Bagwell At 30-30; Astros Near Title

Jeff Bagwell became Houston’s first 30-30 player and the visiting Astros reduced their clinching number to three Monday by rallying for a 6-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

The N.L. Central leaders scored four runs in the eighth inning to move a step closer to their first division title since 1986.

Reds closer Jeff Shaw, who leads the N.L. with 40 saves, took Bob Abreu’s liner off his left kneecap and was carried off the field in the eighth inning.

It was the first time since Aug. 24 that Shaw has failed in a save opportunity and it ended his streak of consecutive saves at 15, the third-longest in N.L. history.

X-rays were negative.

Bagwell doubled twice, walked three times and stole two bases.

Giants 11, Padres 5

San Diego

Barry Bonds homered again as San Francisco increased its N.L. West lead to 2-1/2 games by beating San Diego.

The Giants cut their magic number to four over idle Los Angeles. San Francisco has five games left and the Dodgers have six.

Stan Javier’s RBI single snapped a 5-all tie in the eighth inning, keying a five-run burst. On Sunday, Javier hit a tie-breaking, two-run triple in the ninth of San Francisco’s 8-5 win over the Padres.

Bonds hit his 38th home run in the ninth, his fifth homer in six games. The Giants have won five of their last six, overcoming a two-game deficit to the Dodgers.

Roberto Hernandez (4-2) was the winner.

Heath Murray (1-2) was the loser.

San Francisco, which hasn’t won the division since 1989, won three times in the four-game series against the 1996 N.L. West champion Padres, who will finish last this season.

Pirates 3, Cardinals 1

Pittsburgh

Jason Schmidt limited St. Louis to four hits over seven innings and started Pittsburgh’s two-run fifth inning with a double, leading the Pirates past the Cardinals.

Mark McGwire, who is second in the majors with 54 homers, was 0 for 4 with two strikeouts.

Braves 3, Expos 2 (11)

Atlanta

Another year, another division title for the Braves.

Atlanta became the first team to win six straight division championships, clinching the N.L. East when Florida lost to the New York Mets prior to the Braves’ victory over Montreal.

Mets 10, Marlins 3

Miami

Florida’s bid to clinch a playoff berth in their final home game ended with a dismal defeat.

Carlos Baerga hit a three-run homer and Bobby Jones pitched eight strong innings to help New York win its third in a row.

Clearing the bases

Larry Walker, who became the first N.L. player since 1959 to pass 400 total bases in a season, was named N.L. player of the week after batting .320 with five home runs, 12 RBIs and seven runs scored. … Ron McClain, head trainer of the Montreal Expos, was suspended for rest of the season and fined after going onto the field to argue a home plate call.