Houston Halts Streaking Phils

National League

Luis Gonzalez’ three-run homer highlighted a four-run eighth inning that carried Houston to a 6-5 victory over Philadelphia on Tuesday night, ending the Astros’ losing streak to six games.

The Astros trailed 5-2 and Phillies starter Curt Schilling had a three-hitter going into the eighth, but Houston loaded the bases on a walk to Brian Hunter and singles by Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell.

After Derek Bell’s sacrifice fly made it 5-3, Gonzales hit a 1-2 pitch for his sixth homer of the year.

Dave Veres, the fourth of six Houston pitchers, pitched 11%3 innings for the victory, while John Hudek got the last four outs for his seventh save. Schilling struck out 10, walked two and allowed six hits in eight innings.

Mets 7, Marlins 3

New York

Jeff Kent, coming off a 10-game road trip in which he batted .188, had a homer, triple and single and drove in two runs as New York snapped a three-game losing streak with a victory over Florida.

Rico Brogna also knocked in a pair of runs with a homer and single to support the pitching of Bret Saberhagen for the Mets.

Giants 8, Cubs 4

Chicago

Mike Benjamin had his second straight four-hit game and Mark Portugal pitched seven strong innings as San Francisco beat struggling Chicago, handing Jaime Navarro his first loss.

The Giants snapped a season-high four-game losing streak, while the Cubs have lost seven of eight, a stretch in which they have managed only 23 runs.

Dodgers 5, Pirates 3

Pittsburgh

Ismael Valdes pitched six-hit ball for seven innings and twice started Los Angeles rallies with singles against Pittsburgh.

Jose Offerman had a two-run triple off Jon Lieber in the fourth inning as the Dodgers took a 4-0 lead en route to ending a three-game losing streak.

Cardinals 3, Padres 2

St. Louis

Brian Jordan’s grounder drove in the winning run in the eighth inning, and Tom Urbani allowed just three hits and a run in seven innings, leading St. Louis past San Diego.

Jordan’s grounder drove in Tripp Cromer, who led off the eighth with a single and advanced to third on a one-out single by Todd Zeile.

Expos 11, Braves 2

Montreal

Rookie Carlos Perez, who leads the National League with a 1.88 ERA, allowed two runs in seven innings as Montreal beat Atlanta.

Former Brave Tony Tarasco, David Segui and Sean Berry each drove in two runs as the Expos won their fourth straight.

Rockies 6, Reds 4

Denver

Andres Galarraga homered twice and drove in three runs, helping Kevin Ritz and Colorado beat Cincinnati.

The Rockies, winning for the 10th time in 13 games, snapped the Reds’ five-game winning streak.

Colorado’s Dante Bichette extended his hitting streak to 19 games, longest in the majors this season.

Clearing the bases

In an attempt to rebuild attendance, the San Diego Padres will admit children 14 and under free on Sundays for the rest of the season. The Padres have drawn an average of 12,455 fans through their first 27 games, down 28 percent from 17,187 for the first 27 games last year. … Houston and pitcher Darryl Kile agreed to a one-year contract worth $1,272,500. He had been scheduled for an arbitration hearing Friday. Kile, who earned $477,500 last year, had asked for $1,595,000 in arbitration and the Astros offered $950,000. The agreement was at the midpoint.