NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Marlins’ 21 Hits Defeat Pirates, 11-3

The wins are beginning to come in bunches for the Florida Marlins, and so are the hits.

Dave Magadan had four of Florida’s team-record 21 hits, and the Marlins trounced the Pittsburgh Pirates, 11-3, Friday night at Miami for their sixth victory in seven games.

Magadan hit his third home run of the season and also doubled. Florida matched the club mark for runs and set a record with seven extra-base hits.

“It’s contagious,” Magadan said. “When you see guys getting hits, it gets you in a hitting mode.”

Luis Aquino (4-3) gave up three runs in seven innings. He began the game with a 2.12 earned-run average, best in the National League. He finished the night with a 2.31 ERA, just behind Philadelphia’s Tommy Greene at 2.27.

The Marlins had scored a total of 18 runs in Aquino’s seven previous starts.

“Tonight was nice,” Aquino said. “They scored a lot of runs for me. I’m happy if I pitch good, but I’m more happy to win.”

The 21 hits were one short of the National League single-game high this season set by Montreal.

“We just weren’t very good tonight. We didn’t pitch well and they whacked the ball all over the lot,” Pirate Manager Jim Leyland said.

St. Louis 1, Montreal 0--Joe Magrane gave up two hits in 7 2/3 innings, and torrid Bernard Gilkey homered to lift the Cardinals at St. Louis.

Magrane (4-6) has won his last two starts after losing four in a row. Before his previous start, the Cardinals had considered removing him from the rotation.

Gilkey hit his second home run against Kent Bottenfield (1-4) with one out in the fifth. He also singled twice, making him five for nine in the series.

Philadelphia 5, New York 2--Met third baseman Chico Walker made an error on Pete Incaviglia’s grounder with two out in the ninth inning, giving the Phillies the victory at New York.

The Phillies, who overcame a 5-0 deficit against the Mets on Incaviglia’s homer in the seventh inning Thursday night, rallied for their 14th win in 18 games. Curt Schilling (8-1) gave up five hits in his fifth complete game.

The Mets have lost four in a row and seven of eight.

Atlanta 6, Cincinnati 5--Otis Nixon, the subject of trade rumors, scored the winning run on Brian Hunter’s single in the 11th inning, lifting the Braves at Atlanta.

Nixon, who had not played in eight days since being replaced by Deion Sanders in center field, has attracted interest from several American League teams, including the Boston Red Sox.

The Braves, who tied the score in the ninth on Jeff Blauser’s two-run single against Rob Dibble, won it against Tim Pugh (3-8).

Colorado 5, Houston 4--Pedro Castellano drove in his first run in the major leagues with a two-out single in the eighth inning to lift the Rockies at Denver.

Castellano, who entered the game as a defensive replacement for shortstop Nelson Liriano in the sixth inning, singled to short right field against Xavier Hernandez (2-2) to drive in Jerald Clark.

Charlie Hayes put Colorado ahead, 4-3, with a run-scoring single in the fifth inning. Scott Servais tied the game with a homer in the Houston eighth off reliever Jeff Parrett (1-2). Darren Holmes pitched the ninth for his fourth save.

Craig Biggio led off the game with a home run against Armando Reynoso. Biggio doubled home Servais, who had singled, in the second. Jeff Bagwell opened the Astros’ third with a triple and scored on a groundout.

San Francisco 7, Chicago 2--Barry Bonds hit a two-run homer, highlighting a four-run third inning that led the Giants at San Francisco in a game that was marked by hit batters and ejected pitchers.

Cub relievers Jose Bautista and Charles McElroy both were tossed after hitting batters. Chicago Manager Jim Lefebvre and third base coach Chuck Cottier also were ejected.

Rick Wilkins homered for the fourth consecutive day for Chicago. His two-run shot in the seventh inning gave him six home runs in six games, and 12 for the season.