LaRue slams Reds past Pirates

PITTSBURGH -- Jason LaRue hit a grand slam with two outs in the eighth inning after an intentional walk, capping a five-run burst that carried Cincinnati past Pittsburgh.

Even after LaRue homered, the Reds still needed left fielder Russell Branyan's run-saving catch in Pittsburgh's three-run eighth to wrap up their fourth victory in five games. They stayed 3 1/2 games behind St. Louis in the NL Central.

Pittsburgh lost for the second time in eight games since the All-Star break.

Scott Sullivan (6-3) got the victory despite allowing three runs in the eighth. Danny Graves earned his 28th save in 34 chances.

Brian Boehringer (2-3) was the loser.

Braves 3, Marlins 1

ATLANTA -- Tom Glavine (12-5) won for the first time in six starts as Atlanta sent reeling Florida to its eighth straight loss.

Florida, the only winless team in the major leagues since the All-Star break, hasn't won since trading away slugger Cliff Floyd and pitcher Ryan Dempster on July 11.

Atlanta won its third straight -- allowing just one run during that span -- and improved to 16-0-4 in its past 20 series. That's the longest streak in franchise history, surpassing the Boston Beaneaters' 19-game run in 1897.

Braves pitchers hadn't allowed a run in 26 innings before Mike Redmond's RBI single in the sixth. John Smoltz pitched the ninth for his major league-best 34th save in 37 opportunities.

Julian Tavarez (7-6) gave up three runs and four hits in five innings.

Expos 2, Mets 1

MONTREAL -- Vladimir Guerrero hit his third homer in two games, a go-ahead drive in the eighth inning that led Montreal over New York, ending the Mets' four-game winning streak.

Bartolo Colon (3-0) scattered 13 hits for his second straight complete game, his sixth of the season. It was the most hits allowed in a complete-game win since Jim Abbott led the Chicago White Sox over the New York Yankees 9-4 on July 18, 1995.

Jeff Fassero had a 13-hit complete-game loss for Seattle at the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 16, 1998.

New York tied the score in the eighth on three straight hits, including Edgardo Alfonzo's RBI double, but Guerrero hit his 26th homer in the bottom half off Mark Corey (0-2).

Cubs 6, Phillies 4

PHILADELPHIA -- Matt Clement allowed two runs in 6 1-3 innings and Fred McGriff hit a three-run homer to lead Chicago over Philadelphia.

The Cubs snapped a two-game losing streak, winning for the sixth time in nine games since Bruce Kimm replaced Don Baylor as manager.

The Phillies, who won five of six coming in, would have been within four games of .500 for the first time since May 13 if they won.

Clement (8-6) gave up five hits, struck out eight and walked four to win for the third time in four starts. He improved to 6-1 in nine games against Philadelphia.

All-Star Vicente Padilla (10-6) allowed five runs -- four earned -- and seven hits in six innings.

Astros 4, Brewers 2

MILWAUKEE -- Jeff Bagwell hit a tiebreaking two-run double off Jamey Wright (2-9) in the eighth inning as Houston beat Milwaukee.

After the Astros tied it in the sixth, on RBI singles by Bagwell and Craig Biggio, the bullpen shut the Brewers down. The last 12 Brewers were retired in order.

Brandon Puffer relieved starter Pete Munro and struck out four of his five batters. Pedro Borbon (3-2) retired the only batter he faced in the seventh, Octavio Dotel pitched the eighth and Billy Wagner worked the ninth for his 17th save.

Milwaukee, which lost for the seventh time on its eight-game homestand, got a pair of RBI singles from Richie Sexson.

Wright fell to 0-8 in 13 starts against the Astros.

Rockies 6, Diamondbacks 4

DENVER -- Juan Uribe broke a tie with a two-out, two-run single in the seventh inning as Colorado defeated Arizona.

Larry Walker went 3-for-3 with two RBIs and a walk as he improved his batting average to .349. Making his 100th career start, John Thomson allowed four runs and seven hits in six innings and Justin Speier (4-0) pitched a perfect seventh for the win.

Greg Swindell (0-1) took the loss.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Twins 8, Indians 6

CLEVELAND -- Torii Hunter hit a two-run homer and Luis Rivas drove in the go-ahead runs in the seventh inning as the Minnesota Twins rallied Thursday for an 8-6 win over the Indians.

Hunter left the pitching to others this time, using his bat to get back at the Indians as the Twins erased a 6-2 deficit and swept the two-game series.

Rivas broke a 6-6 tie with a two-run single when the Twins rallied against Ricardo Rincon (1-4) and posted their 28th come-from-behind win this season.

Milton Bradley hit a grand slam and Ellis Burks homered for the Indians.

Tony Fiore (8-2) pitched two innings for the win, and Eddie Guardado put two on in the ninth before getting his AL-leading 31st save.

Yankees 6, Tigers 5

NEW YORK -- Shane Spencer hit a tiebreaking RBI double in the eighth inning as the New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers.

Alfonso Soriano hit a leadoff homer and Raul Mondesi also hit a solo shot for the Yankees, who have won 11 of 15 and lead the Red Sox by three games in the AL East.

Jason Giambi's sacrifice fly off Fernando Rodney (1-3) tied the game in the seventh and the Yankees won it in the eighth.

Ramiro Mendoza (7-2) got two outs for the win. Mariano Rivera pitched the ninth for his 24th save in 28 chances.

Red Sox 4, Devil Rays 3

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Rickey Henderson and Lou Merloni hit solo home runs and Trot Nixon hit a go-ahead single in the eighth inning as the Boston Red Sox rallied to beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Tim Wakefield (3-3) pitched three hitless innings in relief of Frank Castillo as Boston won its third straight following a four-game losing streak. Ugueth Urbina finished the five-hitter with a scoreless ninth for his 23rd save in 25 chances.

With the score 3-all, Brian Daubach began Boston's go-ahead rally with a two-out infield single off Esteban Yan (5-5). Pinch-hitter Jason Varitek singled, and Nixon drove in pinch-runner Jose Offerman with a single.

Royals 5, White Sox 3

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Michael Tucker capped a ninth-inning rally with a two-run homer, and the Kansas City Royals stretched a winning streak to seven for the first time in seven years by defeating the Chicago White Sox.

Kansas City trailed 3-2 before Carlos Beltran homered leading off the ninth against Mark Buehrle, who allowed five hits in the first eight innings.

Damaso Marte (1-1) relieved and gave up a single to Raul Ibanez and Tucker's third homer in two games.

Paul Byrd (13-6) tied Derek Lowe for the AL lead in wins, allowing 10 hits in his third complete game of the season. Byrd retired his final 15 batters, finishing with three strikeouts and no walks.

Blue Jays 5, Orioles 4

TORONTO -- Jose Cruz Jr. homered in Toronto's four-run third inning and the Blue Jays held to beat the Baltimore Orioles.

The Blue Jays swept the two-game series and have won six of seven overall.

Cruz's 15th homer, a two-run shot off Travis Driskill (6-3), gave Toronto a 3-0 lead.

Gary Matthews Jr. went 2-for-2 with a walk and had two RBIs for the Orioles. Matthews' RBI single in the seventh cut Toronto's lead to 5-4.

Chris Carpenter (3-1) won his second straight start. Carpenter allowed four runs on eight hits in seven innings. He struck out two and walked one.

Cliff Politte pitched the eighth and Kelvim Escobar pitched the ninth for his 16th save in 21 chances.

Mariners 5, Rangers 3

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Charles Gipson Jr.'s suicide squeeze bunt brought home the go-ahead run in the ninth inning as the Seattle Mariners rallied to beat the Texas Rangers.

Ben Davis, who had reached on a one-out single, scored when Gipson bunted to the first-base side of the mound. Juan Alvarez (0-2) fielded the ball cleanly, but his only play was to first base.

Ichiro Suzuki added an RBI single with two outs.

The Mariners, who have won nine straight games in Texas, scored two runs in the eighth to tie the game.

Shigetoshi Hasegawa (5-1) pitched a perfect eighth, retiring the top of the Texas lineup. Kazuhiro Sasaki worked the ninth for his 24th save in 28 chances.

-- From wire reports