Giants cool off Braves; Astros edge Cubs 5-4

ATLANTA -- Greg Maddux and the Atlanta Braves held Barry Bonds in check, but they couldn't stop Jeff Kent.

Kent homered twice, doubled and drove in four runs, backing the solid pitching of Russ Ortiz as the San Francisco Giants beat the Braves 7-2 Tuesday night.

Benito Santiago added a two-run homer for the Giants, who moved into first in the NL wild card race with their seventh victory in nine games. They're a half-game ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who lost 4-3 to Montreal.

Kent hit a three-run homer in the third, part of a four-run inning off Maddux (11-4) during which San Francisco sent nine batters to the plate.

Rockies 5, Marlins 4

MIAMI -- Larry Walker and Todd Helton each drove in two runs and Colorado defeated Florida.

Walker's two-run triple off reliever Armando Almanza highlighted a three-run seventh as the Rockies rallied from a 4-2 deficit.

Mike Hampton (7-13) allowed four runs in six innings.

Diamondbacks 6, Reds 1

CINCINNATI -- Steve Finley hit a two-run homer and Rick Helling held Cincinnati to three hits in seven innings, showing no lingering effects from a sprained ankle, as Arizona beat the Reds despite losing Luis Gonzalez.

Gonzalez, who holds the longest active playing streak in the majors at 446 consecutive games, strained his ribcage and had to leave in the third inning. He's likely to miss a few games.

The loss knocked the Reds back into third place in the NL Central

Padres 7, Mets 2

NEW YORK -- Rookie Jake Peavy came within two outs of his first major league complete game, and doubled his career total with three hits to lead San Diego over New York.

The Padres won despite umpires reversing a call and taking a home run away from Ryan Klesko after he had already rounded the bases. Replays confirmed it was a foul ball.

Expos 4, Dodgers 3

MONTREAL -- Troy O'Leary hit a go-ahead, two-run homer off Montreal native Eric Gagne in the eighth inning as Montreal beat Los Angeles.

Gagne (1-1) entered the game to a standing ovation with two outs in the eighth and Vladimir Guerrero on first base.

O'Leary hit Gagne's first pitch of the game over the wall in right field to put the Expos ahead 4-3.

Phillies 3, Brewers 1

PHILADELPHIA -- Vicente Padilla scattered four hits over seven shutout innings, and Mike Lieberthal hit a two-run homer and doubled as Philadelphia defeated Milwaukee.

Lieberthal, who hit three home runs Saturday, is 25-for-58 (.431) in his last 14 games with five doubles, six homers and 10 RBIs. On Tuesday, he went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.

Astros 5, Cubs 4

CHICAGO -- Jeff Bagwell and Jose Vizcaino each drove in a run, and Pete Munro won for the first time since July 23 as Houston won in a game interrupted twice by rain.

Houston took a 5-0 lead in the fourth, then hung on.

American League

Twins 6, Orioles 0

MINNEAPOLIS -- Rick Reed pitched a five-hitter and Doug Mientkiewicz homered twice as Minnesota shut out Baltimore.

Mientkiewicz had three hits and drove in three runs. David Ortiz also homered .

Yankees 10, Royals 5

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Bernie Williams homered, doubled and drove in four runs and Roger Clemens got his 290th career victory as New York beat Kansas City.

Every Yankees starter except Jason Giambi had a hit, and he walked three times. Robin Ventura homered to highlight a four-run seventh inning as the Yankees broke away.

Clemens (10-3) won despite allowing five runs on 10 hits and four walks in five-plus innings. He reached 10 wins for the 16th time in his career, the most among active pitchers.

White Sox 12, Rangers 3

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Jose Valentin homered twice, including his sixth career grand slam, and drove in six runs to power Chicago White past Texas.

Valentin's slam, on the third pitch thrown by reliever Dennys Reyes, gave the White Sox a 7-0 lead in the fourth inning.

Indians 9, Devil Rays 5

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Karim Garcia hit his second career grand slam during a seven-run fifth inning as Cleveland beat Tampa Bay.

From wire reports