Snow Can’t Chill Rockies

Larry Walker and Vinny Castilla hit two-run homers and the Colorado Rockies refused to be cooled off by frigid weather, beating the Montreal Expos 12-8 Saturday for their seventh straight win.

On a day when eight games were postponed by weather, the Expos and Rockies played despite 28-degree temperatures, snow flurries in the middle innings and a wind-chill factor of 18 degrees.

Two umpires and several players wore ski masks to ward off the cold, but Colorado starter Jamey Wright (2-0) was sleeveless.

The Rockies announced a paid crowd of 48,005, extending their major league record for consecutive sellouts to 135 games, although only about 20,000 people actually attended.

The Rockies, who totaled 13 runs and 19 hits in each of their previous two games before two postponements, had 13 hits off five pitchers.

David Segui and Rondell White homered for Montreal, which lost its fifth game in a row.

Braves 2, Cubs 1 Chicago

Chicago’s season-opening losing streak reached nine games as Jeff Blauser’s two-out, ninth-inning single lifted Atlanta to victory.

The Cubs face the Braves again today with a chance to tie Atlanta’s 1988 record for worst start in modern National League history. The all-time league mark is 0-11, set by Detroit in 1884. Baltimore set the major league record with an 0-21 start in 1988.

Andruw Jones opened the ninth with a single but was forced at second base when Ryan Klesko put down a poor bunt. After Klesko stole second, Cubs stopper Mel Rojas struck out Javy Lopez. Blauser singled to center on the next pitch.

Astros 7, Cardinals 5 St. Louis

Pinch-hitter Bob Abreu hit a bases-loaded triple and fill-in starter Ramon Garcia worked five solid innings as Houston defeated St. Louis.

Houston’s Jeff Bagwell added his second home run and ninth RBI six against St. Louis. Playing in 43-degree weather, the Astros ended an eight-game losing streak at Busch Stadium that dated to 1995.

Reds 2, Marlins 1 (10) Cincinnati

Pokey Reese’s first major league hit, a two-out single in the bottom of the 10th inning, gave Cincinnati its victory over Florida.

Losing pitcher Rick Helling (0-1) escaped a scoring threat in the ninth inning, but gave up a one-out single to Eric Owens in the 10th. Owens advanced on Deion Sanders’ groundout and scored on Reese’s soft opposite-field single to right field with two outs.

Reese was called up before the game from Triple-A Indianapolis and started at shortstop for injured Barry Larkin.

American League

Twins 11, Royals 6 Kansas City, Mo.

Pat Meares’ three-run homer boosted Minnesota to a shivering victory over Kansas City as wind-chill temperatures dropped into the low teens.

It was 34 degrees with a 15-degree wind chill when the game began, the first in Kansas City after rain and cold forced postponements on Thursday and Friday nights.

The Royals’ previous home game, against Baltimore on Wednesday night, was played in a steady snowstorm.

Big-league perks

Not all former Spokane Indians suffer the indignities of tormented relief pitcher Mitch Williams.

San Diego Padres owner John Moores and CEO Larry Lucchino have presented general manager Keith Towers and manager Bruce Bochy memberships to Del Mar Country Club, perks worth more than $100,000.

Bochy managed Spokane in 1989. Towers was his pitching coach.

Clearing the bases

Florida’s Jeff Conine went 0-for-4, ending his hitting streak at nine games. Including the end of last season, Conine had hit safely in his last 16 games… . Cincinnati’s Bret Boone, who came into the game in a 1-for-22 slump, had a single and a double in four at-bats… . Greg Maddux, who has won the last seven N.L. Gold Gloves for pitchers, made two errors - twice as many as in the previous two seasons combined… . Gary Gaetti, who entered the game batting .111, was 3 for 3 and scored twice for the Cardinals. He entered the game 0-for-13 against Houston pitching… . The back-to-back rainouts Thursday and Friday were the first time two consecutive games have been washed out in Kansas City since Sept. 12-13, 1977, when flooding devastated the fashionable Plaza shopping district.