Baseball

NL: Rookie aids resurgent Braves

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- For years, Horacio Ramirez saw Atlanta win games with outstanding pitching. Now the rookie is doing his part.

Ramirez shut out Montreal until the eighth inning and Gary Sheffield hit another jonron, leading the revived Braves over the Expos 3-2 Wednesday night.

Swept at home by Montreal in a three-game series to start the season, Atlanta rapidly is getting even with the Expos in Puerto Rico. The Braves are doing it in familiar fashion, albeit with a reconfigured rotation.

"I watched those guys on TV for so long, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz and Tom Glavine," said Ramirez, who spent the past six seasons in the minors. "Sometimes it doesn't feel like I'm part of the team because you were so used to those guys being here together.

"It's odd, but I'm real happy with how it's going."

A night after newcomer Shane Reynolds and the bullpen held the Expos to one run in 10 innings, Ramirez was exceptional.

The left-hander, 23, shut out the Expos until Ron Calloway's two-run homer in the eighth, beating the team that defeated him two weeks ago in his major-league debut.

Ramirez walked none and struck out five, not bad for a guy who never had pitched above Double A before this season. It was welcome sight for a club that started this week last in the NL in ERA.

"We're going to get good pitching," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "We have it, it's going to come. We'll get our rotation going; it'll be good."

Andruw Jones doubled, singled twice and drove in two runs, and Sheffield homered for the second straight day. Atlanta matched its longest winning streak of the season at two with star Chipper Jones out of the starting lineup because of a sprained left groin.

The Expos had won five in a row, including four straight in their part-time home, before running into Atlanta's stepped-up pitching.

"In games like this, you've got to take advantage of the opportunities," Expos manager Frank Robinson said. "We're not getting that big hit when we need it, which we were doing earlier."

ASTROS 8, GIANTS 5: Jeff Kent hit a two-run double against his former team and Craig Biggio had a three-run homer as Houston sent host San Francisco to its second loss.

Brad Lidge, Octavio Dotel and Billy Wagner combined for five shutout innings in relief for the Astros, who rallied from a 5-0 deficit to avoid a three-game sweep.

The Giants had their six-game winning streak snapped and failed to match the 1918 New York Giants (18-1) for the best start in franchise history.

After the Astros tied it with a five-run fifth on Biggio's fourth homer of the season and Kent's double, pinch-hitter Orlando Merced drove in the go-ahead run with a single in the seventh off Scott Eyre.

CARDINALS 15, BREWERS 2: Matt Morris' arm always has been tough on Milwaukee. On this day, his bat hurt, too.

Morris pitched six solid innings and hit his first major-league home run, and Scott Rolen hit two two-run homers for visiting St. Louis.

"I've been waiting for this home run since Little League," Morris said.

The Brewers managed one unearned run off Morris, who improved to 9-2 with a 2.23 ERA in his career against Milwaukee.

CUBS 10, REDS 4: Dusty Baker understandably tempered his enthusiasm after watching first-place Chicago hit four home runs in an easy win over visiting Cincinnati.

The Cubs committed two errors, walked seven batters and hit two with pitches. They allowed the Reds to score twice on passed balls and once on a wild pitch.

"It wasn't a pretty game at all," Baker said.

Sammy Sosa hit his 502nd career home run, a three-run shot in the first, and Moises Alou added a three-run homer in the seventh.

D'BACKS 4, ROCKIES 3: Luis Gonzalez singled home the winning run as host Arizona rallied for three runs in the ninth. David Dellucci, who entered in the ninth after Danny Bautista left with a hip flexor, singled in two runs off Jose Jimenez to tie it at 3.

DODGERS 3, PADRES 0: Kazuhisa Ishii allowed three hits in seven innings, and slumping Fred McGriff hit a two-run double to cap a three-run sixth for host Los Angeles. The Dodgers had lost their previous four games by one run.

MARLINS 3, PHILLIES 1: Brad Penny allowed two hits in seven shutout innings and Ivan Rodriguez scored twice as visiting Florida broke a three-game losing streak.

PIRATES 6, METS 3: Kevin Young's pinch single in the sixth drove in the go-ahead run, and host Pittsburgh got a third straight effective outing from Jeff Suppan.

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