Astros Pelt Giants, Add To Division Lead

National League

Craig Biggio homered on the game’s first pitch and Mike Hampton pitched seven strong innings as the visiting Houston Astros routed the San Francisco Giants 14-2.

Hampton (12-9) allowed two runs and seven hits in seven-plus innings. He also singled, drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and scored a run in the Astros’ biggest scoring game since June 1996.

Astros shortstop Tim Bogar fractured a bone in his left forearm when he was hit by a pitch in the third inning.

Biggio’s 21st homer triggered a five-run first that included RBI doubles by Bill Spiers and Bogar. Ricky Gutierrez, who got an RBI in the first on a grounder, had a two-run homer in the third.

Thomas Howard added an RBI single in the sixth and Luis Rivera had a two-run triple in the seventh. Brad Ausmus, who had a sacrifice fly in the first, added an RBI single as the Astros scored three in the eighth.

Biggio, Howard and Gutierrez had three hits each as the Astros extended their lead over second-place Pittsburgh in the N.L. Central to 3-1/2 games. The Giants fell two games behind N.L. West-leading Los Angeles.

Reds 5, Pirates 2 Cincinnati

Jon Lieber gave up three homers in only four innings as slumping Pittsburgh got overpowered for a second consecutive game and lost to Cincinnati.

Joe Oliver hit a two-run homer, and Willie Greene and Jon Nunnally added solo shots to keep the Pirates in their late-season stall. Since chopping its deficit in the N.L. Central to a handful of games, Pittsburgh has lost momentum by losing 8 of 10.

Shawon Dunston hit a two-run homer, his third since coming to Pittsburgh in a trade with the Chicago Cubs, but the Pirates wasted three other scoring threats in six innings against winning pitcher Mike Morgan (5-12).

Jeff Shaw got three outs for his 31st save, preserving the Reds’ fifth consecutive win over the Pirates.

Phillies 6, Expos 4 Montreal

Bobby Estalella, in his first game since being recalled from the minors, hit three homers as Philadelphia beat Montreal for its fourth straight victory.

Estalella, who appeared in two games earlier this season, hit a solo homer in the second and a two-run shot off losing pitcher Pedro Martinez (16-7) in the sixth. The rookie catcher added a solo shot off Anthony Telford in the ninth.

Estalella hit two homers in seven games last season. He had 16 homers this season for Scranton in the International League.

Rico Brogna also homered for Philadelphia and Tony Barron added an RBI infield single as the Phillies won for the ninth time in 11 games.

Braves 8, Padres 7 (11) San Diego

Jeff Blauser went 4 for 5 and hit a sacrifice fly in the 11th inning as Atlanta beat San Diego after twice wasting one-run leads.

Atlanta, which had lost two of three at Detroit earlier this week, opened a three-game lead over second-place Florida in the N.L. East.

Cardinals vs. Rockies Denver

St. Louis and Colorado were rained out in the bottom of third inning, just minutes after Phil Plantier hit a solo homer to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.

The game will be made up Monday, an open date for both teams.

Clearing the bases

When Craig Biggio scored in the first inning, he broke his own club record with his 124th run… . At 30-21, Philadelphia has the league’s third-best record since the All-Star break, trailing only Florida and Los Angeles… . Phillies right-hander Scott Ruffcorn will require surgery to remove an aneurysm from under his right armpit.