Bonds holds at 599 as Sosa takes spotlight

SAN FRANCISCO -- There was a long home run at Pacific Bell Park, but Barry Bonds didn't hit it.

Sammy Sosa homered twice, including a 461-foot drive to straightaway center, and Bonds was denied his 600th home run for the second straight day as the Chicago Cubs beat the Giants 9-3 Thursday.

Matt Clement (9-8) got eight strikeouts during seven shutout innings of two-hit ball, but Sosa provided the excitement with a two-run homer in the first and the long two-run shot in the eighth against reliever Troy Brohawn giving him 35 on the year.

Bonds, whose longest homer in the park is 451 feet, went 1-for-2 with a single, a strikeout and two walks.

Chicago scored six early runs against Livan Hernandez (7-12), then coasted the rest of the way.

Braves 4, Diamondbacks 1

PHOENIX -- Tom Glavine took a shutout into the ninth inning and John Smoltz became the fastest pitcher to record 40 saves in a season as Atlanta took two out of three from the defending World Series champions.

Julio Franco and Mark De Rosa homered off Brian Anderson (5-8) in the final regular-season matchup of the top two teams in the National League.

Glavine (15-6) allowed four hits, struck out five, walked three and hit a batter. Junior Spivey broke up Glavine's shutout bid with a leadoff home run in the ninth.

Smoltz replaced Glavine and got three outs to earn his franchise-record 40th save in Atlanta's 114th game. Lee Smith of St. Louis was the previous fastest to 40 saves, doing it in 117 games in 1993.

Padres 7, Phillies 4

SAN DIEGO -- Ron Gant hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning and tied it in the eighth with a run-scoring triple to lead San Diego over Philadelphia.

Gant hit Terry Adams' 2-0 fastball 400 feet to left, capping a comeback from a 4-0 deficit. His triple, also off Adams (4-8), tied it at 4.

Tom Davey (1-0) pitched the ninth for the win.

Marlins 4, Astros 3

HOUSTON -- Julian Tavarez (8-9) won for the first time in a month, and Ramon Castro ended an 0-for-10 slump with two hits and three RBIs as Florida snapped Houston's four-game winning streak.

With the score 1-all in the fifth, Pete Munro (2-2) walked Preston Wilson and Derrek Lee. Brandon Puffer relieved, retired Juan Encarnacion on a popup back to the mound, then loaded the bases with a walk to Tim Raines.

Castro, a former minor league in Houston's farm system, put Florida ahead with a two-run single.

Braden Looper got his fifth save in eight chances, giving up a two-out triple to Craig Biggio and an RBI single to Lance Berkman before retiring Jeff Bagwell on a game-ending flyout.

Mets 9, Brewers 0

MILWAUKEE -- Steve Trachsel scattered five hits in his first complete game and shutout of the season as New York routed Milwaukee.

Trachsel (8-7), who is 5-1 in his last nine starts, pitched his first complete game since last Oct. 3, when he blanked Pittsburgh 3-0.

Timo Perez had two triples, including one off Matt Childers with the bases loaded in the eighth.

Jamey Wright (4-11) failed in his bid to win three straight starts for the first time since last June.

Rockies 10, Reds 3

DENVER -- Mike Hampton won for the first time since July 5, allowing just an unearned run in six innings as Colorado completed a three-game sweep of Cincinnati.

Hampton (6-13), who already has matched his career high for losses, had been winless in five starts since defeating San Diego on July 5. He gave up three hits, walked four and struck out two, working out of trouble in two innings.

Jimmy Haynes (12-7), who had been 5-0 in nine starts since losing to Pittsburgh on June 16, allowed five runs and 10 hits in five-plus innings.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Yankees 6, Royals 3

NEW YORK -- Alfonso Soriano, Raul Mondesi and Robin Ventura homered to account for all the Yankees' runs, and Mariano Rivera returned from the disabled list to close out New York's win.

The crowd of 55,142 stood when Rivera trotted in from the bullpen to pitch the ninth. Activated before the game after recovering from a strained right shoulder, Rivera pitched a perfect inning for his 25th save in 29 chances.

The Yankees boosted their home run total to 172, most in the majors. The AL East leaders sent Kansas City to its 14th loss in 16 games.

The homers provided plenty of support for Andy Pettitte (7-4). He won his third start in a row, pitching into the eighth inning.

Paul Byrd (14-8) was tagged for all three homers.

Orioles 4, Twins 1

BALTIMORE -- Chris Richard and Jeff Conine drove in two runs each to back Travis Driskill as Baltimore completed a three-game sweep of Minnesota.

It was the fourth straight defeat for Minnesota, matching its longest skid of the season (April 8-11). Jacque Jones had three hits for the Twins, just 11-40 against the Orioles since July 1996.

Driskill (8-5) allowed one run and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings to outpitch Brad Radke (4-3), who gave up four runs and five hits in seven innings.

Devil Rays 4, Indians 2

CLEVELAND -- Paul Wilson won his third straight start and Tampa Bay scored all its runs with two outs as the Devil Rays defeated Cleveland.

Wilson (5-7) won for the first time in nine road starts since April 10. He allowed one run on six hits, striking out four in eight innings.

He has yielded just four earned runs in his last 22 innings and has an ERA of 2.58 since the All-Star break.

Tampa Bay went 8-for-14 with two outs over the first six innings against Danys Baez (8-9).

Tigers 2, Rangers 1

DETROIT -- Jose Lima allowed nine hits in 5 1-3 innings and Detroit scored twice in the fourth inning to defeat Texas.

Lima (3-5) allowed one run and walked none, throwing 53 of 71 pitches for strikes. Three relievers finished for the Tigers with Juan Acevedo getting three outs for his 20th save in 24 opportunities.

Texas loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth, but Acevedo retired Alex Rodriguez on a groundout to end the game.

Rangers starter Ismael Valdes (5-9) allowed both Detroit runs and only four hits in 7 1-3 innings. He struck out eight and walked three.

Mariners 3, Blue Jays 1

TORONTO -- Jamie Moyer took a shutout into the eighth inning and Jeff Cirillo had three hits as Seattle beat Toronto.

Edgar Martinez had a two-run single in the third and Cirillo hit a run-scoring double in the sixth for the Mariners, who have won 15 of their last 18 games at SkyDome. Seattle hasn't lost a series in Toronto since 1999.

Moyer (12-4) allowed one run and six hits in 7 2-3 innings. The 39 year-old left-hander, who hasn't lost to Toronto since 1999, struck out four and walked two to improve 7-1 on the road this season.

White Sox 3, Angels 2

CHICAGO -- Jim Parque, pitching for the first time since undergoing shoulder surgery last season, got his first win in nearly two years, leading Chicago over Anaheim.

Parque, in his first outing since May 2, 2001, allowed two runs and five hits in 5 1-3 innings for his first win since Sept. 23, 2000, at Minnesota.

Rocky Biddle, Kelly Wunsch, Keith Foulke and Damaso Marte combined on 3 2-3 scoreless innings of relief with Marte getting five outs for his fifth save.

Frank Thomas hit his 19th home run and Carlos Lee hit his 18th off Aaron Sele (8-8) for Chicago.