Gant’s Homer Defeats Braves

Ron Gant hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning as the St. Louis Cardinals finally defeated Atlanta, scoring a 4-3 victory over the visiting Braves on Tuesday night.

The Braves had won four straight over the Cardinals since falling behind 3-1 in the N.L. championship series last fall.

They also had won eight straight at Busch Stadium since Aug. 20, 1995.

Phillies 5, Astros 1 Houston

Curt Schilling scattered seven hits in seven strong innings as Philadelphia defeated Houston to stop a three-game losing streak.

Schilling (4-3) struck out seven, increasing his league-leading strikeout total to 56, and walked two.

Cubs 2, Padres 1 San Diego

Dave Hansen, who had just one RBI coming in, hit a two-run single in the seventh and Kevin Foster won for the first time in seven starts against San Diego as Chicago defeated the Padres.

Rockies 12, Mets 11 Denver

Eric Young, Ellis Burks and Dante Bichette each homered and eight different players drove in runs for Colorado.

Burks and Bichette hit back-to-back homers in the fifth as Colorado took an 11-6 lead.

Pirates 4, Marlins 0 Miami

Steve Cooke combined with two relievers on a four-hitter and Pittsburgh ended Florida’s eight-game home winning streak.

The win was Pittsburgh’s first over Florida manager Jim Leyland, who managed the Pirates for 11 years before accepting the Marlins job last Oct. 4.

Expos 10, Giants 3 San Francisco

Pedro Martinez pitched seven innings of two-hit ball and matched his season-high with 10 strikeouts, leading Montreal past San Francisco.

Martinez (5-0) didn’t allow a hit until the fifth inning. He gave up just his second earned run in 36-1/3 innings this season, and his major league-leading ERA rose slightly from 0.31 to 0.50.

Reds 3, Dodgers 2 (11) Los Angeles

Eduardo Perez’s pinch-hit homer with one out in 11th inning lifted Cincinnati to victory over Los Angeles.

Reds reliever Mike Remlinger worked out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the 11th for his first major-league save.

Clearing the bases

Dodgers outfielder Brett Butler will be sidelined at least two weeks due to torn cartilage in his left shoulder. … The struggling Reds cut left fielder Ruben Sierra as part of a roster shakeup. … Injuries continue to hit the Cardinals, with outfielder Brian Jordan seeking a second opinion on his back and reliever Rick Honeycutt scheduled for arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder.