NL: Willis rolls to 20th win

WASHINGTON - That confounding, high-kick delivery. That flat-brimmed cap. That "Gee, this is fun!" smile.

Now Dontrelle Willis can add "20-game winner" to his list of trademarks, just like his boyhood idol, Dave Stewart.

Willis became the first pitcher in Marlins history to win 20 in a season, allowing four hits and a run over six innings to help Florida beat the Nationals 12-1 on Wednesday night in a game between clubs chasing Houston in the wild-card race.

"I'm dumbfounded right now, very ecstatic just because of how my teammates felt for me today. They were pulling for me," said Willis, who got a celebratory beer poured on his head by closer Todd Jones.

"I'm kind of breathtaken. It's historic. It's a beautiful thing, not only for baseball but for my team. Hopefully we'll just keep going."

Florida remained one game behind the Astros in the wild-card race. Philadelphia is 21/2 behind and the Nationals 31/2.

Willis improved to 20-8 with a 2.52 ERA, tying St. Louis' Chris Carpenter for the major-league wins lead. Willis walked three and struck out three; the only run he gave up was on Rick Short's first major-league homer in the sixth.

Growing up in Oakland, Willis rooted for and admired Stewart, who won 20 for the Athletics every year from 1987-90.

"I remember going to the games and being a little boy and watching him and watching the classics," Willis said. "And everything he meant not only to the team, but to the city. I never thought I'd be in a situation like this."

This had to rank among Willis' easiest victories. He was facing the worst offense in the majors. And the Nationals, down to three regular starting pitchers because of injuries, pieced together a patchwork of relievers who were equally ineffective.

The bullpen, Nationals manager Frank Robinson said, is "teetering on the brink of exhaustion."

ASTROS 8, PHILLIES 6: Craig Biggio hit a three-run homer off Billy Wagner with two outs in the ninth, and visiting Houston completed a three-game sweep.

The Astros won their 12th straight over Philadelphia. The free-falling Phillies fell 21/2 games behind Houston in the wild-card race with their fifth straight loss.

Bobby Abreu hit a tying two-run homer in the eighth and pinch-hitter Shane Victorino gave the Phillies a lead with a run-scoring single, his first major-league hit in more than two years.

BRAVES 4, METS 3 (10): Ryan Langerhans hit a two-out, two-run single in the 10th, and host Atlanta rallied twice to complete a three-game sweep.

Langerhans tied it at 2 in the ninth with a run-scoring double off Braden Looper, then came through in the 10th with Shingo Takatsu one pitch from escaping a bases-loaded, no-out jam inherited from Looper.

The rookie outfielder fought off one 3-and-2 pitch, then drove the next one to the gap in left-center to bring home two.

John Foster got the win despite giving up Chris Woodward's pinch single in the 10th, which pushed New York back ahead.

CUBS 2, CARDINALS 1: Greg Maddux pitched 52/3 scoreless innings and visiting Chicago got just enough off Mark Mulder early to take two of three from the league's best team. Maddux topped 400 innings over the past two seasons, triggering an automatic $9-million option for next season, when he struck out Hector Luna for the second out in the fourth inning of his 317th career victory.

PADRES 4, ROCKIES 2: Mark Loretta homered and scored twice and Adam Eaton won his 10th game as West-leading San Diego got back to .500. The Padres beat last-place Colorado for the second time in five games in San Diego since Aug. 26.

BREWERS 14, REDS 5: Rookie J.J. Hardy hit his first grand slam and set a career high with four hits, and host Milwaukee had its most runs since a 15-5 win over Arizona on Oct. 7, 2001.

D'BACKS 4, PIRATES 2: Brandon Webb allowed two runs in seven innings and had a run-scoring single as Arizona handed Pittsburgh its 10th consecutive home loss.

[Last modified September 8, 2005, 01:50:14]