Bucs Slam Cards Twice In One Night

National League

The Pittsburgh Pirates tied a major league record for most grand slams in a game when Orlando Merced and Jay Bell both connected Tuesday night in a 13-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Merced’s slam highlighted a six-run first inning and Bell’s slam in the sixth made it 12-0. Merced finished with five RBIs and Jeff King had four of Pittsburgh’s 20 hits.

Several teams have hit two slams in a game. The feat was accomplished most recently last Sept. 5 when Robin Ventura hit a pair of slams for the Chicago White Sox.

Padres 10, Rockies 6

Denver

Andy Ashby tamed his ex-teammates with his arm and taunted them with his bat, going 4 for 4 to lead San Diego to a win over Colorado.

Ashby, who entered the game with a .142 career batting average, started three scoring rallies. He had two doubles and scored three runs. It was the third four-hit game by a pitcher in the 1990s.

The Padres tied a club record with eight doubles. Jody Reed, Steve Finley and Wally Joyner also had two doubles.

Expos 7, Phillies 6

Montreal

Moises Alou singled home the winning run with two outs in the ninth, and Montreal overcame an early five-run deficit to beat Philadelphia.

Mark Grudzielanek singled off Russ Springer (0-1) leading off the ninth and Mike Lansing sacrificed. Rondell White flied to center and Alou singled to left, making a winner of Mel Rojas (3-0), who pitched a perfect ninth.

Braves 5, Marlins 2

Atlanta

Ryan Klesko hit his seventh homer, a two-run drive in the second, to spark Atlanta past reeling Florida.

Klesko, who didn’t hit his seventh homer last season until June 26, connected for a 405-foot drive off Kevin Brown (0-3) as Atlanta reached .500 for the first time in seven games, at 7-7, Florida has lost three straight and has scored 30 runs while beginning the season 4-10.

Astros 9, Mets 6

New York

Houston used left fielder Butch Huskey’s error and three stolen bases to score five runs in the fifth for a win over New York.

Orlando Miller homered and had three hits for Houston, which took a 6-0 lead into the seventh.

Cubs 6, Reds 3

Chicago

Steve Trachsel won in his first appearance of the season and Leo Gomez hit a two-run double in a six-run sixth, leading Chicago over Cincinnati.

Trachsel allowed two hits in six innings, walked five and struck out four. He had spent two weeks with Double-A Orlando while the Cubs started the season.

Giants 5, Dodgers 3

San Francisco

Pinch-hitter Mel Hall’s sacrifice fly capped a four-run seventh and Barry Bonds homered in the eighth as San Francisco rallied past Los Angeles.

Tom Candiotti, who had the lowest run support in the N.L. last year, was given a 3-0 lead but failed to hold it, giving up three straight hits to start the seventh, including Mark Carreon’s two-run triple.

Clearing the bases

San Diego’s Tony Gwynn, who left Monday’s game in the seventh inning with an inflamed right heel, was scratched from the starting lineup because of lingering effects from the same injury. Teammate Rickey Henderson missed his second straight game with a strained rib cage… . New York pitcher Bill Pulsipher is scheduled to undergo surgery on a torn ligament on his elbow today in Birmingham, Ala. … Cincinnati outfielder Reggie Sanders missed his fifth straight game because of a lower-back strain… . Atlanta continue to struggle at the turnstiles, drawing only 26,635 to Fulton-County Stadium.