expos, who won twice in the three-games series and dropped the Cubs a half-game behind Houston in the wild-card race.
Dodgers 6, Diamondbacks 5 -- Steve Finley doubled in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth, giving Los Angeles the victory.
Padres 10, Cardinals 5 -- Backed by home runs by Phil Nevin and Ryan Klesko, David Wells pitched seven strong innings and drove in two runs to lead the host Padres.
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The Milwaukee Brewers-Pirates game at Pittsburgh was canceled because of rain from the remnants of Hurricane Frances. The game won't be made up because both teams are out of playoff contention. The Pirates won the season series, 12-6.
