Marlins rookie shuts down Cubs in major league debut

MIAMI -- Josh Beckett allowed one hit in six shutout innings in his major league debut as the Florida Marlins beat the Chicago Cubs 8-1 Tuesday.

Beckett also doubled and scored as Florida won for the just the fifth time in 22 games.

Preston Wilson had a three-run homer off Jon Lieber (17-6) and Kevin Millar hit his second career grand slam, providing plenty of run support for Beckett.

Beckett, the second overall pick in the 1999 amateur draft, struck out five and walked three.

BRAVES 3, EXPOS 2

MONTREAL -- Andruw Jones homered leading off the ninth to send Atlanta to victory over Montreal in front of the smallest Olympic Stadium crowd in 17 years.

Jones hit the first pitch he saw from Scott Strickland (2-5) to break a 2-all tie as the Braves fought back from a pair of one-run deficits to take a three-game lead over Philadelphia in the NL East. It is the Braves biggest lead since Aug. 7.

The game drew 3,613, the smallest Montreal crowd since Sept. 27, 1984, when 2,803 -- the smallest crowd in franchise history -- were on hand for a weekday afternoon game against St. Louis.

Steve Karsay (2-3) pitched a perfect eighth for the win and John Smoltz got three outs for his fifth save.

METS 5, PHILLIES 3

PHILADELPHIA -- Steve Trachsel pitched into the eighth inning and Tsuyoshi Shinjo had two RBIs as New York beat slumping Philadelphia.

Trachsel (9-11) allowed three runs in 7 2-3 innings to beat the Phillies for the fourth time this season. The Phillies have lost three straight and 14 of 19.

Armando Benitez pitched the ninth for his 36th save in 38 chances. New York has won 13 of 17.

Phillies starter Omar Daal (12-6) allowed four runs -- three earned -- and five hits in four innings.

ASTROS 7, REDS 1

CINCINNATI -- Roy Oswalt pitched seven shutout innings for his 13th victory and singled home a run as Houston's slumping offense kept it simple and beat Cincinnati.

Lance Berkman drove in three runs with a pair of infield singles and the Astros also scored on a throwing error and a passed ball, giving Oswalt (13-2) plenty of cushion to beat the Reds for the third time.

The first-place Astros have taken control of the NL Central by winning 14 of their last 18 games. They extended their lead to four games over the Cubs, who lost to Florida 8-1 Tuesday.

PIRATES 5, BREWERS 2

PITTSBURGH -- Warren Morris hit a two-run double in a five-run first inning that carried Pittsburgh past Milwaukee.

Pittsburgh won consecutive games for the first time since Aug. 4-5 and for just the third time in the last 40 games. The Pirates batted around in the first against Aaron Levrault (6-9), who allowed four hits in the first inning and none over his next five.

Bronson Arroyo (4-6) won for the first time since he beat the Braves 6-3 in Atlanta on May 27. Arroyo spent much of the summer in the minor leagues.

-- From wire reports