Brown, Marlins Dump Dodgers

National League

Kevin Brown pitched eight shutout innings and Gary Sheffield tied a club record with his 27th homer as the Florida Marlins beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0 Wednesday for their seventh win in 10 games.

Brown (9-8) allowed six hits, struck out four and walked one. Robb Nen, who relieved after Mike Piazza’s leadoff single in the ninth, struck out the side for his 20th save.

Joe Orsulak drove in two runs for the Marlins, and Sheffield set up two runs. Mike Busch, who drove in three runs Tuesday night, went 3 for 3 for the Dodgers.

Hideo Nomo (10-9) gave up three hits in seven innings, struck out five and walked one.

Sheffield, who also hit 27 homers in 1994, put Florida ahead in the first inning with his first homer since July 12. His career high of 33 was set with San Diego in 1992.

Reds 3, Phillies 1

Philadelphia

Dave Burba pitched seven shutout innings and singled in Cincinnati’s first two runs to key the completion of a four-game sweep.

Burba was 4 for 41 (.098), but had homered in each of his previous two starts. He snapped a scoreless tie with a two-out, bases-loaded single in the seventh. Eric Anthony added a solo homer in the eighth.

It was Cincinnati’s eighth straight win over the Phillies, who also lost four in a row to the Reds from June 24-26 in Cincinnati. The last-place Phillies have dropped 10 of 11.

Burba (6-9) allowed four hits and one walk while striking out five. He won his fourth straight and for the sixth time in seven decisions.

Jeff Brantley picked up his league-leading 27th save and third of the series.

Mike Williams (3-9) went seven innings, allowing two runs and six hits.

Braves 4, Cardinals 1

St. Louis

Atlanta rookie Terrell Wade allowed one run and two hits in his first major-league start, and Javier Lopez and Ryan Klesko each homered.

Relievers Brad Clontz and Greg McMichael followed Wade and threw two perfect innings each, with McMichael earning his second save.

Wade (3-0), who made 27 relief appearances this season, struck out eight and walked two in five innings. Wade has allowed one earned run in his last 18 innings and lowered his ERA to 1.05.

Cardinals starter Alan Benes (10-6), who had won three in a row, gave up four runs and six hits in six innings.

Pirates 5, Expos 4

Pittsburgh

Jermaine Allensworth singled home the winning run in the ninth, giving Pittsburgh a win over Montreal and its first three-game home winning streak this year.

John Ericks (1-3) pitched two scoreless innings for his first win since last Aug. 5.

Astros 6, Padres 4 (10)

Houston

Pinch-hitter Ray Montgomery won the game with his first major-league homer, a two-run drive in the 10th that gave Houston a victory over San Diego.

Houston tied the score in ninth on Jeff Bagwell’s two-out RBI double off Trevor Hoffman, who blew a save for the sixth time in 28 chances.

Rockies 7, Mets 6, (10)

Denver

Vinny Castilla singled over center fielder Carl Everett in the 10th to give Colorado a win over New York and move the Rockies into first place in the N.L. West.

Colorado, which overcame a 4-1 deficit, completed a three-game sweep.

Cubs 7, Giants 1

San Francisco

Frank Castillo scattered five hits in 8-1/3 innings and Tyler Houston hit his first home run as a Cub, leading Chicago over slumping San Francisco.

Castillo (4-12) won for the second time in three starts. His two starts against the Giants, in which he is 1-0 with a 1.76 ERA, have brightened an otherwise bleak season. He walked three and struck out five before needing relief help.

Schourek wants to stay in Cincy

Pete Schourek would like to pitch again next year for the Cincinnati Reds - if they will have him back.

The left-hander was the Reds’ No. 1 starter when this season began. Now, he is hoping the Reds will still want him after he recovers from elbow surgery, which cut his season short.

He has a one-year contract with the Reds that will pay him $3.3 million this year. The best he can hope for next year is that the Reds - who can reduce his salary up to 20 percent - will tender him an incentives-laden contract which would give him a chance to boost his 1997 earnings.

Clearing the bases

Chicago’s Ryne Sandberg is 5 for his last 39 (.128)… . Colorado drew 48,061 for its 103rd consecutive sellout, a major-league record.