Andy Pettitte pitched seven sharp innings to extend one of the best runs of his career, and the Houston Astros beat up on the slumping Pirates 8-0 on Wednesday to complete a four-game sweep.
Lance Berkman gave Pettitte the lead even before the left-hander took the mound with his second homer in as many games. Mike Lamb hit a three-run homer in a four-run sixth inning that made it 5-0 against Josh Fogg (4-6).
"You have a great series to this point ... but we needed something to get over the top today and that big inning gave us some breathing room," Houston manager Phil Garner said.
PHOTO: AP
Pettitte (7-7) improved to 4-0 with a 0.90 ERA in his last six starts. He struck out seven and walked one, allowing only one runner to reach second after striking out Jose Castillo to leave the bases loaded in the first.
"It's been tight all year, but we're coming around. The guys are swinging it better and you can tell they're feeling better about themselves and that's good," Pettitte said.
Russ Springer and Chad Harville each pitched an inning to complete the Astros' seventh shutout and the seventh against Pittsburgh.
PHOTO: AP
Braves 4, Giants 1
At San Francisco, John Smoltz pitched eight smooth innings for his seventh straight win, and rookie Jeff Francoeur went 3-for-3 with a two-run homer in Atlanta's victory.
Smoltz (11-5) allowed six hits and struck out seven. He didn't walk a batter and permitted just two runners to reach second base in his first victory over San Francisco since April 1996.
He even added a run-scoring double in the seventh, padding a lead that was never threatened by the Giants' meek bats.
The five-time All-Star remained unbeaten in eight starts since June 6 while improving to 11-14 in his career against the Giants. The St. Louis Cardinals are the only other NL team with a winning record against Smoltz over his career.
Mets 7, Padres 3
At New York, Mike Piazza hit a two-run homer to move into a tie with Johnny Bench on the career home run list, and Carlos Beltran also had a two-run shot for the Mets.
Tom Glavine (7-7) won his third consecutive decision for New York. He allowed two runs and six hits in six innings and now has given up three runs or fewer in his last five starts. The win was the 269th of his career.
Piazza had an RBI double in the third inning to go with his homer off Woody Williams (5-6) in the fifth. Piazza's homer was his 389th, tying him with Bench for 46th all-time, one behind Graig Nettles. It was Piazza's 367th as a catcher, most for the position.
Reds 9, Cubs 3
At Cincinnati, Ken Griffey Jr. hit one of Cincinnati's homers off Kerry Wood, who was forced from the game after only three innings because of a stiff shoulder.
Aaron Harang (6-8) pitched a seven-hitter for Cincinnati's first complete game of the season, slowing a Cubs offense that has nine homers in the series' first three games. Derrek Lee hit his major league-leading 31st and Jeromy Burnitz followed with a solo shot in the seventh.
Dodgers 10, Phillies 2
At Philadelphia, Jeff Kent hit a three-run homer and Jayson Werth a two-run shot during a nine-run fifth inning, and Derek Lowe pitched seven strong innings for Los Angeles.
Lowe (6-10) allowed six hits, struck out five, gave up two unearned runs and walked none in winning for the first time since June 6. David Bell hit a two-run homer off Lowe in the seventh.
Cory Lidle (8-8) left without retiring a batter in the fifth. After pitching just 3 1-3 innings in his last outing, Lidle gave up seven runs and eight hits in this one.
Rockies 3, Nationals 2
At Washington, J.D. Closser hit a decisive two-run homer off Livan Hernandez -- who plunked the previous batter -- in the sixth inning, and Colorado hung on to win a road series for the first time this season.
Hernandez (12-4) became the first NL pitcher to hit four batters in a game since Pedro Astacio of Colorado in 2001. He left after seven innings, and the Nationals lost for the seventh time in nine games.
Cardinals 4, Brewers 2
At St. Louis, Albert Pujols homered for the third straight game to back Mark Mulder as the Cardinals won for the fifth time in six games since the All-Star break.
Pujols' two-run homer off in the third off Ben Sheets (5-7) gave the Cardinals a 3-0 lead. John Rodriguez added his first major league homer for St. Louis. Mulder (11-5) allowed one run and four hits in seven innings. Jason Isringhausen worked the ninth for his 27th save.
Marlins 9, Diamondbacks 2
At Phoenix, Juan Encarnacion had a homer, two doubles and three RBIs, and Carlos Delgado added a two-run shot.
Brian Moehler (6-6) worked seven innings to extend his winning streak to four straight. He allowed two runs and 10 hits, walked none and struck out five. He also had an RBI double.
Delgado and Encarnacion had two-run homers off Brandon Webb (8-7) in the Marlins' six-run sixth. Webb gave up eight of his 10 hits and all eight runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
The Boston Red Sox gave David Wells great run support again, scoring five times before making an out and coasting to a 9-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Wednesday.
"I think he can get used to having a lead for sure," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "But at the same time once he gets that lead he knows what to do with it."
One start after staking Wells to a 17-1 lead, the Red Sox scored six runs in the first inning and led 9-2 when he left after seven. Wells (8-5) earned his seventh win in eight decisions, allowing two runs on six hits with a walk and four strikeouts.
"Wells doesn't walk people and he throws strikes," Tampa Bay manager Lou Piniella said. "You don't walk people and you keep it out of the power zones and you'll have success."
Johnny Damon homered and Kevin Millar scored three runs for the Red Sox. Second baseman Tony Graffanino, acquired in one of two trades on Tuesday, had an RBI double.
Mark Hendrickson (4-7) failed to get an out, allowing two doubles, two singles and two walks to six batters.
Eduardo Perez hit a two-run homer for Tampa Bay, and Devils Rays third baseman Alex Gonzalez made three errors.
Twins 3, Orioles 2
At Minneapolis, Jacque Jones homered with one out in the ninth inning for Minnesota.
Jones connected on the first pitch he saw from Jason Grimsley (0-1), getting his second decisive RBI in two games. His infield single on Tuesday gave Minnesota a 4-3 win.
Rafael Palmeiro hit a two-run homer for Baltimore. He tied Lou Gehrig for sixth all-time in extra-base hits with 1,190, passed Frank Robinson to take 10th in total bases with 5,375, and passed Al Simmons for 15th in RBIs with 1,829.
Miguel Tejada just missed a two-out homer in the ninth against Minnesota's Joe Nathan (2-3), settling for a double off the top of the right-field wall. Palmeiro was intentionally walked before Sammy Sosa struck out swinging.
Tigers 8, White Sox 6
At Chicago, Nate Robertson scattered four hits over seven innings, and Chris Shelton and Omar Infante homered for Detroit to take two of three against the White Sox.
Detroit stopped Freddy Garcia (9-4) from winning seven straight decisions for the first time in his career. He allowed six runs and 12 hits in eight-plus innings.
Robertson (5-7) allowed three runs, struck out six and walked two.
Shelton hit a two-run homer in the first inning, and Infante homered leading off a four-run ninth for Detroit. Former White Sox All-Star Magglio Ordonez extended his hitting streak to 12 with two singles.
Tadahito Iguchi and Chris Widger hit solo homers for Chicago.
Yankees 8, Rangers 4
At Arlington, Texas, Jason Giambi and Tino Martinez homered twice each, and New York matched its season high with six home runs to beat Texas and notch its 12th win in 15 games.
Giambi and Jorge Posada put the Yankees ahead to stay with consecutive homers in the second off Joaquin Benoit (1-1), who worked five innings. Robinson Cano added a three-run homer.
Aaron Small (1-0) became the 12th different New York starter this season, working 5 1-3 innings in his Yankees debut for his first victory since 1998.
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