Onrushing Brewers Nip Skidding Astros

Roundup

Gerald Williams drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning Tuesday night as the Milwaukee Brewers moved within 2-1/2 games of first-place Cleveland in the A.L. Central with a 4-2 win over Houston.

The Astros dropped their sixth straight and saw their lead in the N.L. Central shrink to 1-1/2 games over second-place Pittsburgh.

Houston has scored just 13 runs during its losing skid.

Milwaukee handed Darryl Kile (17-5) his second straight loss after the right-hander had won 10 straight decisions. Kile allowed four hits in 8-1/3 innings.

Rockies 7, Angels 2

Anaheim, Calif.

Walt Weiss went 4 for 4 and hit one of his team’s three homers as Colorado won its season-high eighth straight game by defeating Anaheim.

Anaheim’s 12th loss in 18 games dropped the Angels 2-1/2 games behind idle Seattle in the A.L. West race.

Braves 5, Tigers 0

Atlanta

Denny Neagle pitched a four-hitter for his 19th win and hit the third homer of his career, leading Atlanta over Detroit.

Javy Lopez and Keith Lockhart also homered for Atlanta, which knocked out Detroit starter Greg Keagle in the third for its 10th victory in 13 games as the the Braves attempt to fend off Florida in the N.L. East.

Marlins 3, Orioles 2 (10)

Miami

Edgar Renteria singled home the winning run with two outs in the 10th inning as Florida handed Baltimore its fourth straight loss.

Charles Johnson opened the 10th with a single against former Marlin Terry Mathews (3-4) and pinch-runner Gregg Zaun advanced on a sacrifice. Jeff Conine walked, and after both runners moved up on a groundout, Renteria singled to center on Mathews’ first pitch.

Phillies 5, Yankees 0

Philadelphia

Mike Grace, who picked up his first major-league win in 15 months last week, pitched a three-hitter to lead Philadelphia to its victory over New York.

Grace walked none and recorded his only strikeout by fanning Tim Raines for the final out. Grace faced the minimum 27 batters, getting 15 ground ball outs.

Cardinals 6, White Sox 1

St. Louis

Mark McGwire hit his fourth 500-foot home run of the year, Ron Gant homered twice and Andy Benes pitched seven shutout innings as St. Louis beat Chicago.

McGwire’s 44th home run, and 10th in 28 games with the Cardinals, was a 504-foot, two-run shot off the scoreboard in left-center. The homer, which highlighted a four-run first inning, was the longest at Busch Stadium since the team began estimating distances in 1988.

Mets 8, Blue Jays 5

New York

Roger Clemens, starting at Shea Stadium for the first time since the Bill Buckner game in the 1986 World Series, was tagged for a season-high seven runs as New York beat Toronto.

Rey Ordonez hit his first homer of the season and drove in three runs as the Mets won their fourth in a row. Clemens (20-5), leading the majors in wins, dropped to 0-3 in interleague play as the Blue Jays lost their fifth straight game.

Jose Cruz Jr. homered twice and drove in three runs for Toronto.

Cubs 9, Twins 3

Chicago

Sammy Sosa hit a two-run homer and Tyler Houston drove in three runs to lead Chicago to its victory over Minnesota.

Reds 4, Royals 0

Cincinnati

Dave Burba pitched five scoreless innings and Reggie Sanders doubled in two runs as Cincinnati snapped a three-game losing streak by beating Kansas City.

Pete Rose Jr. pinch hit for Burba in the fifth and struck out on four pitches, but was warmly applauded by the hometown fans.

Expos 6, Red Sox 5

Montreal

Henry Rodriguez, who had missed the previous 19 games with a strained rib muscle, snapped a tie with his second home run of the game, a solo shot in the eighth inning, and sent Montreal past Boston.

Pirates 6, Indians 4

Pittsburgh

Shawon Dunston, out of contention all season with the Cubs, welcomed himself to the pennant race by homering twice in his Pittsburgh debut as the Pirates downed Cleveland.

Rangers 13, Dodgers 12

Arlington, Texas

Rusty Greer’s two-out RBI single capped a six-run ninth inning that rallied Texas past Los Angeles.

Clearing the bases Yankees starter David Cone will have his pitching shoulder re-examined today after he cut short a three-inning simulated game before the New York-Philadelphia game… . St. Louis lost another key member of last year’s N.L. Central championship team for the rest of the season when Alan Benes underwent surgery for a partially torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder… . Brad Fullmer became the 74th player to homer in his first at-bat, hitting a pinch-hit, two-run home run for Montreal… . Anaheim left-hander Mark Langston will miss the rest of the season with recurring problems in his pitching elbow… . Los Angeles catcher Mike Piazza was named National League player of the week… . The Dodgers promoted nine players from Albuquerque, including Hall of Fame-bound first baseman Eddie Murray. … Milwaukee’s Jeff Huson is 7 for 53 (.132) since the All-Star break… . Mark Grudzielanek set an Expos record for doubles in a season, hitting his major league leading 47th… . Cleveland’s Matt Williams ran his career-high hitting streak to 19 with a single.