Astros Slugger Sends 18th Blast Into Orbit

National League

Jeff Bagwell hit two homers, one into Three Rivers Stadium’s seldom-reached upper deck, and drove in five runs to lead the Houston Astros past Pittsburgh 7-4 Wednesday night at Pittsburgh.

Bagwell’s 4-for-5 night included a solo drive into the left-field upper deck in the fourth, a go-ahead two-run double in the seventh and a two-run homer in the ninth. He has 18 homers.

Eight players have combined to hit the 12 upper-deck drives in Three Rivers’ 27-season history, with Willie Stargell (4) and Bagwell (2) the only players to do it more than once.

Braves 2, Cubs 0

Chicago

Atlanta’s John Smoltz became the majors’ first 11-game winner, throwing a four-hitter to beat Chicago.

Smoltz (11-1) walked two and struck out 13, raising his league-leading strikeout total to 97. The Cubs have dropped nine of their last 10.

Cardinals 6, Rockies 5

St. Louis

Luis Alicea hit a three-run homer in the eighth and Andy Benes earned a save during the second relief appearance of his career as St. Louis beat Colorado.

Dodgers 3, Phillies 2 (11)

Philadelphia

Mike Blowers drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the 11th, giving Los Angeles a win over Philadelphia.

Expos 9, Padres 4

Montreal

Rookie Ugueth Urbina (3-0) pitched seven strong innings and Henry Rodriguez hit his league-leading 19th homer as Montreal beat San Diego to end a five-game skid.

Giants 4, Mets 2

New York

William VanLandingham (3-7) scattered five hits and Matt Williams hit a two-run triple as San Francisco beat New York.

Reds at Marlins, ppd.

Miami

Cincinnati’s game at Florida was rained out. No makeup date was set.

Butler sets high goal

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Brett Butler said he still hopes to return this season.

“My goal is to get back and play this year. Whatever it’s going to take to get my strength back,” Butler, who underwent cancer surgery May 21, told ESPN.

Clearing the bases

Smoltz is 14-4 against Chicago in his career. … Pittsburgh hasn’t won consecutive games since May 4-5, against Los Angeles. … San Diego relievers, who had allowed just eight runs in their last 74-2/3 innings, surrendered four runs in 5-2/3 innings. … Rod Beck of San Francisco has 25 saves in his last 26 chances. … Philadelphia has a league-low 28 errors.