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Houston Astros rocket out of the blocks

Atlanta Braves' Brian Giles, right, looks back at Chicago Cubs second baseman Mark Grudzielanek as Grudzielanek tried to force Giles out at second base on an infield hit by Darren Bragg in the eighth inning of their game in Chicago on Thursday. The Braves defeated the Cubs 13-3. PHOTO: REUTERS

The Houston Astros' record-setting first inning was a mystery.

"If we knew what we were doing, we would do it every night," Craig Biggio said after the Astros scored nine runs for the biggest opening inning in franchise history.

Richard Hidalgo hit a three-run double in the inning and Houston went on to an 11-2 home victory over the slumping Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night.

Geoff Blum had two hits in the inning, including a two-run single. Jeff Bagwell, Brad Ausmus and Adam Everett added RBI singles as Houston chased Paul Wilson (5-6) before he got an out.

"They weren't crushing them, but after the opening error they were hitting them where they ain't," Reds manager Bob Boone said.

It was the Astros' most runs in any inning since they scored nine in the sixth at Pittsburgh on Sept. 8, 1999. Houston's biggest inning ever was a 12-run eighth against Philadelphia in May 1975.

"Scoring those nine runs in the first inning got contagious," manager Jimy Williams said. "Everybody was hitting."

Biggio added his 500th career double in the fourth inning, becoming the first Astros player to reach the milestone.

"When you play 15 years you are going to have some good things happen," Biggio said. "It was special to have it happen at home in front of the fans of the only organization I have ever played for. I still enjoy the game as much as I did when I started playing."

He's the 40th major leaguer to reach the mark.

Ron Villone (1-0) pitched six innings, giving up two runs on four hits. He walked two and struck out two.

Ricky Stone got his first save of the season with three innings of hitless relief.

Pirates 5, Brewers 4

At Milwaukee, the Italian sausage made a sizzling comeback but Milwaukee's rally fell short as Pittsburgh's Aramis Ramirez hit a three-run homer.

Pirates first baseman Randall Simon did not play hours after being cited for disorderly conduct and fined US$432 for hitting one of the Brewers' popular racing sausages on Wednesday night at Miller Park. Prosecutors decided not to file criminal charges.

Simon's chop caused the 19-year-old woman in the Italian sausage costume to tumble, and knock over the woman in the hot dog outfit. Both were treated for scraped knees.

On Thursday, Pirates players moved into the dugout and away from the field as the sausage racers -- an oversized bratwurst, hot dog and Italian and Polish sausages -- ran past them along the infield warning track between the sixth and seventh innings.

Jeff Suppan (8-7) pitched a complete game with nine strikeouts.

Keith Ginter hit two solo homers for Milwaukee.

Braves 13, Cubs 3

At Chicago, Vinny Castilla homered and drove in four runs as Atlanta extended its season-high winning streak to seven.

Greg Maddux (7-8) pitched six solid innings, and the Braves broke open the game with three runs in the sixth and five more in the eighth.

Shawn Estes (6-8) gave up six runs on six hits in 5 1-3 innings.

Padres 14, Diamondbacks 2

At Phoenix, Sean Burroughs hit a three-run homer, doubled twice and scored three runs as San Diego ended Arizona's 11-game home winning streak.

Mark Kotsay, Mark Loretta and pitcher Kevin Jarvis (2-2) each drove in two runs for the Padres, who snapped Arizona's four-game winning streak. San Diego won for the ninth time in 12 games.

Before the game, Arizona announced right-hander Curt Schilling will start Saturday against San Francisco. Schilling has been on the disabled list with a broken hand since May 31.

Phillies 7, Mets 2

At New York, Jim Thome and Mike Lieberthal capped a four-run first inning with back-to-back homers, and Vicente Padilla pitched into the ninth inning for Philadelphia.

Marlon Byrd led off with a sharp single off Steve Trachsel (8-6), and Philadelphia was up 4-0 before they made an out. It was 7-1 after two.

Dodgers 9, Cardinals 4

At St. Louis, Shawn Green had four hits and scored four runs as Los Angeles beat St. Louis.

Jolbert Cabrera had two hits and three RBIs and Adrian Beltre drove in two runs for the Dodgers, who swept the two-game series.

Rockies 11, Giants 3

At Denver, Preston Wilson had two homers and a career-high six RBIs, and Darren Oliver (7-5) hit his first major league homer and won his fourth straight decision for Colorado.

AP, TORONTO

As the All-Star break nears, the Boston Red Sox are showing they plan to stay in the AL East race all season.

The Toronto Blue Jays, on the other hand, are fading fast.

David Ortiz and Kevin Millar hit consecutive homers as visiting Boston completed a three-game sweep of the Blue Jays with a 7-1 victory Thursday night.

"This is a big sweep. This team swept us the last time we were here," Millar said. "They played great in June, but they're not swinging the bats like they were before."

The Red Sox shaved two games off New York's lead in the AL East the past three days, leaving them only two back.

The Blue Jays, who won nine of 10 during one stretch in June, have dropped 10 of 12 to fall eight games out of first in the division. They are six behind Boston in the wild-card race.

With the Yankees due to hit town yesterday for the last series before the All-Star break, Toronto needs to turn things around quickly if it hopes to remain within striking distance.

"We're in a bit of a slump. We've gone away from our approach," Blue Jays manager Carlos Tosca said. "We might be mentally exhausted. We played so well for so long. Maybe it took its toll."

Ramiro Mendoza (3-3) won his second straight start and Bill Mueller went 4-for-4 for the Red Sox, who lead the majors in batting average, runs, hits, slugging percentage and on-base percentage.

The Blue Jays, who led the majors in those categories last month, have lost the first three of 12 straight games against the Red Sox and Yankees.

Indians 3, Yankees 2, 10 innings

At Cleveland, rookie Jody Gerut's RBI single off Sterling Hitchcock (0-2) scored Coco Crisp in the 10th.

Ben Broussard homered for the Indians, who won two of three and took their first home season series from the Yankees since Jacobs Field opened in 1994.

Athletics 5, Devil Rays 2

At Oakland, California, Mark Mulder (12-6) pitched a five-hitter for his AL-leading seventh complete game.

The left-hander was briefly interrupted with two outs in the eighth when a female fan came over the Tampa Bay dugout, did a cartwheel across the first-base line and stood on the pitcher's mound.

She motioned to Mulder, who remained behind the mound. The woman was escorted off the field by security guards without further incident.

Orioles 4, Mariners 1

At Seattle, Sidney Ponson pitched his fourth complete game of the season, and Luis Matos and David Segui homered for Baltimore.

Ponson (12-5) tied Mulder, Toronto's Roy Halladay and Atlanta's Russ Ortiz for the most wins in the majors.

Ponson threw only 89 pitches in a seven-hitter, winning for the 11th time in 14 starts, and the Orioles won a series at Safeco Field for the first time. They are 3-16 since the Seattle ballpark opened in mid-1999.

Rangers 9, Twins 4

At Arlington, Texas, Juan Gonzalez homered twice, including a three-run shot in the first inning, and the Rangers hit four home runs to complete a three-game sweep of stumbling Minnesota.

Michael Young added a three-run homer and rookie Mark Teixeira also connected for the Rangers, who've won four in a row, six of seven and 11 of 16. John Thomson (6-9) allowed two runs in seven innings.

Angels 7, Royals 1

At Anaheim, California, Garret Anderson hit a pair of two-run homers, and Adam Kennedy also homered for the Angels.

Tigers 1, White Sox 0

At Detroit, Nate Cornejo came within three outs of his first career shutout, leading the Tigers to their first home sweep in a year.

Detroit wrapped up its second sweep of the season, also winning three games in Baltimore May 5-7. The Tigers' last sweep at home came July 23 to 25 last year against Kansas City.
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