Bond’s Second Hr Deals Cards Loss
National League
Barry Bonds’ second two-run homer of the game broke an eighth-inning tie and gave the San Francisco Giants a 4-2 victory over the first-place St. Louis Cardinals in San Francisco on Wednesday.
The Giants broke a five-game losing streak and handed the Cardinals just their second loss in 12 games.
Bill Mueller drew a leadoff walk in the eighth off Alan Benes (13-9), who was pitching in relief of starter Danny Jackson.
Phillies 10, Astros 8
Houston
Mickey Morandini had four hits and knocked in two runs as Philadelphia defeated Houston.
Houston remained 2-1/2 games behind St Louis for the N.L. Central Division lead.
Dodgers 3, Reds 2
Los Angeles
Los Angeles converted three Cincinnati errors into three unearned runs in the fifth inning and Chad Curtis had an RBI double as Brett Butler’s replacement.
The Dodgers completed a three-game sweep of the Reds to win for the 15th time in 19 games overall.
Padres 8, Pirates 7
San Diego
Chris Gomez’s RBI single in the ninth inning carried San Diego to a victory over Pittsburgh that kept the Padres virtually even with Los Angeles in the red-hot N.L. West Division race.
Expos 2, Cubs 1
Chicago
Moises Alou finished an otherwise horrible road trip by hitting a two-run homer in the eighth inning, giving Montreal a victory.
Alou was 3 for 27 on the Expos’ seven-game trip, including 1 for 11 in the three games at Chicago, before pulling a pitch by Terry Adams (2-6) clear out of Wrigley Field.
Mets 3, Marlins 1
New York
Jason Isringhausen, in his second start since coming off the disabled list Sept. 6, scattered four hits in 6-2/3 innings as New York defeated Florida.
Rockies 6, Braves 5
Denver
Denny Neagle remained winless with Atlanta as Andres Galarraga homered for the second straight game, leading Colorado to a win.
Butler ponders end
Los Angeles Dodger center fielder Brett Butler told his teammates that he might have played his final baseball game.
Butler, arriving with a soft cast on his broken left hand, will be out four to six weeks. Butler won’t give up hope of returning, but he knows the odds are stacked against him.
Butler, who broke his hand trying to bunt Tuesday night, told the Dodgers not to feel sorry for him. He reminded them that they were winning without him before his dramatic return.
Clearing the bases
The Houston Astros re-acquired infielder Andujar Cedeno from the Detroit Tigers for a player to be named later. … San Francisco Giants pitcher Jose Bautista will miss the rest of the season because of an aneurysm in his right shoulder and a blood clot in his right index finger.