Wood lifts Cubs over Rockies
Kerry Wood pitched eight innings despite a shaky start, and Derrek Lee hit his 21st homer during a five-run second that lifted the Chicago Cubs over the Colorado Rockies, 5-3, last night in Denver.
Wood (6-4) gave up three runs in the first inning, but allowed just three hits over the next seven. He struck out six and walked three to win for the third win in five starts since coming off the DL following a triceps strain.
Sammy Sosa drove in a run and so did Nomar Garciaparra, playing his second game since the Cubs acquired him from Boston. Chicago has won six of eight to draw even with San Diego in the wild-card race.
Astros 3, Braves 2 -- Roger Clemens pitched seven strong innings on the eve of his 42d birthday but was denied the win by his bullpen before host Houston rebounded to beat Atlanta and stop the Braves' five-game winning streak.Houston took the lead for good in the eighth on Jose Vizcaino's RBI grounder.
Expos 10, Cardinals 6 -- Tony Batista hit a grand slam in the 12th after tying the score with a two-run shot in the ninth, leading visiting Montreal past St. Louis. Batista hit reliever Dan Haren's first pitch for his eighth career slam and 200th career homer.
Mets 12, Brewers 3 -- Al Leiter had another brilliant outing, limiting Milwaukee to one run over seven innings, and visiting New York scored five times in the sixth and ninth innings to rout the Brewers and snap a three-game losing streak. Leiter (8-3) scattered five hits and dropped his major league-leading ERA to 2.12.
Giants 11, Reds 0 -- Barry Bonds homered twice and rookie Noah Lowry carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning in host San Francisco's victory over Cincinnati.Bonds matched a season high with five RBIs, raising his home-run total to 29 this season and 687 in his career.
Diamondbacks 5, Marlins 3 -- Danny Bautista hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the eighth, and Arizona won at home for the first time in nearly a month. Arizona had lost 11 straight home games since beating Minnesota, 6-2, July 4.
Dodgers 3, Pirates 2 -- Brad Penny held Pittsburgh to a pair of infield singles over eight scoreless innings in his first game since being traded to Los Angeles, and the new-look Dodgers held on to beat the Pirates.
Phillies 5, Padres 2 -- Pinch hitter Chase Utley drove in the go-ahead run during a three-run seventh and Brett Myers (6-8) pitched six strong innings for his first win in nearly seven weeks for visiting Philadelphia.
