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NL: Marlins dominance of Phillies continues 4-3

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Published April 10, 2004

MIAMI - Mike Lowell had three hits and drove in two to lift the Marlins over the Phillies 4-3 Friday night.

Lowell's third single sparked a three-run sixth to tie it. Luis Castillo added a two-out run-scoring single in the seventh.

It was the 11th loss in 13 for the Phillies against the Marlins. Four of the past five have been by one run.

Philadelphia seemed to have this one in hand. Pat Burrell had a run-scoring double off the wall in the first and a two-run single in the fifth to build a 3-0 lead.

Eric Milton was cruising along, too. Making his first start for the Phillies and just his fourth since 2002 because of knee injury, Milton allowed two runs and six hits in five-plus innings. He left in the sixth after Miguel Cabrera doubled with Castillo aboard.

Manager Larry Bowa brought in Rheal Cormier to face Lowell, but the usually reliable left-hander promptly gave up a two-run double.

Cormier went 8-0 with a 1.70 ERA last season in 842/3 innings. Jeff Conine followed Lowell with a single, and Lowell later scored on Ramon Castro's single over Pat Burrell's head.

Cormier (1-1) pitched to five batters, allowed two runs on four hits and had his nine-game winning streak snapped. Hall of Famer Grover Cleveland Alexander was the last Phillies pitcher to win more than nine in a row, stringing together 10 straight in 1913.

Matt Perisho (2-0) got Bobby Abreu to ground out to end the eighth. Armando Benitez pitched a perfect ninth for his third save.

REDS 5, PIRATES 1: Ken Griffey and Adam Dunn homered, extending host Cincinnati's uncharacteristically good start.

With the third straight win, the Reds moved into first in the Central for the first time since June 17, 2002, when they were still playing at Cinergy Field with a bigger payroll.

Slow starts are more the norm for Cincinnati, which is 3-1 for the first time since 1997. At two games over .500, the Reds have matched their high point from last season, when they moved into Great American Ball Park and lost 93.

The Reds sold 9,461 tickets right before the game, their biggest walkup crowd since 1994.

Aaron Harang (1-0) held the Pirates to six hits in six innings, the third solid performance from a revamped rotation that ranked among the majors' worst last year.

Griffey put the Reds ahead to stay with a two-run homer in the first off Josh Fogg (0-1), the 483rd of his career. Griffey is (3-for-8) with two homers in three games.

ASTROS 13, BREWERS 7: Right-hander Wade Miller befuddled Milwaukee in its home opener, pitching six solid innings.

Miller allowed two earned runs and four hits in improving to 11-1 against Milwaukee.

"It was fun obviously with the run (support). You can't ask for anything more than that," Miller said. "I didn't feel that great today, but I threw the ball where I wanted to for the most part. I feel I had decent stuff."

Miller always looks on top of his game at Miller Park, where he is 6-0 with a 1.08 ERA.

"I didn't have a real good fastball, but I was able to spot it where I wanted to. And I had a good breaking ball, so that helped," Miller said.

Jeff Bagwell went 4-for-5 with five RBIs, including his sixth career grand slam, and scored three times. He had a chance at another grand slam but struck out looking in the ninth.

Richard Hidalgo added four RBIs for the Astros, who scored nine in the sixth in a game that began with a little more buzz than usual after the Brewers had won three of four in St. Louis to start the season.

"That doesn't happen very often, a nine-run inning. That was nice," said Bagwell, who started the big inning with a leadoff double and scored on Hidalgo's two-run double just over third baseman Wes Helms' outstretched glove.

That broke a tie at 2 and chased Wes Obermueller.

METS 3, EXPOS 2 (11): Todd Zeile doubled to break the tie for New York in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Last year, the Expos swept a four-game April series from the Mets, and New York went on to its second straight last-place finish in the East.

Montreal, owned by the other 29 major-league teams, is back at Hiram Bithorn Stadium for 22 more home games this season.

The game drew 14,739 on Good Friday, about 5,000 short of a sellout at the remolded ballpark, where there was a new artificial surface and scoreboard, plus expanded seating.

CUBS 2, BRAVES 1 (15): Tom Goodwin brought home Derrek Lee with a sacrifice fly for visiting Chicago.

The victory snapped a two-game losing streak for the Cubs.

Aramis Ramirez, who had four hits, doubled for the third time to lead off the inning, and moved to third on a single by Lee. Against a drawn-in infield, Ramon Martinez hit a grounder to shortstop Jesse Garcia, who quickly threw home to get Ramirez easily.

But Michael Barrett walked to load the bases, and Goodwin hit a fly ball off Will Cunnane (0-1) down the rightfield line to score Lee.

Kent Mercker (1-0) pitched the 14th and Joe Borowski got three outs for his second save.

CARDINALS 13, DIAMONDBACKS 6: Visiting St. Louis pounded Casey Daigle in his major-league debut with five home runs - two by ex-Diamondback Reggie Sanders - in 22/3innings.

Tony Womack, another former Diamondback, went 4-for-5, including two doubles and an RBI.

Scott Rolen was 3-for-5 with four RBIs, including a two-run home run and a two-run single. Albert Pujols and Ray Lankford also homered for the Cardinals.

Chris Carpenter (1-0) got his first victory since July 24, 2002, allowing five runs on seven hits in six innings. Carpenter did not appear in a major-league game last season while coming back from shoulder surgery.

Daigle (0-1), a 23-year-old right-hander who pitched for Double-A El Paso last season, allowed eight runs and 10 hits before he was lifted after Sanders' second homer went 445 feet with two outs in the third.

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