Powerful ninth lifts Braves past Rockies

ATLANTA -- Gary Sheffield and Chipper Jones hit back-to-back homers leading off the bottom of the ninth inning, rallying the Atlanta Braves past the Colorado Rockies 7-6 Monday.

Jones homered twice in the final two innings, starting the eighth with a drive into the seats that launched a three-run rally tying the game at 5.

The Braves, playing their final home game before the Aug. 30 strike date, snapped their first two-game losing streak in more than a month.

The Rockies took a 6-5 lead when Greg Norton hit a two-out, run-scoring double off John Smoltz (3-2) in the top of the ninth.

But Colorado closer Jose Jimenez (2-8) needed only seven pitches to lose the game. Sheffield hit a 404-foot drive into the left-center bleachers for his 22nd homer, then Jones hit the game-winner, a 406-footer to right for his 19th homer.

Giants 3, Marlins 0

MIAMI -- Livan Hernandez pitched a five-hitter for his first victory since July 12, and the slumping San Francisco Giants mustered five hits to beat the Florida Marlins.

Hernandez (8-13) struck out eight and walked two. The right-hander had been 0-3 in six starts since shutting out Colorado 9-0.

The Giants had lost four straight, matching a season high. They avoided their first four-game series sweep since July 4-7, 1996 at San Diego.

Julian Tavarez (8-10) retired the first 14 batters before fading in the 86-degree sunshine. He allowed five hits and three runs in seven innings.

The Marlins had won four in a row. They've been shut out seven times since the All-Star break and 12 times this season.

Barry Bonds was given the day off. He had played in 17 consecutive games.

Astros 7, Reds 5

CINCINNATI -- Lance Berkman hit a two-run homer and Wade Miller got his eighth straight win, leading the Houston Astros over the Cincinnati Reds.

Berkman's shot in the third off knuckleballer Jared Fernandez (1-3) completed a four-run third inning and extended his career-long success against the Reds.

Richard Hidalgo had a solo shot off Fernandez and Miller (11-3) singled in a run as the Astros improved to 9-5 against the Reds this season. Jeff Bagwell added his 24th homer, off Danny Graves in the eighth.

Ken Griffey Jr. hit a pinch three-run homer with no outs in the ninth off Ricky Stone, cutting it to 7-4. Griffey has been out of the starting lineup for the last four games with a sore left thigh.

Billy Wagner got three outs for his 28th save in 32 chances, allowing an RBI double to Aaron Boone.

Expos 4, Padres 0

MONTREAL -- Bartolo Colon pitched a two-hitter for his first NL shutout to lead Montreal.

Colon (6-2) gave up just two hits, Deivi Cruz's single leading off the third and Bubba Trammell's single in the eighth. He struck out six and walked two in his major league-leading eighth complete game, his fourth in 10 starts with the Expos. Colon had two shutouts with Cleveland before he was traded to Montreal on June 27.

Vladimir Guerrero hit his 33rd homer for the Expos, a three-run drive in the third off Brian Lawrence (11-7) -- possibly the final home run at Olympic Stadium.

American League

Athletics 8, Indians 1

CLEVELAND -- Tim Hudson pitched 8 1-3 innings to remain unbeaten in August and Eric Chavez homered twice as Oakland won its sixth straight game.

Hudson (10-9) allowed six hits and one run but was lifted just two outs away from his third complete game this season. He improved to 3-0 with a 1.21 ERA this month for the third-place A's, who kept pressure on Anaheim and Seattle in the AL West.

Chavez hit a two-run homer in the first inning off Danys Baez (9-10) and added a three-run shot in the ninth off Mark Wohlers for Oakland, which improved to 13-4 in August.

Devil Rays 7, Orioles 3

BALTIMORE -- Tampa Bay hit a club-record three homers in a seven-run second inning, and Paul Wilson beat Baltimore for the fourth time this season.

Ben Grieve and Chris Gomez hit successive home runs, and Steve Cox added a two-run shot against Travis Driskill to stake the Devil Rays to a 7-0 lead.

Blue Jays 2, Royals 0

TORONTO -- Pete Walker pitched two-hit ball for seven innings and Toronto stopped a five-game losing streak with a victory over Kansas City.

Shannon Stewart homered, scored twice and made a nice over-the-shoulder catch at the left-field wall.

Paul Byrd (14-9) lost despite pitching a four-hitter for his AL-leading sixth complete game. He gave up only one earned run, but fell short in his fourth attempt at his 15th victory.

Walker (6-3) only allowed a single to Michael Tucker in the second inning and a double Raul Ibanez in the fourth.

The 33-year-old journeyman right-hander retired the last 11 batters he faced. He struck out three and walked two.

Tigers 4, Mariners 3

DETROIT -- Jose Lima pitched seven strong innings, and Robert Fick made a tumbling catch in right field with runners on first and second to preserve Detroit's win over Seattle.

Lima (4-5) improved to 3-1 in six starts since returning to the rotation July 24, after Jeff Weaver and Brian Moehler were traded.

Twins 7, White Sox 3

CHICAGO -- Jacque Jones hit two of Minnesota's five homers and Brad Radke got his first win since May 8.

Jones and Cristian Guzman hit back-to-back homers to start the game and David Ortiz added another solo shot in a three-homer first off Gary Glover (5-6).

--From wire reports